An hour away from Paris, and a stone’s throw from the medieval town of Provins, the Living History Museum recounts the life of the French in all regions between 1800 and 1950. The 38,000-square-foot museum is quite large, with its 103 life-size scenes and an exceptional popular art collection with 70,000 pieces. In 2024, the museum added two miniature scenes: Provencal Nativity with santons and the little electric train of our childhood.
It is the result of the combined work of Jérôme and Viviane de Witt, who created an endowment in order to ensure its longevity. In 2023, the museum was labelled Patrimoine d’intérêt régional and became one of the most remarkable and representative sites of the Île-de-France region.
In December 2025, a 104th scene will be added: a small yet grand popular bazaar, lively, colourful and bustling — just like those once found in village squares.
The museum has been a place of inspiration and transmission since its creation in 2017 and reflects our contemporaries’ permanent desire to dive into past life.
The Living History Museum
Agenda
NEW 2025
New Scene !
The Little Electric Train
NEW 2025
New Scene !
The Museum Holds Its Bazaar !
20 DECEMBER 2025
Activity
Christmas at the Museum
NEW 2025
New Scene !
The Museum's Nativity Scene
FEBRUARY / APRIL 2026
Exhibition
Children, Water and the Museum
04 APRIL 2026
Activities
"Easter egges" decoration workshop
APRIL / JUNE 2026
Exhibition
Orphan Windows - Photography
JULY / SEPTEMBER 2026
Show & Exhibition
Wedding Dresses 1900 - 1950
20/21 JUNE 2026
Great Flea market
31 OCTOBER 2026
Activity
Halloween at the Museum
31 OCTOBER 2026
Festive Evening
Wizard's and Witches' Ball
New Audioguides for Everyone!
The Museum Gets Equipped ! New, more modern and intuitive audioguides are arriving at The Living History Museum.
A new step forward to better meet cultural mediation needs and offer every visitor an ever more vivid immersion into life in days gone by!
NEW SCENE 2025 ! The Museum Holds Its Bazaar !
On Friday, 5 December 2025, the Living History Museum unveils a brand-new immersive scene: a lively, colorful, and bustling village bazaar, just like those once found in town squares.
Hardware, fabrics, utensils, wicker baskets, merchants’ cries, and all the little everyday essentials…
This 104th life-size scene brings to life the charm and energy of a popular early 20th-century bazaar.
February / April 2026 Children, Water and the Museum
From February to April, children follow a brand-new trail through the museum to explore how, from 1800 to today, water has always been a resource to protect.
A joyful, hands-on learning experience, perfectly sized for children!
April/May 2026 “Easter eggs” decoration workshop
From 4 April to 2 May 2026, from 10am to 6pm, a large “Easter egg hunt” is organized for children at the Living History Museum… from 2pm to 5pm, an “Easter Egg” decorating workshop for children will take place in the Museum’s atrium.
Booking essential – ages 6 and up
April / June 2026 Orphan Windows – Photography
From Friday 17 April to Sunday 28 June 2026, the museum hosts the evocative photographs of Franck Delautre: forgotten shop windows, silent witnesses of the towns and villages of our childhood.
Opening night and inaugural talk with the artist on Friday 17 April at 6 p.m.
NEW FOR 2026 ! Wedding Dresses 1900-1950
From 7 July to 30 August 2026, the Museum will be celebrating brides from 1900 to 1950. This exhibition will unveil a collection of carefully preserved wedding dresses. They tell the story of fashions, families, eras… and dreams.
Fashion show under the Museum’s Eiffel Tower on Sunday 31 May 2026 at 5pm.
20/21 June 2026 Great Flea market
Join us for the Grand Flea Market at the Museum, on Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21, 2026, from 9 AM to 6 PM, on the museum’s forecourt. Caroline Margeridon and her friends, renowned buyers from the popular French TV show Affaire Conclue on France 2, will be present!
October 2026 Halloween special
From 17 to 31 October 2026, The Living History Museum invites children to become real little wizards for a magical afternoon. On the program: potion-making, tarot cards, and enchanted wands!
Booking essential – ages 6 and up
31 October 2026 Wizards’ and Witches’ Ball
On 31 October 2026, the museum’s restaurant will turn into an enchanted hideaway to welcome young and old wizards for a wild masked ball and a mysterious dinner…
Halloween at the museum has become a tradition in its own right. Once again, the restaurant will be transformed for an extraordinary evening filled with laughter, magic and mystery. Carved pumpkins, steaming cauldrons, enchanted tables…
On Halloween night, the museum’s restaurant invites wizards, witches and strange creatures to a magical, festive ball. Costume required!
December 2026 Christmas at the Museum
From 19 December 2026 to Saturday 2 January 2027, The Living History Museum invites young and old to discover the art of writing from days gone by. With a quill and inkwell, children can write their letter to Santa Claus and create beautiful greeting cards to offer their loved ones.
Booking essential – ages 6 and up
NEW SCENE 2025 ! The little electric train
In 2025, the Living History Museum unveiled a stunning new setting that will make you dream: the little electric train of our childhood. Dive into a sweet feeling of nostalgia, and let yourself be taken away into the magic of this model, conceived by the founder of the museum, Count Jérôme de Witt, and his accomplice Francis Mathé. Travel back in time and experience the wonders of this magical journey !
NEW SCENE 2025 ! The Museum’s Nativity Scene
From 2025, come and discover an authentic nativity scene featuring a wealth of Provençal santons.
An ancestral craft in the service of a superb display!
Wonder guaranteed for young and old alike!
Visit
Tour of the 105 scenes of life in the past
Take a few hours to forget about the modern world, and get ready to travel back in time and discover the daily life, obscure beliefs, trades and skills of the past in this remarkable place.
Ticket information
The History of Living Museum
Book your tickets online to visit the History of Living Museum and its huge collection of 70,000 objects, staged in 103 life-size scenes. In 2024, the museum added two miniature scenes : Provencal Nativity with santons and the little electric train of our childhood. Share our activities with your family. Discover our temporary exhibitions, and let us surprise you with our events.
Museum Workshops
Children have fun discovering life in the past!
During school breaks, try our school’s dictation. Take your family to spot the odd one out in 20 historical scenes of the museum, where objects of today have been placed inappropriately.
Presentation
The birth of the History of Living Museum
This unique young museum was created in 2017 by Viviane and Jérôme De Witt, and is situated in Seine-et-Marne, about 130 miles south-west of Paris. In addition to being brand new, this museum is highly ambitious – introducing young and old to the life of our ancestors in France from 1800 to 1850.
Café restaurant
Welcome to Chez Grand’Mère
Take a moment to rest at the Museum café, which is also the local bar of les Ormes-sur-Voulzie. You can even have a delicious meal at the restaurant Chez Grand’Mère, where two chefs oversee the kitchen with passion and dedication. They offer a delicious traditional cuisine in a warm and homey atmosphere, with a breathtaking view of an extraordinary 60-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower, otherwise indistinguishable from its “big sister”.
Unique
The Museum Eiffel Tower, an attraction for the young & old
Truly an attraction for all, the realistically recreated Eiffel Tower was built by Jean-Paul Caudoux, a remarkable personality! He built this masterpiece in 1989 for the Parisian monument’s 100th anniversary, and as an homage to “the big sister.” It lights up on Friday and Saturday evenings, for your greatest pleasure.
Privatisation
Plan your event in the Eiffel Tower Room
You wish to organise a special event in our restaurant? This large reception room is full of light and offers an exceptional view of the 60-foot Eiffel Tower. It also has access to the terrace outside. The room can accommodate about 100 guests. It is equipped with a projector and a large screen and can welcome business events.
Shop
For a souvenir
or a last minute gift
Extend your experience and take a piece of the museum home with you at the History of Living Museum’s shop, where you will discover a unique selection of gifts and souvenirs.
Embroidery hoop offered by Groupe Prieur, Patron of the museum.
Patronage
Support us
The Living History Museum works thanks to endowment funds. Join the circle of patrons and benefactors. Support our exhibitions with a financial contribution or enrich our collection with an object donation. Financial donations allow you to benefit from a tax deduction up to 66% of the donated amount. Object donations will become part of the exhibition after being accepted by the committee of the Living History Museum. You wish to support the Living History Museum with a donation or have questions? Please contact us! To learn more about patronage culture.gouv.fr/Thematiques/mecenat
Video conference
Tourism professionals
If you are tourism professional, and want to take your clients to the Living History Museum, take a look at our exclusive promotional video conceived for professionals. Feel free to present the video to your clients and organise a visit or an event at our museum. Contact us by email museevieautrefois@orange.fr
We will be happy to send it to you.
Publication
Press file
Learn more about he genesis of the museum, its birth, all of the 103 life-size scenes, and two miniature scenes : Provencal Nativity with santons and the little electric train of our childhood, and all the practical information you need.
Schools
Why take your students?
To discover the daily lives of their ancestors, the recreated places where they used to live, the forgotten skills, the ancient trades, fairground arts and much more. With children the museum takes on its full meaning.
Testimonies
"The most lively museum!
One word – LOVE! If you don’t go and visit it and have lunch in their excellent family restaurant then you will never see what I call a REAL MUSEUM! On your own or for a family trip you will never forget"
Caroline Margeridon
"Take your children!
A museum filled with a vast collection of objects that retrace 150 years of history from 1800 to 1950. A pleasant welcome and more than 100 spaces to wander. An audio-guide and a game complement the visit and provide a captivating experience for young and old."
"A beautiful discovery!
A museum that takes us back in time for two hours! The collection of ancient objects is impressive and a game for the whole family takes us through a search for anachronistic objects all along the visit."
Corinne Boichot
Partnerships
