Fodor's Expert Review Musée Nissim de Camondo

The story of the Camondo family is steeped in tragedy, and it's all recorded within the walls of this superb museum. Patriarch Moïse de Camondo, born in Istanbul to a successful banking family, built his showpiece mansion in 1911 in the style of the Petit Trianon at Versailles and stocked it with some of the most exquisite furniture, wainscoting, artworks, and bibelots of the mid-to-late 18th century. Despite his vast wealth and purported charm, his wife left him five years into their marriage. Then his son, Nissim, was killed in World War I. Upon Moïse's death in 1935, the house and its contents were left to the state as a museum named for his lost son. A few years after Moïse's death, daughter Béatrice, her husband, and two children were deported from France and murdered at Auschwitz. No heirs remained, and the Camondo name died out. Today, the house is an impeccable tribute to Moïse's life. Recent renovations have opened several rooms to the public, including some of the family's private apartments, the kitchen, scullery, and the servant's dining room. There's also a chic contemporary café with a lovely terrace set in the adjoining former garage.