Pavillon de l'Arsenal

The setting is a fantastic 1880s gallery with an iron frame and glass roof; the subject is the built history of Paris; the result is disappointing. The ground floor houses a permanent exhibition on the city's development, but space and funds are lacking to the extent that exhibits are limited to a few storyboards, maps and photos, and three city models set into the floor (done far more impressively at the Musée d'Orsay). That said, things have picked up somewhat thanks to the installation of a monstrous new simulation of Paris as it may look in 2020 (financed by Google and JCDecaux), while recent temporary exhibitions on such intriguing topics as the Boulevard Périphérique have proved more diverting than the permanent collection.