Skip to main content

Museum about the French mail – Le Musée de La Poste



Far from the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame, is one of Paris’s most surprisingly engaging museums: Le Musée de La Poste – a museum about the French mail.

 

France’s postal history started in the 15th century with Louis XI (1423-1483) – “Louis the Prudent” – establishing a royal postal service for official use. By the 19th century, the postal service became a vital connection across France’s countryside and colonies. What began as a state-controlled service of kings evolved into a government service for ordinary people.

 

France’s first public postal service was founded in 1576 – 449 years ago. The famous yellow La Poste mail vans and mopeds are now iconic symbols of French daily life. The symbol for La Poste is the horn, or bugle, which is the historic symbol of the post rider—hence the classic logo of La Poste.

 

The museum was originally opened in 1946 and completely renovated and reimagined in 2019. It is dedicated to chronicling the quirky and astonishing history of postal communication in France, from animals to airmail and all things in between and beyond – from horseback couriers and pigeon post to telegraphs and digital messaging.

 

The museum in Montparnasse in the 14th arrondissement has three floors, telling the story of three journeys: mail in motion, the human connection, and the world of stamps. There is also agift shop with stamp-themed items and retro stationery.

 

Visitors start on the top floor, on the 4th floor accessed by an elevator, and work their way down to the ground floor. 

 

Floor 4 has the mail in motion exhibits called The Conquest of the Territory – Everywhere and Ever Faster. It shows the evolution of delivery: horse-drawn mail coaches, pigeons, uniformed couriers, post boxes, and even a deconstructed mail plane wing suspended from the ceiling.Some pigeons were awarded official medals for their service in wartime communication.

 

Floor 3 has the human connection exhibits called Women, Men, and Professions – Ever Closer. The focus is on the people behind the post – the mail rooms and sorting machines, the letter writers, and those who waited for the post. There is a Braille typewriter and materials for visually impaired letter writers, and hand-written letters from soldiers, artists, and citizens across time. There is also a wall of anonymous love letters — short, emotional notes – andconfessions.

 

Floor 2 has the world of stamps exhibits called The Post, Art, and the Stamp – Philately and Postal Art. Even if philately isn’t your thing, this floor is filled with miniature art with rare and beautiful French stamps, some dating over a century, reflecting history, politics, and the French identity. There are many creative art installations that reinterpret envelopes, mailboxes, and the human connection.

 

Floor 1 is the gift store; the ground floor is the entrance; and the basement has the bathrooms. 

 

This museum is not about French royalty or military battles, or the French revolution. It is about the ordinary and extraordinary world of the effort and evolution of mail delivery. It’s fascinating!
























 




MARTINA NICOLLS

MartinaNicollsWebsite  I  Rainy Day Healing  I  Martinasblogs  I  Publications  I  Facebook  I  Paris Website  I  Paris blogs  I  Animal Website  I  Flower Website I Global Gentlemanliness

SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES 


MARTINA NICOLLS is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, and foreign aid audits and evaluations. She lives in Paris. Her latest books are: If Paris Were My Lover (2025) and Innovations within Constraints Handbook (2025).




 






















 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...
Post a Comment
Read more