National Archives Museum (Hôtel de Soubise): free admission, opening hours and how to get there
The National Archives Museum, housed in the Hôtel de Soubise in the Marais, is free and needs no booking: it opens on Monday and from Wednesday to Friday from 10am to 5:30pm, at weekends from 2pm to 5:30pm, and is closed on Tuesday. In the heart of the Marais, the National Archives Museum has occupied the Hôtel de Soubise since 1867; the mansion has housed the State archives since a decision by Napoleon in 1808. Admission is free to its princely rooms with rococo decoration and to exhibition routes devoted to documents from French history, on papyrus, parchment or paper. The visit continues in the neighbouring Hôtel de Rohan. The Archives gardens, open freely, offer a quiet break in the third arrondissement.
Highlights
The main courtyard
Built from 1705 to 1709 by the architect Pierre-Alexis Delamair, it is lined with 56 paired columns with composite capitals. Cross it to reach the museum entrance through the central door of the mansion.
The Princess’s Oval Salon
Germain Boffrand redesigned the apartments between 1735 and 1740, working with painters such as François Boucher, Charles Natoire and Carle Van Loo. In this room, eight canvases by Natoire tell the story of Psyche beneath a ceiling with gilded ornaments.
The gateway of the Hôtel de Clisson
On rue des Archives, this fortified gateway flanked by two turrets dates from 1371. It is one of the rare remains of 14th-century private architecture still visible in Paris.
Practical info
Tips
- Admission to the museum and exhibitions is free, with no booking required. To see the rooms with a guide, book a guided tour of the Hôtel de Soubise, at €8 per person, on the Affluences platform, where bookings open 60 days before the visit date. Bags larger than 55 × 35 × 20 cm are refused; free lockers take backpacks and small luggage. Flash photography is forbidden.
- Carry on exploring the Marais neighbourhood; more addresses are gathered in our selection of free museums in Paris.
How to get there
Metro Hôtel de Ville, line 1; Rambuteau, line 11; Arts et Métiers, line 3. Buses 29 and 75, Archives-Haudriettes or Archives-Rambuteau stops. Address: 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75003 Paris.
Opening hours
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