Thermes de Lutèce

The abbots were wise in choosing to build alongside of the most spectacular examples of ancient city of Lutèce (Paris), the late IIInd century Thermes de Lutèce bathing complex. The adjacency of the abbey assured that these important Roman ruins remained in the exceptional state of preservation that we see them today.

Formerly a section of the baths exhibits architectural fragments.

In my haste to view the just-completed historical preservation renovations that I had read about in my architectural journal, I made a rash error in judgment of only making a very cursory pass through the thermes and gardens. Before I could get back outside for more than the initial grab-shot photos, the bright blue day shifted into a dark grey deluge.

thermes de Lutèce

But during inclement weather the impressive vaulted frigidarium (cold room) can still be view from within through a huge glass pane in the concert hall room and accessed for the interior. Fragments of mosaic scene called, "Love Riding a Dolphin", a frieze from a child’s sarcophagus and a statue of Roman emperor Julian are only a few of the many treasures of ancient Paris that are exhibited in the space. The tepidarium and caldarium and a section of the hypocaust system are arranged in smaller exterior rooms.

mosaique ancienienne

For wonderfully reconstructed images that illustrate how Paris looked in Roman times I highly recommend that you spend some times at the website "Paris, A Roman City" http://www.paris.culture.fr/en/index.html . It contains a pictorial tour of Roman Paris, then and now, an overview of the aspects of daily Roman life in Lutèce, (including food, trade and art), archeological discoveries in Paris today, and a bibliography of publications. I wish I had read this site before my visit, but it actually gave me a better view of some of the statuary and implements in their 360- Quick-Time animations of each individual object (cool). There is nothing better to an amateur historian as getting a concrete feel for the heart and soul of your ancient ancestors that lived daily life exactly where you are standing. Outside the in the drumming of the torrent of rain, I could almost hear the Roman and Gallic voices and picture them splashing in these ancient pools.

Hôtel de Cluny

Hôtel de Cluny was built between 1485 and 1498 by Jacques d'Amboise as the Parisian pied-a-terre for the abbots of Cluny, one of the most powerful religious orders of the Middle Ages.


High crenelated walls safeguard the museum, as
it once protected the privacy of the abbots.

It is closed off from the city by a blind crenelated wall, pierced only by an ancient rose-colored door and a wooden wagon gate (where the public enters). The U-shaped cobblestone courtyard directly inside the gate is a welcoming surprise. On this chilly autumn day, a colorful profusion of Rose of Sharon plants lolled on the rough stones as if wanting to absorb as much of the radiated warmth as possible.

Medieval Rose of Sharon

In one corner sat a charming ancient well topped with an delicate metal arch that holds the bucket hoist. A formerly menacing gargoyle juts out from one side of the well, and I was told that his job was to protect the water from evil spirits. But most of his original visage had been worn away by thirsty visitors, rendering him more comical than scary. This courtyard served as a model for the later hôtel particuliers (mansions) built in Paris.

Time-worn chaming well

The two stories of this Flamboyant Gothic abbey are topped by a high blue slate roof dotted with highly festooned dormers and a balustrade with a heavy overhang hides its edge. A polygonal structure protruding from the main façade serves as an entrance and encases a spiral staircase that connects the interior levels. The exterior of this turret is beautifully ornamented with dozens of Coquilles-St-Jacques (scallop shells), the symbol of St. Jacques, and the Amboise coat of arms refer to Jacques d’Amboise, the abbot that built this hôtel.

Turret decor detail: Coquilles-St-Jacques and the Amboise coat of arms

Alexandre du Sommerand, a fervent medievalist, first rented the upper floor of Hôtel de Cluny in1830 to display his collection. This collection formed the basis for the museum that was officially created in 1843, with his son Edmond du Sommerand as the first director.

Lovely Rose Door with rather unlovely lentil decor of skulls--brrrr.

I found this museum extremely organized yet diverse. It’s contents is arranged by genre as well as thematically: architectural fragments, textiles, and stained glass on the Rez-de-chaussée or ground level. Upstairs or on the Premier étage or second-floor Americaine, you will find the bulk of the collection of enamels, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, and panel paintings. Scattered throughout the museum are the collections of carved chests,

My favorite--what a delightful surprise this triple-threat museum is! Located in a fifteenth-century palace built over the ruins of third-century Roman baths, this museum’s other main draws are the amazing six Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and a room filled with stained glass from the ruins of various medieval French churches. Resurrected from the chateau of Broussac, these world-famed tapestries adorn a specially designed elliptical-walled room, providing maximum viewing pleasure for visitors who can thus easily compare each section’s details. This sixteenth century artistic marvel depicts the myth of the pure maiden who tames the unicorn; a sensual masterpiece, each of the tapestries but the sixth and last (culminating in the taming), features one of the five senses in gorgeous color and intricate detail.

When I saw this beauty, I had not read Tracy Chevalier’s best-selling imaginative reconstruction of what its history might have been. I would recommend reading her "The Lady and the Unicorn" as a preamble to seeing this astonishing artistic relict for her description of the painstaking weaving process by which Brussels masters created it, enhances your appreciation of it, as well as the extensive restoration that preserved it. Simply breathtaking is the much-admired final panel in its celebration of harmony and reconciliation, pulling together the primary details of this story’s depiction.

Thanks to the anti-clerical principles of the French Revolution, zealots desecrated churches throughout France and denuded them of their art. Another special room into which outside light filters features glorious examples of medieval stained glass that originally resided in various ecclesiastical establishments. Thus, you can see up close what you usually crane your neck to see dimly and imperfectly in Notre Dame of Sainte Chapelle.

Don’t miss exploring the well-signed remains of Roman baths below this museum’s building. You can see where the typical three kinds of spa rooms were--the hot, the cold, and the tepid--a Three Bears arrangement characteristic of the Latin conquerors’ spas. In December the temperature surrounding all of these plats was mainly that of a frigidarium so we limited our visit to about 20 minutes. Guests can take guided tours of these depths on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2pm. We arrived just after opening time on a Friday and had to rely on our limited reading French to understand the ruins, so I would recommend the tour.

This was formerly called the Cluny, after Benedictine monks who lived there.

First of all, this is as much a history museum as an art one. There are 3rd century Gallo-Roman baths as part of the complex.

The full name of the museum is Musée National du Moyen-Age Thermes de Cluny. The building was completed in 1500, and was a medieval mansion which incorporated the ruins of the old baths.

Having been to the Museums d'Orsay and Rodin, which I have acclaimed in other pages, I must say this seemed like coming back to earth; it was a very good museum but not utterly outstanding lke those two.

The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are no doubt very fine. Enough critics say so, and there is certainly a phenomenal amount of workmanship in them, but they left both of us stone cold. On the other hand, we were very moved by a display of stained glass which had originally been in the Sainte Chapelle windows. The gallery of sculpted heads of the kings of Judah was also very impressive.

Cluny is the Museum of the Middle Ages. It features many works of the Madonna and Child, as well as some original stained glasswork.

This museum is famous for the Unicorn Tapestries. There are six in all, each featuring a specific theme, though the sixth is undetermined.

Part of the museum includes the remains of a Roman bath, the frigidarium (cold water; we get the word refrigerator from this), dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD.

A must-see for history buffs and lovers of the Middle Ages.