Musée Rodin

The Musée Rodin is housed in the Hôtel Biron, an eighteenth-century mansion on the rue de Varenne in the seventh arrondissement, and it is one of the most beautiful museums in Paris. The mansion was built in the 1730s for a wealthy financier and later took the name of the duke of Biron, who owned it. In the nineteenth century, it became a convent school, and after the separation of church and state in 1905 it was emptied and let out as studios, so that artists and writers such as Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse and the dancer Isadora Duncan lived in its rooms. In 1908, Auguste Rodin, by then the most famous sculptor in France, moved into several rooms, and he stayed until his death in 1917. Before dying, he gave all his works and the rights to them to the French state on condition that the house be turned into a museum, and it opened in 1919.

The collection spans his career, with plasters, bronzes and marbles. Visitors can see the famous pieces that made his name: The Thinker, a seated man in deep thought, originally conceived for the top of The Gates of Hell, the vast bronze door inspired by Dante's Inferno, on which he worked for decades; The Kiss, a sensual marble pair of lovers; The Walking Man; The Age of Bronze; and the huge, controversial Monument to Balzac, shown in the garden. The Burghers of Calais, a group of six men in humiliation and courage, is also here. The works show how Rodin broke with the polished, idealised tradition of academic sculpture and used rough surfaces, strong gestures and raw emotion.

The museum also honours Camille Claudel, a gifted sculptor who was Rodin's student, collaborator and lover, and whose work shows an intensity and originality of its own. Rodin was also a collector, and the museum shows paintings from his collection, among them Vincent van Gogh's portrait of Père Tanguy, the colour merchant, and works by Monet and Renoir.

The garden is perhaps the greatest pleasure. It extends behind the mansion, with a rose garden, clipped hedges, shaded alleys and a pond, and sculptures stand among the greenery, so that the figures seem to be at home in the open air. Many visitors buy a ticket for the garden only. A café under the trees serves refreshments, and a chapel in the grounds houses a studio.

The museum is near Les Invalides, and is easily combined with a visit to Napoleon's tomb. Allow an hour and a half to two hours. Arrive early in summer to avoid queues, and note that large bags are not accepted. It suits art lovers and anyone who enjoys beautiful gardens.