Centre international du surréalisme et de la citoyenneté mondiale

Over het museum

The Centre international du surréalisme et de la citoyenneté mondiale (CISCM) occupies two houses in the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. The Rignault house, also called La Gardette, is a former manor house in the lower part of the village. It was acquired by the painter and collector Émile Joseph-Rignault (1874–1962), who gave his collections to the Musée Calvet in Avignon in 1946. After his death, the house and its furniture were bequeathed to the Lot departmental council, which made it a departmental museum.

The Breton house, also called the Auberge des Mariniers or Maison Henri Martin, is the oldest building in the village. The poet André Breton, leader of the Surrealist movement, spent every summer there from 1951 until his death in 1966, together with his wife, Élisa. Many artists and writers from the group visited, and it was from there that the international exhibitions EROS (1959) and L'Écart absolu (1965) were organized. The town bought back the house in 2016 and renovated it in 2022–2023.

Today the site is run by the association La Rose Impossible. The visit begins at the Rignault house, where the ticket office is located, and offers themed exhibitions, hanging gardens, a café, a bookshop and a research center. In March 2025, a fire broke out in the Breton house, but the building and almost all of the collections were saved. In 2026, the exhibition “Surréalisme & Mexique – Miroirs magnétiques” is being shown in the Rignault house and the Château Tournié.

Hoogtepunten

• House where André Breton spent his summers from 1951 to 1966
• Rignault house, a former manor house and the starting point of the visit
• Themed exhibitions on Surrealism
• Hanging gardens
• Literary café and bookshop
• Village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, one of the most beautiful villages in France

Vaste collectie

• Maison Rignault (La Gardette) – Former manor house of the painter and collector Émile Joseph-Rignault, the starting point of the visit and the ticket office.

Beheerder

Association La Rose Impossible

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Adult rate from €7.50. Pay-what-you-wish for students and local residents with proof, and a voluntary contribution for recipients of minimum social benefits. Payment by bank card, check or cash.

Toegankelijkheid

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Kinderen & gezin

The Lot tourist office reports a play area on site.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

From Cahors, allow about 30 minutes by car, via Vers and Saint-Géry (route des Falaises) or via Arcambal, which is easier for motorhomes. Bus line 889 drops visitors off at Bouziès (about 1 hour on foot to the village) or at Tour-de-Faure, at the foot of the village (about 30 minutes on foot).

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

A literary café and a bookshop are in the Breton house; a picnic area and toilets are listed by the tourist office.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Je bezoek plannen