Christmas special Issue 27, Winter 2020 | Page 64

But there’s more to see than ancient currency. In its hallowed halls, particularly the gorgeous Salon Guillaume Dupré, have been held a number of modern art exhibitions, where plastic trees and metal skull sculptures sit incongruously against painted cupolas and carved balustrades. Some of the exhibits are: American artist Kiki Smith, Thomas Schütte, controversial Paul McCarthy (you really have to see the photograph of his ‘trees’), and a collection of works from the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

I didn’t think that a museum about money would be terribly interesting (unless they were giving some away), but I was wrong!

Visit: Monnaie de Paris

Mobilier National, Manufacture des Gobelins, de Beauvais, de la Savonnerie

As you sit on your couch and click through the Google Arts and Culture website, do you find yourself looking around your living room and dreaming of a makeover? Does it need a Louis XIV chaise longue, a dining table for 20, a few medieval tapestries for the floor? If so, the Mobilier National is the place to go. They have been creating and conserving the treasures of France for five centuries. How-ever, unless you live in the Élysée Palace, these valuable pieces aren’t for you. But the website itself is a treasure chest: open the lid and delve into the wonders of silken fabrics, golden tapestries and exquisite lace.

Formerly based in the Grande Gallery of the Louvre under Louis XIV and now housed in the historic Gobelins tapestry factory, the Mobilier National is responsible for furnishing palaces, presidential residences and embassies. They also for maintain, create and distribute a unique worldwide collection of over 130,000 pieces of furniture and textiles.