Little is known or talked about, but Paris is home to 14 City museums. Art and history museums, charming museums, as well as houses of artists and writers, these hidden gems bring together exceptional collections all over the capital. Let's focus on five museums that we love to get lost in, and then come back to.
P.S.: Access to the permanent collections is free, and that's pretty cool.
Maison de Balzac
This is the very house where Balzac himself lived until 1847, under a pseudonym to escape his creditors (which is why the house has two entrances). Today, it is a house/museum where we go to enter the author's intimacy and, above all, enjoy his garden. Peaceful, away from the noise, and located in the heights of the 16th district. Pretty nice, huh?!
Musée Balzac
47, rue Raynouard - 16th arrondissement
Museum of Romantic Life
We are talking about the Romantic era here, of course, and not a place dedicated to care bears. So, amidst portraits, objects, furniture, and literature, we stroll through the century of Georges Sand and Chopin... On the ground floor, George Sand's memorabilia: portraits, furniture, and jewelry from the 18th and 19th centuries - bequeathed by her granddaughter Aurore Lauth-Sand - and on the first floor, paintings by the artist Ary Scheffer surrounded by works of his contemporaries. And not to mention the hidden gem: its adorable little cozy garden. Go there and spend a little time between noon and two, for a change. But be careful, it's closed on Mondays.
Musée de la vie romantique
16, rue Chaptal - 9th
The Zadkine Museum
"Come see my country house in Paris," you can tell your uncultured friends in front of the charming and refined Zadkine Museum. Inside, there are artworks and old wooden floors. Outside, a small hidden garden like in the countryside. A true haven of peace that would be silly to miss.
Museum Zadkine
100 bis, rue d'Assas - 6e
Maison Victor Hugo
There is no doubt that our romantic Victor Hugo led a social life on the second floor of the Hotel de Rohan-Guéméné, in Place des Vosges. In this beautiful 280 m2 apartment, he lived 16 years of his life - from 1832 to 1848. The author of Les Misérables discussed politics and poetry with his friends Lamartine, Alfred de Vigny, Alexandre Dumas, Honoré de Balzac in this majestic place... He also lived here during the early years of his marriage to Adèle Foucher, and witnessed the wedding of his beloved daughter Léopoldine. Bring Les Contemplations along when visiting.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Maison de Victor Hugo
6, place des Vosges - 4th
Maison Bourdelle
Crushing the dark is crushing the black, in the literal and figurative sense. Between ink work, graphite pencil, charcoal, the artist Bourdelle presents us here with his fierce works, sketches of witches, demons, and macabre scenes. This collection reflects the difficult years of the sculptor, condemned to create in the vault of a Bordeaux church.
The Bourdelle Museum
18, rue Antoine-Bourdelle - 15th
