While we were in Paris, we used the opportunity to visit the National Air and Space Museum .
It’s been a long time since I returned there and to be honest, we loved it!
Sommaire
The National Air and Space Museum
The museum is attached to the Bourget Business Airport. Open to the public since 1975, it covers an area of 125,000 m2.
Its purpose is to preserve and present to the public the State’s collections in the field of aeronautics and space while preserving the site of Le Bourget.
The airport created in 1915 during the war is part of the history of France and has seen its share of events over time.
Even before entering the museum you can see the three Fouga Magister with the colors of the Patrouille de France.
The visit is split into two parts.
The permanent exhibition, consisting of several halls tracing the history of aviation and aerospace from their beginnings to the present day. This part is completely free and will keep you busing for a long time !
The second part, allow you to pay to participate in various activities: aircraft tours, planetarium, simulators.
We did not had time to do the activities and we will only present the permanent exhibition.
The other part may be for next time.
The Halls
To begin with, I warn you that the halls of the “beginnings of aviation” and “Aces 14-18” are currently closed to the public because of renovation.
Despite this we stayed 3 hours in the museum and without necessarily taking the time to read all the information posted.
Tara was with her cousin and had trouble staying with us 😀
The Hall of Space Exploration
The first hall of the exhibition focuses on the space exploration, if you like space, satellites and rockets you will be thrilled.
As a Sci-Fi fan, I really enjoyed this dark atmosphere and all these things related to space.
Inter-war
On this part, we return to the “basics” of aviation, propeller planes with charms!
Hall of rotating wings
Here, helicopters and original propeller gears have all their places.
Hall of French Military Aviation
If you are a fan of Top Gun, this room is for you.
Many fighter planes are present and even a completely transparent to see the inside of this machine.
Prototypes
Here are prototypes of French aircraft such as the Triton SO 6000, the Leduc 010 or the Griffon.
Hall of the Concorde
Here you have the opportunity to go underneath and see the planes very closely.
These are two models of Concorde that are visible, the F-BTSD Sierra Delta and the F-WTSS Prototype.
To visit the interior, it is via paid activities.
Hall 1939-1945
Several WWII aircraft are present in this hall.
Normandie-Niemen
This part is dedicated to the Normand – Niemen fighter regiment of the French Air Forces.
We arrived at the closing of the museum so we only flew over (:D) this part there.
Outdoor exhibit
On the outer space, it’s difficult not to raise your eyes directly to the sky in front of the replica of Ariane 5 and his ancestor Ariane 1.
These two replicas are on a scale of 1: 1 and allow you to have a preview of the size of a real rocket!
They are also visible at 25km around measuring 48 meters high for Ariane 1 and 54 meters for Ariane 5.
The A380 also attracts the eye because of its impressive size.
Several military and civilian planes are as present and no less impressive than those mentioned above.
How to go ?
The museum, attached to the airport of Bourget, is located twenty minutes away from Paris. It depends a lot on the traffic around the capital.
It is easily accessible via the A1 motorway and parking is available in front of the entrance.
The future metro line 17 will arrive in front of the museum by 2024.
For more details, you can consult the page of the museum dedicated to access.
Conclusion
To conclude, we highly recommend going there for a tour !
This suits the whole family and you will spend several hours discovering many interesting things about the aeronautics as a whole.
And in addition, the permanent exhibition is free, I regret not to have been there more often during my youth living next door!
For more information, you can take a look at their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts and the website of the museum.
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