The Liberation of Paris Museum - General Leclerc Museum - Jean Moulin Museum — Attraction in Paris

Skip the line for the catacombs across the street and, instead, give your time to this museum. It’s beautiful, rarely crowded, and the material is far more important and timely and fascinating than any parade through tunnels of ancient bones.

This museum offers a humbling and visceral reminder of the troubling politics leading up to World War II, the reality of German occupation, and the tragedy of the French government’s willing surrender of its Jewish citizens, both adults and children, to the concentration camps.

You get an inspiring and deeply curated look at those who gave their lives to fight the Germans. But this museum is also a sobering reminder of how quickly France fell — and of the devastating consequences.

Entrance is free, but you’ll want to book a spot in the (also free) tour of the underground operations center used by the French resistance. For that, you’ll need to be able to walk down and back up 100 steps. But I promise, it’s more...

This museum moved here from its former home in 2019, and Paris Museums have done an excellent job. This tells the story of the occupation, resistance and liberation in Paris, although it obviously covers the wider French situation too. The story is weaved around two resistance heroes, Jean Moulin and Philippe de Hauteclocque (Leclerc), but ranges much more widely and is told with boards, images, artefacts and contemporary film. It can easily absorb 2-3 hours and is riveting. Make sure to visit the Command Post of Colonel Rol-Tanguy, the air raid shelter beneath the building which acted as administrative offices and then the place from which the liberation was directed on its final days. Only a few people are allowed down every half hour, so ask for tickets at the desk on entry. The museum is free to enter, although there is a security check at the entrance. It also tends to be far less busy than the catacombs next door, and is worth a special trip in...

Such an excellent museum, the exhibits are packed with information. The placards (in both French and English) are, for the most part, well written and free of obvious typos. The rooms each fit well theme wise, and the museum doesn't shy away from acknowledging the impact of French collaborationists in deportations and repression of pro-allied action.

My only complaints are A) several rooms in the bunker are very empty, such as the telephone room. Some props, displays, or artifacts, like in the air filtration room would be fantastic additions.

B) the touch screen computers are excellent and add lots of context, but are bottlenecks for visitors, maybe a second monitor at each station, or a QR code to access the info online would be helpful; and

C) The "Repression" section when you first go down stairs felt like the exhibits and videos weren't quite in line with the section's focus.

I definitely recommend this museum to anyone who gets the chance to...