Paris Sewer Museum

The Sewer Museum in Paris offers visitors the chance to discover ‘the city below the city’. Tours have been offered since the mid-19^th century of the sewers of the French capital. Parisian sanitation has evolved from the Roman era and the Middle Ages up to modern day, above all through the ambitious engineering designs of Eugène Belgrand in the 19th century to provide clean water and remove sewage. An exhibition sets out the main phases of development and introduces technical, social, epidemiological and environmental issues, including the lives of the sewer workers. From the modern entrance building on the surface, guides take visitors into underground galleries and tell them about the water cycle. Models and tools are used to show work in the sewers. The artefacts on display include a cart for clearing obstructions, a pump for raising the water level and a sluice boat. Facilities in the museum include an auditorium and a shop.