The Musée Rodin after hours

Why it is on the list

The Musée Rodin holds most of Rodin's major works, The Thinker, The Kiss and The Gates of Hell among them, in the Hôtel Biron and its garden; the house and grounds have been a listed historical monument since 1926.¹ Rodin chose the house himself: he rented four ground-floor rooms in 1908, took the whole building from 1911, and the museum opened there on 4 August 1919.² The 18 rooms run from the Cantor Hall and its staircase to The Walking Man, past The Age of Bronze in a panelled rotunda, The Kiss, and a room for Camille Claudel.² After closing the house and the sculpture garden are given to one party: about an hour through the collection with one of the museum's own lecturers, drinks by The Thinker, then dinner in the hall of honour facing The Kiss.³⁴

It is an evening of sculpture in one room of about 100 m²: for paintings, take the Musée d'Orsay before opening. For a dinner of more than 50, the museum puts a marquee on the 600 m² terrace below the house for up to 1,500, from EUR 39,500 excluding VAT.³⁴

How to get it

Write to the museum's events team, Claire Avarre, at avarre@musee-rodin.fr or call +33 1 44 18 62 05; Pierre Bordas, bordas@musee-rodin.fr, +33 1 44 18 62 08, is the second contact.⁴ Ask for a private visit of the Hôtel Biron with a lecturer and dinner in the hall of honour. From Tuesday to Sunday guests come in from 7.30 pm; on Monday, when the museum is closed, the house can be had all day on request, guests from 8 am.⁴⁵ An evening of up to three hours, set-up included, runs from 6.30 to 9.30 pm; a longer one from 6.30 pm to 1 am.⁵ The museum's page and brochure give up to 50 for dinner and 120 for drinks, the specification 60 for dinner; ask which your layout allows.³⁵ The hire starts at EUR 14,500 excluding VAT, before museum staff, lecturers, technical set-up, logistics and catering.³⁴ The caterer is yours to choose, but the museum approves every supplier and can refuse one; nothing is cooked and no flame is lit in the hall, and candles are not allowed in the buildings.⁵ The museum may require a logistics meeting with you and your caterer no later than a month before the date, and may cancel an event that misses it.⁵

Discretion

The house and garden are the party's alone after closing, or all day on Monday when the museum is shut.⁴⁵ Guests come in through the gate at 77 rue de Varenne, or 75 bis; up to 20 cars can park inside the grounds when their plates and drivers' names are sent ahead.⁵ Cars may not wait in the rue de Varenne; set-down is on the boulevard des Invalides, about 50 m from the gate.⁵ The museum must be told in advance of prominent guests and of any protection officers, or they are turned away; armed officers need their permits shown beforehand.⁵ Photographs are for internal use only, and loaned or copyrighted works may not be photographed.⁵