In this 17th-century monastery, sculptures, ceramics and other vestiges of the Middle Ages (found during the excavation of the Saint-Denis Basilica) sit side by side with more mundane articles of the nuns daily life in a convent.

Not far away, other souvenirs: the manuscript of poet Paul Eluard, a native of Saint-Denis, a vase by Picasso, an illustrated poem by Miró are just some of the treasures exposed in the Louis XV pavilion of Carmel. Not to mention the lithographs of Honoré Daumier or the architectural drawings, ceramics and furniture by Francis Jourdain, celebrated designer from the 1930's.

For history fans, the museum houses an important collection of documents regarding the 'headquarters' of Paris in 1870 and the Paris commune in 1871. Photographs, personal objects, stamps and caricatures... sufficient to let you leave a bit more knowledgeable than when you arrived.