Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

The Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature in the Marais is one of the most idiosyncratic museums in Paris: a hunting and nature museum housed in two linked seventeenth-century mansions, the Hotel Guenegaud by Francois Mansart and the Hotel de Mongelas. The foundation was set up in 1964 by Francois and Jacqueline Sommer and the museum opened in 1967. Taxidermied animals, antique firearms, Flemish still lifes and contemporary works by Jeff Koons or Sophie Calle share the rooms. One chamber is dedicated only to wild boar, another only to dogs. The display deliberately mixes eras and styles and has made the house a favourite of designers. Queues are mercifully short.