Musée Rodin

The Musée Rodin occupies the Hôtel Biron, an 18th-century mansion in the 7th arrondissement where Auguste Rodin rented rooms as a studio from 1908. He left his work and collections to the French state on condition that the house became a museum dedicated to him, and it opened in 1919, two years after his death. The combination of an elegant townhouse and a large garden makes it one of the most pleasant museums in the city.

Inside, the rooms are arranged roughly chronologically and include marble and bronze works such as The Kiss, as well as plaster studies, drawings and Rodin's own collection of antiquities and paintings, with works by Van Gogh and Renoir among them. A room is devoted to Camille Claudel, the sculptor who was Rodin's pupil and partner, and whose work stands up well beside his. The garden is a large part of the visit: The Thinker sits on a plinth among the hedges, The Gates of Hell fills a wall near the entrance, and The Burghers of Calais and the monument to Balzac stand among the rose beds and trees, with the gilded dome of Les Invalides rising behind.

The museum suits art lovers and couples, and families often enjoy the space of the garden, where children can move around more freely than in most museums. There is a garden café for lunch or a drink and a shop with books and casts. Free admission applies on the first Sunday of each month from October to March, with no advance booking needed, and the official site lists further reductions and free categories.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6.30pm, with last admission at 5.45pm. It is closed on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Booking online is advisable at weekends and during exhibitions. Allow about two hours for the house and garden together, more if a temporary exhibition is on. Sunny days are best for the garden, but the house makes a good shelter when it rains.

The entrance is at 77 Rue de Varenne, next to Varenne station on metro line 13, and Invalides station on line 8 and RER C is a few minutes' walk away. Les Invalides, with Napoleon's tomb and the Army Museum, is across the road, and the Musée d'Orsay is about fifteen minutes on foot.