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FOOD AND DRINK

Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

The Musée Vivant du Fromage is due to open its doors in early June, promising a unique immersive and interactive journey into France’s ‘culinary and terroir heritage’.

Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum
(Photo by BERTRAND GUAY / AFP)

Paris will soon be home to a cheese museum.

The venue, on Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, in the fourth arrondissement, will open to visitors on June 3rd, sending – no doubt – clouds of cheesy odours wafting daily down the street.

It will be at the same location as the former restaurant ‘Nos Ancêtres Les Gaulois’ (Our ancestors the Gauls), with the objective of becoming “an essential meeting place” for cheese lovers, as well as both novices and professionals within the industry.

Here are a few things to know about the new cheese museum;

It will be interactive

Fans of camembert, chèvre, brie, morbier, Roquefort and brebis, assemble! The museum promises an educational and fully interactive tour of France’s historic cheese heritage, including the science and varied tradition of cheese-making.

The first portion will give an overview of the ‘culture’ of cheese. Then, you will learn about its history, as well as how it is made and finish off with a tasting (dégustation).

READ MORE: Best Briehaviour: Your guide to French cheese etiquette

There’s a dairy and creamery

Part of the tour features a fully functional dairy, where visitors can witness cheese being produced before their very eyes. 

There are two goals for this part of the museum – to help people discover the different regions of France and their iconic cheeses, as well as to encourage young people  to consider careers in the farming and dairy industry, which is enduring something of a recruitment crisis in France.

You will also be able to purchase cheese and souvenirs at the museum’s boutique.

It can host private events

The museum can be booked for private catered events for up to 150 people in the evenings, from 7pm, with or without the services of a cheese expert, who can guide guests through tastings and demonstrations. 

READ ALSO 7 tips for buying French cheese

Tickets are advertised at €20 for adults and €10 for children. For more information and to book a visit, log on to website of the Musée Vivant du fromage. Blessed are the cheese makers!

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CULTURE

Mona Lisa could get a room of her own at Paris Louvre gallery

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the world's most famous portrait, could get a room of its own in the Louvre, the museum's president said on Saturday.

Mona Lisa could get a room of her own at Paris Louvre gallery

Such a move would give visitors, many of whom visit the Louvre for the iconic painting alone, a better experience, Laurence des Cars told the France Inter broadcaster.

“It’s always frustrating when you don’t give visitors the best possible reception, and that is the case for the Mona Lisa,” she said. “A better solution seems necessary to me today,” she said, adding that the Louvre was in contact with the culture ministry about potential solutions.

The Louvre, the world’s most popular museum, welcomed close to nine million visitors in 2023.

Des Cars said 80 percent of them — 20,000 people per day — braved the crowd to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile, often taking selfies in front of the painting.

The Mona Lisa currently hangs in the Louvre’s Salle des Etats (State Room), the museum’s biggest, in a protective glass case, but Da Vinci’s masterwork is not alone there.

It is accompanied by works by 16th-century Venetian masters, and across the room hangs the Louvre’s biggest painting, The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese.

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