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French and Italian sculpture, Greek and Roman antiquities and paintings from the 12th to 19th centuries are just some of the highlights of the world’s largest museum.

Housed in a grand Marais mansion, this museum presents Parisian decorative arts through the ages. The collection includes painting, sculpture and antique furniture, re-creating private residences of the 16th and 17th centuries. There is also a collection of mementoes from the Revolution. Classical music concerts are occasionally held here.

This museum is dedicated to Paris’s most successful and most glamorous industry – fashion. The permanent collection features clothing from the 17th century up to the haute couture designers of today, and gowns that once belonged to royalty and celebrities are on show. The history and creation of various fabrics and textiles is also well presented through themed exhibitions that change every six months.

This splendid museum dedicated to the art of the Middle Ages is known by several names, including the Musée de Cluny after the beautiful mansion in which it is housed, and the Thermes de Cluny after the Roman baths adjoining the museum. Highlights include the famous “Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries, medieval stained glass and exquisite gold crowns and jewellery.

Paris’s Natural History Museum in the Jardin des Plantes contains a fascinating collection of animal skeletons, plant fossils, minerals and gemstones. Its highlight is the magnificent Grande Galerie de l’volution, which depicts the varying interaction between man and nature during the evolution of the planet.

Head-shrinking, tattooing and mummification are some of mankind’s more unusual rituals, explored in this ethnological and anthropological museum housed in the Palais de Chaillot. The collection of artifacts dates back to 3.5 million years BC, and ranges from Africa to South America, to Asia and the Pacific (see Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle).

France’s proud military history is on display in this museum, housed in a wing of the Hôtel des Invalides. Exhibits include military art and artifacts from ancient times through to the 20th century, with a large modern exhibit devoted to World War II. Napoleon’s campaign tent, his stuffed dog, and suits of armour and weapons from medieval times are among the many highlights.

The Hôtel Donon is a fine setting for this superb collection of 18th-century art, furniture, porcelain and other decorative arts, amassed by the wealthy founders of the Samaritaine department store. Paintings by Rembrandt, Gainsborough and other masters alone are worth the visit.

The Museum of Eroticism, appropriately located between the sex shows and cabarets of Pigalle, is a fascinating look at erotic art from around the world. Paintings, carvings, drawings, sculpture and other items illustrate how different cultures portray sex as either spiritual, satirical, humorous or titillating.

Montmartre has long been home to the artists of Paris and several of them have lived in this old house, including Renoir, Dufy and Utrillo. Artifacts from the 19th century are on display, to help conjure up the era, along with posters, maps and documents on the house’s history. The garden also gives good views of the surrounding district.