Musée Rodin

About the museum

The museum occupies the Hôtel Biron, a mansion built in 1730 on the rue de Varenne in Paris. After a religious congregation left in 1905, several artists set up their studios there, including Auguste Rodin. In 1911, the State bought the estate; Rodin agreed to bequeath his collections to it, on condition that a museum devoted to his work be created in the mansion.

Rodin died in 1917, and the museum opened in 1919. It holds thousands of sculptures, drawings and early photographs, as well as art objects and the personal collection of antiquities that the sculptor had assembled. One room is dedicated to Camille Claudel and displays some forty of her works.

The garden of about three hectares houses large open-air works, among them Le Penseur, La Porte de l’Enfer and Les Bourgeois de Calais. The building was renovated from 2012 to 2015, and the museum reopened in November 2015. The museum also manages a second site in Meudon, the Villa des Brillants, where Rodin lived.

Highlights

• Le Penseur in the sculpture garden
• La Porte de l’Enfer
• Les Bourgeois de Calais
• Camille Claudel room
• Personal collection of antiquities and paintings assembled by Rodin
• L’Augustine café-restaurant in the middle of the garden

Permanent exhibitions

• Collections permanentes de l’hôtel Biron – Plaster, marble and bronze sculptures by Rodin, drawings and photographs, along with the room devoted to Camille Claudel.
• Jardin de sculptures – Large open-air works, including Le Penseur, La Porte de l’Enfer and Les Bourgeois de Calais, in a garden of about three hectares.

Founded

1916

Operated by

État – établissement public du musée Rodin

Director

Catherine Chevillot

Visitors per year

approx. 550,639

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of the month, from October to March, without booking.

Free admission is also granted to job seekers, recipients of social minimum benefits, teachers and students of certain art schools, journalists, professional artists and holders of the Paris Museum Pass (full list on the museum’s website). The Paris Museum Pass is accepted.

Accessibility

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

Wheelchairs are lent free of charge at the priority entrance, and seat canes at the cloakroom. A lift serves the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions in the Hôtel Biron. Accessible toilets are in the reception hall, in the garden and on the second floor. Reserved parking spaces are near 2 boulevard des Invalides and at the corner of rue de Varenne and rue Barbet de Jouy. A tactile booklet and gloves can be borrowed; an audio-described tour of the permanent collections is free at the audio guide counter, upon proof. Tours in French Sign Language or with lip-reading are offered occasionally. Induction loops are available at the bookshop, the ticket desk, the cloakroom and in the lifts.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

Guided family tours every Sunday (except the first Sunday of the month) and activities during school holidays, including a drawing workshop. A tablet game for children aged 6 and over (about one hour, in French and English, €6.50) and a family guide booklet (€6.50). Only folding-type strollers are allowed. A baby changing area is signposted in the reception hall toilets.

Getting there & parking

Bicycles and scooters are not permitted on the site.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi (network “Musee_Rodin_Wifi”, after accepting the terms). L’Augustine café-restaurant in the heart of the sculpture garden. Free cloakroom at the entrance to the permanent collections, and lockers in the reception hall; suitcases and large bags are not allowed. The shop can be reached without a ticket from 79 rue de Varenne.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Up to 1,500 guests.

Spaces: Hôtel Biron, sculpture garden and L’Augustine café-restaurant. Capacity from 2 to 1,500 guests. Events take place every day from 19:30, and all day on Mondays.

Plan your visit