Saint-Martin-des-Champs Priory

The Saint-Martin-des-Champs Priory holds a stone spire that pierces the sky above the Third Arrondissement. This former monastic complex houses the Musée des Arts et Métiers, but its origins trace back to an eleventh-century church built on a Roman road. King Henry the First established the priory, and for centuries, monks lived and prayed behind these thick walls. When the French Revolution arrived, the monks left, and the site became a repository for the nation's industrial inventions, tools, and mechanical marvels.