The savanna caravan
The elephant-and-giraffe procession across the nave under shifting light — the world's most famous, most photographed natural history scene.
Ken and Nyetta — CC BY 2.0 · NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University) — Public domain · Benh LIEU SONG — CC BY 3.0 · Falcon® Photography from France, France — CC BY-SA 2.0
At the heart of the Jardin des Plantes stands Europe's most beautiful natural history museum: the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution, an 1889 cathedral of iron and glass restored in the 1990s into the greatest animal display ever staged — a caravan of elephants, giraffes and rhinos crossing the nave in an eternal procession beneath a glass roof whose lighting shifts from savanna dawn to storm. The floors climb through the worlds of life: ocean depths with whales suspended in blue darkness, the famous ground-floor savanna, and the moving hall of extinct and endangered species, where the dodo and its lost companions stand behind dimmed glass. For families this is Paris's first stop, no contest — and around it spread the Jardin des Plantes's other kingdoms: the fossil halls with their dinosaur skeletons, the great tropical greenhouses, and one of the world's oldest zoos. A complete family day in one green kilometre.
The elephant-and-giraffe procession across the nave under shifting light — the world's most famous, most photographed natural history scene.
The dodo, the thylacine, the passenger pigeon behind dimmed glass — the quietest, most affecting room in Paris.
Around the gallery: dinosaur skeletons, tropical greenhouses, and the zoo of 1794 — an entire natural-science city in one garden.
Jardin des Plantes, 75005 Paris
Muséum national d'histoire naturelleThe National Museum of Natural History is not one building but a whole kingdom: 1 minute walk4.4
Arènes de LutèceBehind an ordinary doorway on Rue Monge hides Paris's oldest monument: the first5 minutes walk4.4
The PanthéonOn the summit of the Latin Quarter's Sainte-Geneviève hill stands the Panthéon's11 minutes walk4.5
Square Henri Galli — Stones of the BastilleA small garden on Boulevard Henri IV near the river, holding what may be the mos14 minutes walk3.8
Square René VivianiA small garden on the Left Bank directly opposite Notre-Dame, holding the oldest16 minutes walk4.4Looking for halal food near Grand Gallery of Evolution? There are several options nearby, from Moroccan and Indian kitchens to quick casual spots and places with a view. Confirm the halal status and opening hours before you go — these can change.
The Grande Galerie enchants everyone from three up; the fossil hall shines from six (giant skeletons!); the zoo suits the very young. Rule: two venues a day, maximum.
Absolutely — the architectural restoration alone justifies it, the scenography ranks with museums' finest, and the extinct-species hall is a contemplative experience with no age attached.
