The Musée des Transports Urbains, a dive into the history of our transport system in Chelles (77).

What were the first metro trains like? What did public transport look like 150 years ago? Immerse yourself in the history of urban transport at the dedicated museum in Chelles (77). Are you ready?

Step back in time and discover what means of locomotion were popular a few centuries ago: welcome to the Musée des Transports Urbains de France, in Chelles, in the Seine-et-Marne département.

In all, the museum's collections include no fewer than 133 vehicles, 70 of which are open to the public. And that's not all: the Musée des Transports Urbains also boasts a network of model streetcars and scale models... From omnibuses to horse-drawn streetcars, coaches, mechanical streetcars and the first carriages of the Paris metro, the museum takes you on a journey of discovery through the history of streetcars, buses and vehicles in recent centuries.

Since 1957, the Association pour le Musée des Transports Urbains (AMTUIR) has brought together a number of transport enthusiasts to preserve and promote France's urban transport heritage. First opened in Malakoff (92), from 1964 to 1998, then in Saint-Mandé (94), the museum is run entirely by volunteers. In 1998, the temporary museum in Saint-Mandé closed. Since 2008, plans have been afoot to dedicate a permanent venue to urban transport: it wasn't until 2017 that the latter opened in Chelles (77).

The tour begins with horse-drawn transport, which marks the origins of public transport. " Public transport appeared when people needed to get around town by means other than foot," explains Michel Koumany, the association's secretary. Then came buses, the first streetcars or cabs... All the way to more modern vehicles.

Here, volunteers also restore rolling stock, including streetcars, buses and metro trains from Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Paris and the surrounding region, Marseille, Bordeaux, Dijon, La Haye... Parisian buses also feature prominently, with a special area dedicated to them. A souvenir store is also open on site.

The museum is open every first and third Saturday of the month from March to October. Admission is €7 full price (free on Heritage Days), €3 for children aged 4 to 12, and free for children under 4.

To get you to the museum - and get your immersion off to a flying start - shuttle buses run between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., and between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on opening days. Climb aboard a historic bus, to link the Chelles train station to the museum in just a few minutes! From Paris, to get to Chelles station, take the RER E towards Chelles (stop Chelles-Gournay) or line P of the Transilien (all directions from Paris Est, stop Chelles-Gournay). Enjoy your visit!

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.