Le Bourget Air and Space Museum
Historic Airport - Lots Of Antique Airplanes

Try to work in a visit to Le Bourget Air and Space Museum.

If you’re looking on a French map, look for...

Le Musee de l’Air et de l’Espace...

...just look for
Le Bourget Airport.

Le Bourget is the oldest airport in France and it's a pretty famous name for aviation enthusiasts, antique airplane buffs and even historians. We're talking about that world changing flight by Charles Lindbergh... remember? May 27th 1927... Spirit of St. Louis... first transatlantic flight ever landed at Le Bourget!

You can't get to the spot where Lindbergh landed, but the staff will point out the approximate spot out on the field beyond the fence.

The real reason to make time to visit this old airport is the world class Le Bourget Air and Space Museum.

There are several sections to the museum, but my favorite is the the section devoted to early experiments with flying machines and early flight with displays of some of those antique airplanes.... starting with a manikin of Santos-Dumont flying on his Demoiselle...

France played a huge roll in developing the early flying machines, and there are lots of early French inventions to see.

There are so many cool early flying machines and antique airplanes that it was hard to choose which to try and show you...

This hall is in the the Old Terminal Building. The building is really packed with old planes... a little cramped really, but it's fun to run up and down the stairs and walkways to see them from all angles. Most of the explanations are in French, but recently more have been translated into English.

There is a hall for planes developed between WWI and WWII.... Entre Duex Guerres...

Le Hall de Voilure Tournante has some great film of early flights and great exhibits including one of our favorites the la Cierva Autogiro C8-2 G-EBYY.

You can see some of "the regulars" and one pretty unusual Dewoitine D.520 (1938).

You just don't see those French planes that often... at least not where we live!

There is a hall for space flight and one displaying two Concordes.... one production model and a prototype. There are many planes and rockets out on the tarmac.

Mark was excited about some of the planes in the Hall of Prototypes and racers... a hall with racers and really early jets and ramjets in the post WW II era. That would be le Prototypes and Les Aviones de Chasse....

There is a good book shop in the lobby and a nice cafe that lets you look over the outdoor display. Admission is free, but if you want to go into the DC-3 Dakota, the Concorde or the Boeing 747, you must buy a ticket. There is also a fee for an audio guide. Le Bourget Air and Space Museum is open every day except Mondays. The hours are 9 am to 5 pm winters and it stays open until 6 from May 1st to October 31st.

We have visited when we had a connection through Charles de Gaulle Airport - CDG - where we had to stay overnight. (There is a Novotel and an Ibis Hotel at Roissy Pole.) From the Roissy Pole bus terminal, you can pay the driver and catch a bus to the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum. (Bus number 350.... the islands are marked with the line numbers. Get a map and you can follow along with the stops... they are all named on the bus stop signs.)

The bus ride from Roissy Pole cost about 7 Euros round trip last time we were there, and it took about 30 minutes. You can't miss it when you get there....

These planes are in the colors of the "Patrouille de France" -- the French national aerobatics team -- and they're right at the entrance. The bus stopped on the road outside of the parking lot the first time we went. While road repairs are underway, the bus stops inside the parking lot.

We've been told that taking the train and transferring to a bus is faster, but with jet lag and all, we've always thought it was easier to just get on the bus and look for those planes! Ask at your hotel or any tourist office for directions on how to get to Le Bourget Air and Space Museum from a downtown Paris hotel.

You can do a really quick run through in 3-4 hours, but if you have the time, you can easily spend all day. The Official Website of the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum has lots of information, but it's all in French... (Google can translate it for you...)

The French started an aeronautics museum in 1918 just after World War I... that probably qualifies it as the oldest aviation museum in the world.... The collection was moved to Le Bourget Airport in 1975.

Le Bourget still operates as a business airport, and it hosts the bi-annual Paris Air Show in odd years. Remember, the Paris Air Show is not about antique airplanes, it's an international trade fair for the aerospace business. We think the best reason to visit is to see the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum.

Find 'em, See 'em, Fly,'em! And have a great flight!
  Judy and Mark

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