Reopening of the Balzac House
After a year of construction, the Balzac House reopened its doors to the public on July 23rd! A new garden, new reception, and new café return with the renovation of this intimate, niche museum in the 16th arrondissement!
With a new reception area, new café, new garden and new permanent exhibition, the renovations that began in the summer of 2018 now offer a new visiting experience, even more innovative and still more enjoyable, for plunging oneself into the universe of La Comédie humaine.
A new garden
Gifted with a view of the Eiffel tower, the house’s garden has been entirely redone. This green space that extends over 650 square meters has been replanted with three zones:
- A verdant curtain along the wall next to rue Raynouard
- A tree-lined lawn
- Trained bushes, vines, and fruit trees on the rue Berton side
The state of the garden while Balzac lived there is unknown. As such, it has been entirely rewritten to offer an agreeable moment to visitors. Native plants have been prioritized and the garden will have more flowers than ever before.
A new reception
The entrance to the museum, accessible to people with reduced mobility, will be from now on via a new building on rue Raynouard.
With its light structure, situated a few steps away from the Balzac House and conceived in the same style as the neighboring building (the Perret building), this construction integrates itself into the urban landscape and observes the area’s tranquility.
Aside from a new boutique, this new entrance also welcomes on its ground floor a new café looking out on the garden.
A new café
A coffee, a sweet treat, and some light reading thanks to the small library of Balzac’s works, with the possibility of sitting on the terrace when the weather permits: such is the experience offered by the Rose Bakery, which is situated in the Balzac House’s garden.
More than a museum and more than a place dedicated to the work of a writer, the Balzac House has become, with the installation of this café and its new garden, a safe haven where visitors are invited to lounge and come discover the Balzacian universe.
A new scenography
The museum’s permanent exhibition has been entirely reorganized alongside the construction, and the Balzac House’s former kitchen, which used to serve as the reception, is henceforth integrated into the exhibition.
The key concepts in the revisioning of the exhibit: conserving the museum’s charm while inspiring visitors to read La Comédie humaine.