Happy Thursday Everyone!

Paris is an insane city. Traffic is insane. The hoards of tourists are insane. The scam artists are insane. And sometime you just have to escape that insanity. While most museums in Paris are wall-to-wall human flesh, one museum attracts fewer visitors making a wonderful place to view some art without the crowds: The Rodin Museum.rodin museum, paris, thinker, rodin, sculpture

Rodin Museum Quick Facts

  • The building that is now the museum took ten years to build (1727-1737) and was originally the home of financier Abraham Peyrenc de Moras. When it was built, Paris was a tad smaller and the place, now know as the Hotel Biron, was a country home. Unfortunately, Moras didn’t get to enjoy his new home, since he died five years before it was complete.
  • After being an aristocratic home for nearly 100 years, the place became a nunnery. When the nuns’ order was dissolved, Hotel Biron took on a whole new batch of characters: artists! Rodin, Cocteau and Matisse all rented rooms in the Hotel Biron.
  • les invalides, paris, rodin museum, napoleonBy 1911, Rodin had taken over the whole place and liked to put his own sculptures as well as birds of his own antique collection in the garden that he let run a bit wild.
  • The museum started in 1916 when Rodin donated his work to France. Opening day was 4 August 1919.
  • From the gardens you can see the gold dome of Les Invalides that was originally built as a home for war veterans in 1670. It is now a military museum and the burial site of many famous French military folks such as Napoleon Bonaparte.
  • The garden cafe has delicious (and super cheap) rolls if you’re in need of a nibble.

A couple other great places to escape the Paris crowds include La Conciergerie and the Archaeological Crypt Museum (near Notre Dame).

Any tips on keeping your sanity in Paris? Places to escape the crowds? Share your wisdom in a comment!!

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TAMMIE PAINTER IS THE AUTHOR OF THE TRIALS OF HERCULES: BOOK ONE OF THE OSTERIA CHRONICLES AND AN ARTIST WHO DEDICATES HERSELF TO THE TEDIUM OF CREATING IMAGES WITH COLORED PENCILS.

2 thoughts on “Travel Pic Thursday: Rodin Museum (Paris)”

  1. The history behind that museum is fascinating! But Paris sounds way too crowded for me!!! I hate wall to wall people, where you can hardly breathe or move – ugh! So I guess if I ever make it over there I’ll have to ask you how to avoid the tourists, lol 🙂

    Wish I was in Portland to come to your event!

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    1. I was surprised how human-packed Paris was and that was definitely a turn off for a city I’d really been looking forward to seeing. I’ve been to London and Rome and neither seemed anywhere near as crowded.
      –If you started driving now, you could be here in time for the event!

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