There are museums you visit. And then there is the Gustave Moreau Museum — a place you move through as if stepping into a man’s private life. On rue de La Rochefoucauld, an 8-minute walk from the Hôtel R de Paris, this mansion in Nouvelle Athènes has remained exactly as its creator intended at his death in 1898: the apartment on the first floor, vast glazed studios above it, and a collection of nearly 25,000 works — 1,300 paintings, watercolours and cartoons, plus 5,000 drawings — organised by Moreau himself so they would remain together, in their order, atmosphere and logic.

Gustave Moreau, master of Symbolism

Gustave Moreau (1826–1898) was one of the great figures of French Symbolism — a movement that favoured allegory over realism, mythological figures over genre scenes, dreamlike atmospheres over literal representation. His large-format works devoted to Salome, Orpheus, Hesiod or Jupiter were long judged too dense and too decorative. It was André Breton and Salvador Dalí who rediscovered him and restored him to the place he deserves.

Moreau was also an exceptional teacher: among his students at the École des Beaux-Arts were Matisse, Rouault and Marquet. His studio quietly shaped a large part of 20th-century art.

The visit, level by level

The museum unfolds across four levels, each with its own atmosphere:

  • Ground floor: recently renovated, it houses the large-format works and art objects Moreau collected throughout his life. It is the most recently redesigned area, yet it still preserves the spirit of the place.
  • First floor: the intimate apartment. The living rooms display collected paintings or early works, Louis XVI furniture, family keepsakes — but also works given by his friends Théodore Chassériau, Eugène Fromentin and Edgar Degas. The atmosphere of a late-19th-century interior remains intact.
  • Second and third floors: the vast glazed studios built at the artist’s request. Monumental canvases hang one above another on pivoting panels that once allowed — and still allow — several works to be revealed at once. This is where the museum experience truly comes into its own.

At the centre of it all is the famous wrought-iron spiral staircase, as decorative as it is functional, now the museum’s most recognisable image.

How to prepare for your visit

Guided tours are included in the admission ticket, with no extra registration required. A lecturer-guide leads you through the house and the work via a selection of key pieces. Tours take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 pm, as well as on one Thursday each month at 6 pm for themed lecture-tours.

The visitor route is available free of charge at the museum reception and can also be downloaded beforehand from the official website — useful for orienting your eye before you even step inside. For a fully independent visit with audio storytelling, the izi.TRAVEL app offers geolocated guides for many Paris museums and neighbourhoods: it is free on iOS and Android and can be downloaded in advance to save data.

The bookshop specialises in Gustave Moreau, Symbolism and artists’ houses — one of the best selections in Paris on these subjects. It is open during museum hours.

One ticket, several museums

Your Gustave Moreau Museum ticket opens other doors too. Within 8 days of your visit, you receive reduced admission to the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Guimet, the self-guided visit of the Palais Garnier and the Musée de la Vie Romantique (also in the 9th arrondissement). The ticket also grants free entry, within 3 months, to the Musée Jean-Jacques Henner (17th arrondissement) — another artist’s house from the same period, far less known and well worth a detour during a longer stay.

Practical information

  • Address: 14 rue de La Rochefoucauld, 75009 Paris
  • Distance from the hotel: 0.6 km — around 8 minutes on foot
  • Opening hours: every day except Tuesday, 10 am–6 pm (closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December)
  • Prices: full price €8 — reduced price €6 — free for EU residents under 26, under-18s, Paris Muséum Pass holders, and on the first Sunday of each month (booking required on that day)
  • Guided tours: included with the ticket, Saturdays and Sundays at 3 pm — one Thursday each month at 6 pm (themed)
  • Recommended visit length: 1 to 1.5 hours
  • Luggage: no lockers on site — Radical Storage and Nannybag offer luggage storage nearby in the 9th arrondissement
  • Access: Trinité–d’Estienne d’Orves metro station (line 12) or Saint-Georges metro station (line 12)

For more museums, monuments and visits to discover from the hotel, our Paris sightseeing guide rounds up the neighbourhood’s essential spots.