MUSÉE DES ARTS ET MÉTIERS

Chapel of the road and sky comes down to Earth in the streets of Paris

‘THE MUSEUM of Arts and Trades’ sounds so much friendlier than ‘Science Museum’, but that’s just what this old church in Paris is. And it should certainly be on the bucketlist of anyone who loves gadgets, machinery, aircraft and cars.

Created during the French Revolution, in the former Benedictine priory of St-Martindes-Champs, Arts et Métiers holds thousands of objects, from Marie-Antoinette’s automatons to the original model of the Statue of Liberty.

When you arrive, you will probably see people standing staring into a glazed section of pavement. They will be looking at Foucault’s Pendulum in the crypt. Built in 1851, its giant swing demonstrates the rotation of Earth and its movement is totally hypnotic.

The main museum will leave you full of wonder, but take a breath before entering this hushed, highly atmospheric 11th Century chapel. Look up and the first item to catch the eye will be the Blériot Type XI… not just any old Blériot, but the plane that Louis Blériot flew across the English Channel, suddenly making the world smaller. Nearby hangs the oldest French military aircraft in existence, the 1911 Breguet Type RU1.

At the other end is the first aircraft to employ a joystick, the Avion Esnault-Pelterie of 1906, also claimed to be the first metal monoplane, while up the main staircase is the Avion 111. Built between 1893 and 1897 by Clément Ader, this steam-engined twin-propeller device was made mainly from bamboo and silk. It crashlanded on its maiden flight in 1897, yet makes a wonderful sight, hanging like a monstrous bat in testament to man’s ingenuity.

Now the motor cars. In splendid isolation sits a replica of Cugnot’s fardier, or steam carriage, the world’s first self-propelled vehicle. Cugnot was given the task of designing a gun carriage for the Army and he demonstrated his

fardier in 1770. With its front-suspended boiler and ratchet-and-pawl drive, it was proceeding well, if clumsily, until the controls seized. Brakes hadn’t been considered at that stage and the machine knocked down a wall in the world’s first motor-powered road accident.

Back in the chapel is a group of some of history’s most interesting cars, some on glass floors linked by a staircase. One guaranteed to make the onlooker smile is the Leyat Hélica, a spindly wood-and-metal contraption pulled by a four-bladed propeller, with bobbin-and-cable steering to the rear wheels. This totally original example has an open passenger compartment, for real bugs-in-teeth motoring.

Nearby, and in contrast, are the 1983 Renault RE40 F1 car driven by Alain Prost, plus a wonderfully original 1909 Renault, a 1935 Hispano-Suiza K6 coupé and a 1931 Citroën C6G, sectioned lengthways. For many the star is Bollée’s 1873 l’Obéissante d’Amédée steam carriage, a grand omnibus fitted with a sign of things to come: a steering wheel. Another corridor houses an 1852 Tuxford steam locomotive, an 1892 diesel engine (built by Rudolf Diesel himself), a 1885 Serpollet, an 1893 Renault Quadricycle and, for contrast, a 1975 Hercules motorcycle with Wankel engine.

The excellent guide book (in English) describes the museum as ‘A Renaissance – the Human Adventure’. There is no better way to describe this wondrous place. Musée des Arts et Métiers, 60 rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-8pm, admission €8. Late Thursday evenings are free, 8-9.30pm. www.arts-et-metiers.net.