Musée de la Musique

The Musée de la Musique resides in the nineteenth arrondissement of Paris, situated within the bold architectural complex of the Cité de la Musique in the Parc de la Villette. Its collection finds its earliest origins in the French Revolution, when the government confiscated instruments from emigres to form a national cabinet of musical treasures. Over time, this collection grew through prestigious private acquisitions and now features over eight thousand objects, ranging from rare seventeenth-century lutes to avant-garde electronic synthesizers. The museum occupies a purpose-built space designed to display these instruments not just as static relics, but as living participants in the history of global musical expression.