Musée National de l'Automobile

The museum usually called the Cité de l'Automobile, or the Musée National de l'Automobile, in Mulhouse is built around one of the most extraordinary private collections ever assembled, and the story of how it came to light is almost as interesting as the cars. The collection was the work of two Italian-born brothers, Hans and Fritz Schlumpf, textile industrialists who owned a large wool-spinning business in Mulhouse. Over many years, they secretly bought hundreds of vintage cars, with a special passion for the Bugatti marque, which was made in nearby Molsheim, and they stored them in a disused factory building, the Malvaux mill, without telling the public. In 1977, when their business failed and the workers occupied the factory during a strike, they discovered the hidden collection of several hundred cars, lined up under chandeliers and lamp posts on polished floors, and the French state took it over and opened it as a national museum in the early 1980s.

The collection now includes more than four hundred vehicles, from the earliest steam-driven carriages and the first petrol cars of the late nineteenth century to racing cars and luxury models of the twentieth, and it is among the largest of its kind in the world. Bugatti is the highlight, with a huge number of models, including two of the extremely rare Bugatti Royale, the immense limousine of the 1920s and 1930s, designed to be the most luxurious car ever built. There are also Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Ferrari, Peugeot, Renault and many other brands, so a visitor can follow the evolution of design, engineering and style over a hundred years. The hall is arranged with a certain theatrical flourish, with cars laid out in lines along avenues with street lights, and the effect is more like a grand garage than a museum.

The museum also includes motorcycles, bicycles and other vehicles, and it organises temporary exhibitions on themes such as racing and design. A museum shop is open during opening hours. A visit takes at least two hours, and enthusiasts could stay all day. Children usually enjoy the sight of so many old cars, and the museum is suitable for families.

Mulhouse has other museums with an industrial theme. The Musée de l'Impression sur Étoffes tells the story of printed cotton, the Musée du Jouet is a toy museum, and the city's centre has the Grand Rue, the Maison Pfister, the Église Saint-Étienne and the Place de la Comédie. The Jardin Botanique is a pleasant green space.

The museum suits car enthusiasts, families and history lovers. Check opening hours and ticket prices on the official website, and consider buying tickets in advance.