After visiting Victor Hugo's house, come and discover Balzac's house! It's a verdant setting with a view of the Eiffel Tower, hidden from view and perfect for quiet sunbathing. Freshly renovated, the house-museum of the famous writer is once again open to the public. It was here in Passy that Balzac lived for seven years and wrote La Comédie Humaine. The house, now a museum, reveals Balzac's personal life: manuscripts, everyday objects, paintings, engravings and first editions.
The program includes a tour of the three-storey building, formerly a private mansion, as well as the discovery of a confidential garden with a unique view, where a small English café, The Rose Bakery, is nestled. This is the writer's only surviving home. He lived here from 1840 to 1847, under the pseudonym of"Monsieur Breugnol", in order to escape his creditors. Honoré de Balzac was in debt at the time, and wrote every evening by candlelight in one of the five rooms of his apartment. Surprisingly, only one floor is visible from the outside; the others appear to be underground, as the terrain is sloping.
In 1908, Louis Baudier de Royaumont rented Balzac's apartment and transformed it into a museum, inaugurated in July 1910. A few years later, the pavilion was listed as a historic monument, as were the gardens. Work was scheduled for the 2000s, but was delayed and the Maison de Balzac did not reopen until 2019. The renovated building houses the author's documents, manuscripts, rare editions, paintings and unusual objects, such as his coffee pot.
One of the rooms holds the secrets of La Comédie humaine, the famous collection of his 90 works. Nearly 1,000 of the work's 6,000 characters are grouped together in engravings, and there's also a 14.50 m painting of the characters' genealogy, which he largely imagined in this house. On the courtyard side, a library is open to anyone interested in the collections.
After visiting the building, the adjoining garden is an excellent place to take a refreshing break. Out of sight, under the eye of the Eiffel Tower, almost 650 m² are available to lie in the sun, read on a bench or enjoy one of the excellent cakes offered by Rose Bakery 's English trunk shop. Perfect for a moment of relaxation and culture, leaving the hustle and bustle of the capital behind for a while.
The Maison de Balzac is a free museum, with its permanent collections open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Temporary exhibitions cost between 7 and 9 euros, with free admission for under-18s. To get to the Maison de Balzac, take metro line 6 (Passy) or line 9 (La Muette). The garden and permanent collections are accessible to people with reduced mobility.
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Location
House of Balzac
47, rue Raynouard
75116 Paris 16
Prices
Free
Official website
www.maisondebalzac.paris.fr
Booking
www.maisondebalzac.paris.fr
