The story of French-American friendship stretches back 250 years, and an ongoing exhibition at Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris invites visitors to explore how that relationship has unfolded in the French capital.
“1776–2026: 250 ans d’amitié franco-américaine” brings together a selection of works from the museum’s collections highlighting key moments in this shared history. Visitors can learn about Benjamin Franklin’s arrival in Paris in 1778, France’s role in supporting the American Revolution, and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that ended the Revolutionary War. The exhibition explores the enduring connection between Paris and Philadelphia, the first capital of the United States.
One particularly fascinating chapter traces the story of the Statue of Liberty. In 1876, as the United States celebrated its centennial, a French committee in Paris proposed offering the American people a monumental statue celebrating the friendship between the two republics. The statue’s torch was exhibited in Philadelphia in 1876, while its head was unveiled in Paris two years later.
The exhibition also looks at the renewed Franco-American alliance during World War I, when Paris was decorated with American flags following the United States’ entry into the war in 1917, and stayed flying until the war ended. Parisians and Americans alike invoked the shared hero of Lafayette, and connected over his memory.
The exhibition is on view through September 27, 2026, at Musée Carnavalet in Paris’s Marais district.
Shining a light on 250 years of French-American friendship is especially fitting at Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris. Opened in 1880, the museum was created to document the history of the capital, and its collections now span more than 600,000 objects, from prehistory to the present day. Housed across two historic private mansions in the Marais, Carnavalet brings together paintings, photographs, personal objects, archaeological finds, furniture, and other artifacts that tell the story of Paris not only through its major events and famous figures, but through the lives and experiences of the people who have shaped it and called the city home. From Benjamin Franklin to U.S. soldiers who fought for France in World War I and World War II and US philanthropists who have helped save heritage sites like Notre Dame, French-American friendship has long had a unique role in shaping the city’s history.
Musée Carnavalet is one of the 14 museums and heritage sites managed by Paris Musées, the public institution responsible for the museums of the City of Paris.
Learn more about Paris Musées, its museums, and how to support their work here.
