“Paris shaped Napoleon as much as Napoleon transformed Paris: during the Revolution Napoleon realised that public opinion could be manipulated and that power was to be seized in the capital.”

The excellent (though often crowded, this is a small museum beloved by Parisians) Musée Carnavalet dedicated to the history of Paris hosts this exhibition that “explores the complex relationship between a remarkable man and one of the world’s most beautiful cities” to coincide with the two hundredth anniversary of Napoleon’s defeat* at Waterloo.

The museum and its permanent exhibition tracing the history of Paris are covered in Blue Guide Paris, for opening times, ticket prices (including online purchase) see the museum’s own website.

(* – or was it really a defeat? Surely a defeat that “shines with the aura of victory“?)