The Musée des Moulages sits inside the Faculty of Medicine in Montpellier, in the Occitania region of southern France. It is a museum of medical models: a collection of wax moulages, made to show the body and its diseases to students who needed to learn what they would later see in patients.
What you will see
The collection is built around anatomical and dermatological moulages, the lifelike wax reproductions that were once used in medical teaching. Their subject is the human body and the visible marks that illness leaves on it, presented in a way that is direct and sometimes unsettling. Visitors interested in the history of medicine will find the collection especially rewarding, because it shows how doctors were taught before photography and digital images became common.
Why it is worth a visit
- It is a museum of medical pedagogy, showing how teaching in medicine once worked.
- The collection is unusual, and few places offer the same kind of view into the history of the discipline.
- Its setting in a working faculty gives the visit a grounded, academic character.
Planning your trip
Because the museum is part of the Faculty of Medicine, it is a quieter and more focused stop than many attractions in the city. Montpellier itself offers a lively old town, a university atmosphere and a wide range of cafés and streets to explore around the visit. The Musée des Moulages suits visitors who enjoy specialist collections and who want to pair a visit to a university museum with a wider walk through the city. Check the faculty's current arrangements before you go, as access to a museum inside an institution can vary.