Musée des Arts Décoratifs

We're making a brief stop here, but this one is worth your attention.

The building in front of you is the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, tucked into the north wing of the Louvre. It's one of those places that looks like it belongs to the grand palace next door, and in a way, it does. Over 150,000 objects are inside, ranging from medieval furniture and ceramics to jewelry, paintings, and goldwork, all arranged chronologically room by room. Walking through it feels like flipping through the pages of European history, except the pages are made of silk and silver.

Under the same roof you'll also find a Fashion and Textile Museum and an Advertising Museum. Three museums in one building. Not bad.

But here's the detail that tends to stop people in their tracks. The term "Art Deco" itself was coined here. In 1966, a curator at this museum used the phrase during an exhibition about the bold, geometric style of the 1920s. The name stuck, and now it's used worldwide.