After visiting Victor's Hugo House, come and discover Balzac's house! The place is home to a genuine green setting with views on the Eiffel Tower, hidden from preying looks, perfect to enjoy the sun in a quiet venue. Recently renovated, the house of the famous writer is open again. It is here, in Passy, that Balzac lived for seven years and wrote “La Comédie Humaine” [The human Comedy]. This house, now transformed into a museum, will tell us all about Balzac’s life: manuscripts, daily items, paintings, engravings, original prints.

On the menu, visit the three floors of the house, former hotel particulier, and enjoy the confidential garden with unique views hidding a small English café, The Rose Bakery. This is the only house that belonged to the writer that is still up. He lives there from 1840 to 1847, under the name of "Monsieur Breugnol" to flee from his creditors. Honoré de Balzac was in debt at this time and wrote every night, to the light of candles in one of the five rooms of his apartment. Fun fact, from the outside, you can only see one floor, the others being underground as the house was built on a slope.

In 1908, Louis Baudier de Royaumont rents Balzac's apartment and turns it into a museum, inaugurated in July 1910. The house was then listed as historic monument, so were the gardens a couple of years later. Renovations were to be conducted in the 2000's, but delayed and Balzac's House only reopened in 2019. The renovated building displays documents from the writer, his manuscripts, rare copies, paintings, as well as uncommon items like his coffee maker.

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Balzac's House is a free museum, whether you come for the permanent or temporary collections. One of the rooms holds the secrets to La Comédie Humaine, the famous gathering of the 90 books. About 1,000 characters out of the 6,000 characters from the work are gathered as engravings, and it also features a 14.50-m painting creating the genealoggy of characters he mostly imagined in his home.

After visiting the venue, the garden is the perfect place to have a refreshing break. Safe from preying looks, under the eye of the Eiffel Tower, about 650sqm are available to lay in the sun, read on a bench, or enjoy one of the delicious cakes served in the Rose Garden English coffee shop. Ideal to have a fabulous time mixing relaxation and culture, and forget about the city's hustle and bustle for a little while.

Rose Bakery at the Balzac’s House, the café-tearoom in a bucolic garden
A confidential coffee shop nestled in the hidden and lush garden of the Maison de Balzac sounds very appealing. With a 100% organic and homemade menu, its bright setting opened onto the relaxing garden and views on the Eiffel Tower, it is hard not to be delighted. [Read more]