Especially appreciated are the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries, which feature countless items and artifacts pertaining to daily life from the Middle Ages, to the end of the 16th century. Highlights include excellent examples of religious art, as well as a period bedroom whose furnishings date from the late 15th century. The museum includes many other period rooms, as well as a wing entirely devoted to fashion and textiles (the Musée de la Mode et du Textile), which boasts an impressive collection of both old, and new fashions, accessories, and fabrics.

If one has a boundless love for all that glitters, a visit to the museum’s Galerie des Bijoux (Jewelry Gallery) is a must. Here, hundreds of necklaces, broaches, bracelets, rings, and earrings from all over the world and reaching impressively far back into history, are on display for all to see. The Jewelry Gallery may contain some old things, but its display style is new and innovative, with dark rooms lit only by their display cases, so that the jewelry seems to be worn by invisible ghosts, and floats out of the darkness, glittering and gleaming in the light. A display near the entrance shows examples of materials and stones typically used to make these stunning works of art. Reading the captions, one can learn quite a lot, such as the fact that the use of hair in commemorative jewelry reached its height in the 19th century…or one can just stare at the shining bijoux within the display. The Gallery as a whole should be seen, but the highlight is perhaps the fine collection of Art Nouveau and Japan-inspired necklaces, collars, hair clips, and broaches, from the turn of the century.

With its rich furnishings, fabrics, sculpture, and jewels, as well as temporary exhibitions of cutting-edge design, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs may not necessarily offer food for thought as to what daily life was like for the little people, but it’s undeniably a feast for the eyes. Attention please: the museum is now closed for renovation. It will reopen its doors next Septembre 2006.