I've done and seen a lot of cool things this year in Paris and around Europe. Chateaux, art museums, ancient ruins and beautiful churches are all part of the experience. But today, I definitely visited the strangest (in a good way) place yet; it's called the Musée des Arts Forains. It's a private museum, with tours only by reservation, in the Bercy area of Paris, housed in a series of old wine halls. And what is it full of? Vintage circus and carnival objects, including but not limited to moving organs, vintage carrousels, moving and singing venetian carnivale figures, and typical carnival games.
It was pretty bizarre, and our guide was quite a personality, interspersing his tour with various magic tricks. It's not a place I'd like to be walking around alone at night, but on the other hand it would make for an excellent party setting, say a masked ball in the Venetian rooms, or a 20's party à la Midnight in Paris (it actually is the location where they filmed the scene with the carrousel!)
At 14 euros a person and tours by reservation only, it's definitely off the beaten tourist path - but I've got to say, it was one of the cooler experiences I've had in Paris. Perhaps that's because it was so unusual and unique; I mean, where else could I have ridden a bike carrousel, propelled by those on it, from the 19th century?
I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the least bit interested; the tour was in French, the guide is wonderful, and it really is such a cool and weird place. Musée des Arts Forains, 53 Avenue des Terroirs de France, 75012 Paris (Mètro : ligne 14, Cour Saint-Émilion)
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