Grévin museum

The Musée Grévin is a waxwork museum with some 500 characters arranged in scenes from the history of France and modern life in a setting dominated by gold and marble. The scenes at the Grévin Museum, with their sound and animation effects, are very realistic.

Histoire

The journalist Arthur Meyer was at the origin of the Grévin museum. In 1881, he asked Alfred Grévin, a draughtsman and caricaturist, to produce figures of celebrities. His idea was to show his contemporaries the personalities who made the news in three dimensions. At a time when there were no filmed or photographic reports, the "plastic newspaper" presented by Meyer and Grévin made a great impact. The press was lavish in its praise for, as the Moniteur Universel wrote : "the likeness is perfect, extraordinary".
The success came fast, and the visitors were extremely enthusiastic to discover the wax statues. Mr. Gabriel Thomas, financier, took the museum and developed it to what it is today, a conservatory of history. The original and sumptuous setting of the Grévin museum is still the same as the one designed in 1882 by the architect EugËne Emile Esnault-Pelterie. The subtle combination of Louis XIV and Venetian rococo styles harmonizes perfectly with the rosewood and marble, transforming the hall of columns and the cupola into a spectacular sight.
The great marble staircase designed by the architect Rives is another gem of interior architecture. Since more than a hundred years, the museum has immortalized leading personalities of the world and key scenes from history. Visitors can meet some of the unforgettable people of the 20th Century : Louis Armstrong, Brigitte Bardot, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Spider-man etc. Spectacular wax scenes also bring back great events of history, and especially French history, in front of you in a very realistic way : Jeanne d'Arc burning at the stake, Louis XIV and his court at Versailles or the assassination of Henri IV.
The visitors can also watch conjuring and mime acts in the museum's theatre or admire the son-et-lumiËre show at the Palais des Mirages. 
LINK : site of Grévin museum