The Paris—Le Bourget Air and Space Museum: An Embarrassment of Riches

Abstract

France is often considered the cradle of air conquest, beginning with the hot‐air balloons of the Montgolfier brothers in the eighteenth century. It is only natural that the doyen of all air and space museums be located there, on the site of a historic airport on the outskirts of Paris. General Jean‐Paul Siffre, director of the Paris‐Le Bourget Air and Space Museum, describes the size, scope and the sheer variety of its collections, which have made it one of the best museums of its kind in the world.