Eight minutes on foot from the Hôtel R de Paris, a bourgeois house in the Nouvelle Athènes district preserves intact the atmosphere of a nineteenth-century painter's studio. The Gustave Moreau National Museum, at 14 rue de La Rochefoucauld in the 9th arrondissement, is one of those places the major tourist circuits overlook, and that is precisely what makes it valuable: here you visit the artist's apartment and stacked studios, where he lived and worked.

This guide brings together everything you need to plan your visit: what you'll see, opening hours, prices, how tickets work and how to get there from the neighbourhood.

Gustave Moreau, a symbolist at home

Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), a major figure of Symbolism, left the French State his house and the entirety of his work as it stood in his studio. The museum thus holds more than 1,200 paintings and cartoons and nearly 5,000 drawings and watercolours, displayed in their original setting. Nothing here has the coldness of a conventional hang: canvases rise all the way to the ceiling, furniture and sketches remain in place, and visitors move through the intimacy of an artist's world rather than a gallery.

In summer 2026, no temporary exhibition is scheduled (the show marking the bicentenary of the painter's birth closed in spring), pending any update to the programme. Two regular events continue, however: a sung tour running until 20 November 2026 and a guided tour in English until 14 December 2026.

The visit, from the apartment to the studios

The heart of the visit is on the second and third floors, in the painter's vast studios linked by a spectacular wrought-iron spiral staircase, the signature feature of the place. Here you'll find large, often unfinished mythological compositions and entire walls of drawings mounted on rotating panels. Depending on visitor numbers, the private apartment on the first floor may also be open, though this is not guaranteed.

The hush of the place, rare in Paris, is part of the experience.

Hours, prices and tickets: what to know

Opening hours and closing days

The museum is open every day except Tuesdays, from 10am to 6pm (rooms close at 5:45pm). It is closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. The official website notes that exceptional closures remain possible in the event of a strike notice: it's worth checking on the day if in doubt.

Prices and tickets

Full price is €8 for the standard entry ticket. The guided tour is not included in this price: it requires a specific €10 ticket. The reduced rate is €6, and entry is free for EU/EEA nationals under 26, as well as for several other categories (jobseekers, recipients of means-tested benefits, people with disabilities and their companion, among others). Entry is also free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month, a day when booking online is strongly advised.

Good to know: the ticket remains valid for 72 hours, also granting entry to the Jean-Jacques Henner Museum, another Parisian studio-house. This arrangement may change, so it's worth confirming at the time of purchase.

Booking

Outside the first Sunday of the month, buying on site is generally enough, as the place remains lightly visited. To plan ahead, the official ticket office lets you buy your ticket online.

Getting there from the 9th arrondissement

The museum is about an eight-minute walk from the Hôtel R de Paris (41 rue de Clichy): simply head down rue de Clichy and continue toward the Trinité area, no metro needed. By public transport, the nearest stations are Trinité-d'Estienne d'Orves and Saint-Georges (line 12) or Pigalle (lines 2 and 12); buses 21, 26, 40, 43, 68 and 74 also serve the neighbourhood. For a heavy-laden return trip or rainy weather, our recommended taxi apps can help.

One thing to note: the museum is not wheelchair accessible (stairs only, no lift), and strollers must be left at the front desk.

The Gustave Moreau Museum is well suited to a cultural morning before strolling through the Nouvelle Athènes neighbourhood, among private mansions and rue des Martyrs.

To extend the discovery, it fits easily into a wider tour of Paris on the 9th arrondissement side, away from the crowds of the major museums.