Musée des Arts et Métiers

This museum of industrial design and technology preserves one of the oldest scientific-instrument collections in the world, founded during the French Revolution to teach the mechanical arts. Its galleries display early flying machines, precision clocks, steam engines, calculators and communication devices across a former priory. A highlight is the deconsecrated church of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, where Foucault's pendulum swings beneath the vaults and Blériot's aeroplane hangs overhead.