Musée départemental Stéphane-Mallarmé

About the museum

The house at Vulaines-sur-Seine, at the locality of Cayenne, was first an inn for the river coaches carrying travelers from Paris to Fontainebleau. Stéphane Mallarmé discovered it in 1874, rented a few rooms on the second floor, and first stayed there in the summer, then for longer periods after his retirement in 1893. He died there on September 9, 1898.

In 1902 his daughter Geneviève and her husband Edmond Bonniot bought the house and brought in furniture and objects from the Paris apartment, such as the Tuesday table and the Japanese cabinet. It was entered in the inventory of historic monuments in 1946. The heirs kept it until 1985, when the Seine-et-Marne Département bought it together with its furniture and library. After the house and garden were renovated, the departmental museum opened to the public in 1992.

The visit begins on the first floor with the poet’s biography and the history of the house, along with Mallarmé’s French library and, sometimes, a temporary exhibition. On the second floor it presents Mallarmé’s different professions and his poetic path, then the reconstructed apartment with its furniture, familiar objects and works by his artist friends, including Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot and James Whistler. The flowering fruit and ornamental garden has been restored in the spirit of the 19th century. The museum holds the “Musée de France” label.

Highlights

• Reconstructed apartment of Mallarmé on the second floor, with Japanese cabinet and Tuesday table
• The poet’s French library on the first floor
• Works by artist friends such as Manet, Morisot and Whistler
• Flowering fruit and ornamental garden restored in the spirit of the 19th century
• Children’s trail in the footsteps of Lilith, the poet’s cat

Permanent exhibition

• Appartement de Stéphane Mallarmé – The poet’s reconstructed apartment on the second floor, with his furniture, familiar objects and works by his artist friends.

Founded

1992

Operated by

Département de Seine-et-Marne

Admission & discounts

Prices published before free visits were suspended. Admission gives access to Mallarmé’s apartment, the temporary exhibition rooms, the poet’s French library and the garden. Free admission also for recipients of minimum social benefits, job seekers, war victims, and holders of ICOM and Amis du Louvre cards. The free Balad’Pass card, reserved for residents of Seine-et-Marne, gives free entry when accompanying someone paying full price. Payment by bank card, cash or cheque.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The entrance, the first-floor rooms and the garden paths are accessible to people with reduced mobility. The second floor, where the poet’s apartment is, is reached by a staircase of 19 steps. The museum has three toilets, one of them wheelchair-accessible, and two reserved parking spaces. It has an induction loop at reception, two tactile reproductions, a magnifier, and walking sticks with seats available on request. In 2025 the museum obtained the “Tourisme et Handicap” label for hearing, intellectual, motor and visual disabilities.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

A trail for children in the footsteps of Lilith, the poet’s cat, and a reading corner on the second floor are aimed at the youngest visitors. A card game, Les 7 familles mallarméennes, is lent at reception (2 to 6 players, ages 6 and up). Each autumn the museum runs an apple-juice-making workshop. The second floor is not accessible by wheelchair.

Getting there & parking

The museum is about a 10-minute drive from Fontainebleau. From Paris, take the A6, exit 12, then the N7, N6 and D138 to the Valvins bridge. Accessible by bicycle via the Scandibérique.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

No food service on site; landscaped picnic areas are on the banks of the Seine beside the museum. A shop sells books, postcards and merchandise.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit