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Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

By Emma-Jane Browne

April 14^th, 2016

Neatly tucked away in one of the many hôtels particuliers of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, the Musée de la chasse et de la nature (The Museum of hunting and nature), is quite unexpected. From the name you would expect a dark dusty place promoting the brutal killing of animals, but it is actually more like a giant cabinet of curiosities, mixing naturalised animals, art, a good dose of humour, and trendy happenings (While we visited, there was a ‘Sieste Acoustique’ going on, which basically meant around 30 people curled up on cushions on the floor while people read, painted and performed music).

The primary goal of the museum is to put on display the relationship between Man and animal throughout the ages. Several rooms focus on a specific animal (sometimes fictional, one room, or ‘cabinet’, is dedicated to the unicorn), were you can find art and various titbits about said animal (even their poop, yes - the kids love that one). The museum is packed with fantastic little details to catch (like a hidden mouse and mouse hole), and even the decoration remains in theme.