Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

Step through the doors of the Hôtel de Guénégaud and you immediately feel something is different. The marble floors, the bronze decorations shaped like antlers and vines, the sheer quiet of it. This is the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, and it is one of Paris's best kept secrets.

Founded in 1964 by François and Jacqueline Sommer, the museum explores centuries of human connection with the natural world. But don't picture dusty taxidermy and forgotten rifles. This place is genuinely surprising.

Each room is named after an animal. The Room of the Boar. The Salon of the Dogs. One ceiling is lined entirely with owl feathers. In the Salon of the Dogs, gilded collars sit beside royal pet portraits, and a gleaming Scottie dog sculpture by Jeff Koons holds its own among them.

Old masters like Rubens and Cranach hang on the walls, not far from bold installations by contemporary artists like Jan Fabre. Ancient hunting weapons share space with stuffed animals and, yes, a talking boar.

It is a museum that refuses to take itself too seriously, and that is exactly what makes it so good. Give it an hour. You won't regret it.