Musée Balzac

Om museet

The Château de Saché has been a museum devoted to Honoré de Balzac since 1951. Paul Métadier had bought it in 1926 to rescue it from neglect. In 1932 he secured the château’s listing as a historic monument, and it was later classified during the Occupation. His son Bernard-Paul, a passionate admirer of Balzac, proposed creating a museum here rather than a writers’ residence.

At first the museum consisted of a few rooms, including the reception rooms and the writer’s room, where he worked on several occasions and wrote Le Père Goriot, among other works. In 1958 the Métadier family gave the château and the first collections to the Indre-et-Loire département. Bernard-Paul Métadier served as curator until 2001. Major securing and fitting-out works took place from 1964 to the early 1970s.

The reception rooms on the second floor were refurbished in 2015 with the Mobilier national, in the spirit of Le Lys dans la vallée, and new rooms were added on the third floor in 2017. The collections comprise around 2,300 items: early editions, manuscripts and corrected proofs, prints, paintings and sculptures, including Rodin’s studies for his Balzac monument. A reconstructed printing workshop recalls the writer’s trade as a printer. The museum is run by the Indre-et-Loire département.

Højdepunkter

• Room where Balzac worked at Saché
• Salons on the second floor with wallpaper from the early 19th century
• Library of almost 600 volumes of Balzac’s published works
• Rodin’s studies for the Monument to Balzac
• Reconstructed 19th-century printing workshop
• Free park with picnic area

Permanent udstilling

• Les monuments en hommage à Balzac – Permanent display of sculptures devoted to Balzac since his death, with an area on the making of Rodin’s monument.

Grundlagt

1951

Ejer

Département d’Indre-et-Loire

Besøgende pr. år

ca. 39.374

Entrépriser & rabatter

Free admission with proof, in particular for recipients of minimum social benefits and job seekers, the press, ICOM members, tour guides and holders of the Ministry of Culture card. The Pass Culture is accepted. School groups: €1.50 per pupil (free for collèges in Indre-et-Loire), workshops and guided tours €4 per pupil. Access to the park is free. Payment at the ticket desk by cash, cheque, bank card (except American Express) and chèques-vacances.

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig: findes ikke
• Elevator: ingen oplysninger
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

The interior of the museum is not accessible because of the many steps. The park, the outdoor toilets and the barn (on request) are accessible, but the gravel may make it difficult to get around in a wheelchair without help. A virtual tour is available on a tablet. A large-print visitor guide, three magnifying glasses on loan, and tours adapted for visually impaired visitors on reservation are available. An induction loop and hearing amplifiers are provided at reception and on guided tours on reservation; tours and workshops adapted for people with intellectual or psychological disabilities are available on reservation. A short-stop drop-off point (dépose-minute) is in front of the park entrance, and a reserved space is in front of the château gate.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Opgavehæfte, skattejagt eller audioguide for børn
• Barnevognsvenlig: findes ikke
• Puslerum

The museum has signed the Môm’Art charter. Game cards guide children aged 4 to 8 (Mistigris trail) and 9 to 14 (“Balzac game”); a barefoot sensory trail is available in the park. Family activities take place during school holidays. Strollers cannot enter the museum because of the stairs; a baby carrier is recommended. Baby changing table; bottle warmer on request.

Transport & parkering

Address: 4 rue du Château, 37190 Saché. About 7 km from Azay-le-Rideau and 27 km from Tours (A85, exit 9 Chinon). The museum is on the Cyclo Bohème cycle route (Accueil Vélo label); there is a secure bicycle shelter with charging points and a repair kit, and a “billet vert” reduction for visitors arriving by bike.

Service & spisesteder

• Museumsbutik
• Garderobe
• Opbevaringsskabe

Bookshop with non-alcoholic drinks and regional products for sale. Lockers near the ticket desk (€1 coin) and left luggage for larger bags. Picnic area and deckchairs in the park. Restaurant, bakery and bar in the village about 200 metres away.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Firmaarrangementer

The 150 m² barn can be rented by companies for seminars, conferences or workshops (Wi-Fi, stage, tables and chairs): €800 per day or €400 for a half day. Museum activities can complement the event.

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