Natural History Museum

Close by the Parc Saint Séverin Hotel, the museum exhibits its high-quality collections with those from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and the British Museum in London.

History of the site

In the mid-17th century, the site became the first public park in the capital and the Parisians' favourite place for an afternoon stroll. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the museum site came to house exhibition galleries focusing on the natural sciences in a setting filled with trees and flowers and which is a wonderful place for a walk.

A wide range of activities

At the Parc Saint Séverin Hotel we recommend all seven sites to be found in this location:

• The Grand Gallery of Evolution: in a contemporary staging, visitors discover a spectacular display of stuffed animals and ideas about the evolution of species.
• The Large Greenhouses: this is a genuine natural reserve, containing plants in their widest variety, ranging from the tropical rain forests to the plants of the desert.
• The mineralogy and geology gallery: This section is fascinating, with the gigantic size of the minerals, rocks and crystals on display. 
• The botanic gallery: The incredible diversity of the plant world is illustrated in this gallery, the oldest herbarium in the world.
• The comparative anatomy and paleontology gallery: this section presents, among others, species that are now extinct.
• The Jardin des Plantes menagerie: the small zoo has some 200 species, including some threatened with extinction.
• The Jardin des Plantes: this is one of the oldest gardens in Paris, with trees that are several centuries old.

At the end of the day, you can enjoy a break with a mint tea served at the Grand Mosque of Paris, just across the road.