Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée

Hundreds of skeletons fill the ground floor of the Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy (Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée), arranged in a dense procession that all faces the same way. Whales, elephants, big cats, birds and reptiles stand bone to bone, so visitors can compare how anatomy varies across the animal world. The arrangement builds on collections associated with Georges Cuvier, a founder of comparative anatomy.

Upstairs, the paleontology gallery holds fossil vertebrates and invertebrates, including dinosaur skeletons and Ice Age mammals such as mammoths. The galleries run around an open balcony overlooking the hall below.

The building opened in 1898 as part of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. It was designed by Ferdinand Dutert and has iron-framed galleries and decorative ironwork. Its displays keep much of their nineteenth-century character, which appeals to anyone interested in the history of science as well as natural history. The gallery is compact, and a visit fits easily alongside the museum's other buildings in the garden.