Of the former Royal Arsenal of Paris, the Hôtel du Grand Maître de l’Artillerie de France is the only building to have survived the passage of time. Today, it houses the splendid Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, one of the flagship sites of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, located in the Bastille district. Transformed into a public library in 1797, the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal offers access to over a million documents: books, journals, manuscripts, prints, maps and plans, music… Rich in its literary heritage, it now has a particular focus on literature and history.

This tour will be followed by a stroll through the exhibition ‘La Poudre et l'encre’ (Gunpowder and Ink), dedicated to the relationship between books and violence, curated jointly by the historian Patrick Boucheron and the curators of the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal.

BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L’ARSENAL
1 Rue de Sully, 75004 Paris