Air and Space Museum in Paris - Le Bourget

Do you want to make the most of your holidays to visit Paris most beautiful museums? The Air and Space Museum is the biggest aeronautic museum in Europe and recounts one of the most wonderful human adventures of the 20th century: the conquest of the sky and infinite space.

Guided visit of the Air and Space Museum

This extraordinary place, being the first ever museum of its kind in the world as it opened in 1919, has exceptional permanent collections. A total of 12 theme-based spaces recount the whole history of aviation.

The main gallery

The main gallery focuses on the beginning of the conquest of the sky by humanity, with 4 big spaces:

1. Begginings of aviation: this extraordinary place displays the first flying machines that allowed people to leave the ground, as well as some aircraft from the First World War, when aviation became a weapon.
2. The Aces of World War I: this permanent exhibition is dedicated to the aces of World War I. Original pieces allow us to understand better the daily life of those pilots who risked their lives in machines made of hessian and wood.
3. Models room: a thousand scale models of aircrafts, hot-air balloons or helicopters are displayed. The oldest original scale model displayed in this room dates back to 1868, it is the helicopter "Ponton d'Amécourt".
4. Air balloons room: those aerostats were the first machines to defy gravity. It is only normal that they have a room dedicated to them in the Air and Space Museum Paris.

On the tarmac

In an airport, the tarmac refers to the areas where planes circulate and park. Thanks to this space, the museum can display its greatest life-size pieces, planes and even rocket mock-ups.

1. World War II Hall: there you will find some planes that flew during World War II. For instance, you will see a beautiful Dakota.
2. Concorde Hall: here you will see the plane French and European aeronautics are so proud of, the only supersonic airliner that became a true myth, the Concorde.

Halls 7 to 12

In these halls are some of the museum’s greatest treasures.

1. French prototypes: aviation never stops innovating to push back the sky’s limits. The Air and Space Museum displays planes that remained prototypes such as the SO 6000 Triton, the first French jet aircraft.
2. French military aviation: if you like fighter planes, this will be your favorite room. There you will admire many fighter planes from the French air force, the oldest ones dating back to the 50s.
3. Helicopters and others rotary wings: this room is dedicated to the helicopter, a very manoeuverable aircraft that takes off vertically and is capable of hovering.
4. LInterwar aircraft: there are displayed the planes with which aviation began taking off. You will admire mythical pieces such as the Breguet XIX TF Super Bidon Point d’Interrogation that crossed the North Atlantic in 1930.
5. Space exploration: here you will find some treasures commemorating the conquest of the furthest skies. From V2 rockets to Ariane 5, from Sputnik to Voyager, it is a world of adventure opening to you.

Air and Space Museum: practical information

You can visit the Air and Space Museum with the Paris Museum Pass, which gives you access to many tourist attractions and museums in Paris and its periphery.

Opening days and hours

The museum is opened all year long, from Tuesday to Sunday. The museum closes on Mondays and on December 25th an January 1st.

Opening hours change according to the season: 

• From October 1 to March 30 : 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• From March 31 to September 30: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Peak periods

Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday are the most crowded days. You should also avoid going during the school holidays of zone C: many Parisians like to go to the French Air and Space Museum.

Ideally, the best days to go are on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday outside school holidays.

Address and getting there

The museum is in a part of the Paris – Le Bourget Airport, located in the North-West of Paris.

Address: 3, esplanade de l’Air et de l’Espace BP 173 – 93352 Le Bourget CEDEX

You can get there by car via highway A1.