Grounds of Rodin Museum sculpture garden.

©Will Salter/Lonely Planet

Musée Rodin

Top choice in St-Germain & Les Invalides

LoginSave

Even if you're not an art lover, it is worth visiting this high-profile art museum to lose yourself in its romantic gardens.

Sculptor, painter, sketcher, engraver and collector Auguste Rodin donated his entire collection to the French state in 1908 on the proviso that it dedicate his former workshop and showroom, the beautiful 1730 Hôtel Biron, to displaying his works. This is where he lived and worked while in Paris. Rodin's artwork is not only installed in the mansion itself, but also on its rose-filled garden—one of the most peaceful places in central Paris.

Grounds of Rodin Museum sculpture garden
Formal flowerbeds and boxed-hedge arrangements framing 18th-century mansion Hôtel Biron ©Will Salter/Lonely Planet

Highlights

The rose garden is a wonderful spot to contemplate his famous work The Thinker. Other sculptural highlights are: The Gates of Hell, the 180 figures of which comprise an intricate scene from Dante’s Inferno; Rodin’s marble monument to love, The Kiss; and the world's largest collection of works by Rodin’s protégé and muse, Camille Claudel.

On the 1st floor, in room 12, admire paintings by Van Gogh and Monet that belonged to Rodin. The ground-floor 'Rodin at the Hôtel Biron' room incorporates an eclectic collection of sculptures and curiosities acquired by Rodin and placed in the room in which he worked in 1908.

Le Baiser (meaning The Kiss) is an 1889 marble sculpture by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin at Rodin Museum
Marble monument to love The Kiss (Le Baiser) caused controversy on completion due to Rodin’s then-radical depiction of women as equal partners in ardour  ©alarico/Shutterstock

Tickets, tips and accessibility

A combined ticket with the Musée d'Orsay costs €21; tickets are valid for a single visit to each museum within three months. An audioguide costs €6. End your visit with a relaxed drink alfresco in the museum's garden cafe (closes 5pm). If you just want to see the outdoor sculptures, cheaper garden-only entry is available. Pre-purchase tickets online to avoid queuing.

The Musée Rodin is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, from October to March. 

The exhibition, garden, cafe and auditorium are accessible, and the museum is equipped with ramps. Wheelchairs are available to visitors free of charge.

Blind and visually impaired visitors can avail of a visitor services assistant who will provide them with gloves and a list of work that can be explored by touch. Guide dogs are welcome.

Induction loops are available throughout the museum for visitors with hearing difficulties.

Rodin's 'The Thinker' with the Eiffel Tower in the background
The garden is the one of the most peaceful spots in central Paris ©Grant Faint/Getty Images

What's nearby?

Both Musée d'Orsay and Hôtel des Invalides are about a 15-minute walk away. Nearby boulangeries (bakeries) include Besnier. For traditional French fare, book a table at Paris' oldest and still excellent restaurant, À la Petite Chaise. For something a bit livelier, try Chez L'Ami Jean.

How to get there

Metro Varenne (line 13), right next door, or Invalides (line 8 or 13), 10 minutes' away on foot.

RER Invalides (line C) then a 10-minute south.

Transportation

  • metro: Varenne, Invalides

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Wide shot of Eiffel Tower with blue sky, Paris, France.

    Eiffel Tower

    1 MILES

    There are different ways to experience the Eiffel Tower, from a daytime trip or an evening ascent amid twinkling lights, to a meal in one of its…

  • Paris, France - August 13, 2016: The Pompidou Centre is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement. It houses the Public Information Library and the museum of Modern art.

    Centre Pompidou

    1.68 MILES

    Home to Europe's largest collection of modern and contemporary art, Centre Pompidou has amazed and delighted visitors ever since it opened in 1977, not…

  • MARCH 16, 2017: a stained glass window inside the Sainte Chapelle church.

    Sainte-Chapelle

    1.34 MILES

    Visit Sainte-Chapelle on a sunny day when Paris’ oldest, finest stained glass (1242–48) is at its dazzling best. The chapel is famous for its stained…

  • September 2016 - Paris, France- Le Louvre museum in daytime

    Musée du Louvre

    1.03 MILES

    It isn’t until you’re standing in the vast courtyard of the Louvre, with its glass pyramid and ornate façade, that you can truly say you’ve been to Paris.

  • Skulls and bones in Paris Catacombs

    Les Catacombes

    1.69 MILES

    It’s gruesome, ghoulish and downright spooky, but it never fails to captivate visitors. In 1785, the subterranean tunnels of an abandoned quarry were…

  • The Jardin des Tuileries in Paris.

    Jardin des Tuileries

    0.73 MILES

    Filled with fountains, ponds and sculptures, the formal 28-hectare Tuileries Garden, which begins just west of the Jardin du Carrousel, was laid out in…

  • JULY 30, 2012: Model sailing boats in the pool in front of Luxembourg Palace in Luxembourg Gardens.

    Jardin du Luxembourg

    1.12 MILES

    This famous inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in Parisians' hearts. 

  • PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 08, 2016 : French Mausoleum of Great People of France - the Pantheon in Paris. France.; Shutterstock ID 573291478; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Panthéon POI

    Panthéon

    1.45 MILES

    Elegant and regal in equal measure, the massive neoclassical dome of the Left Bank's iconic Panthéon is an icon of the Parisian skyline. Louis XV…

View more attractions

Nearby St-Germain & Les Invalides attractions

1. Église du Dôme

0.17 MILES

With its sparkling golden dome (1677–1735), the landmark church of Hôtel des Invalides is one of the finest religious edifices erected under Louis XIV and…

2. Musée de l’Armée

0.17 MILES

North of Hôtel des Invalides, in the Cour d’Honneur, is the Musée de l’Armée, which holds the nation’s largest collection on French military history.

3. Hôtel des Invalides

0.17 MILES

Flanked by the 500m-long Esplanade des Invalides lawns, Hôtel des Invalides was built in the 1670s by Louis XIV to house 4000 invalides (disabled war…

4. Hôtel Matignon

0.23 MILES

Hôtel Matignon has been the official residence of the French prime minister since the start of the Fifth Republic (1958). It's closed to the public.

5. Basilique Ste-Clotilde

0.25 MILES

Resembling a mini Notre Dame, with twin conical steeples and flying buttresses at the rear, this delightful basilica presides over a pretty park. Dating…

6. Musée Maillol

0.41 MILES

Located in the stunning 18th-century Hôtel Bouchardon, this splendid little museum focuses on the work of sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861–1944), whose…

7. Ministère des Affaires Étrangères

0.44 MILES

Next door to the Assemblée Nationale is the Second Empire–style Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, built between 1845 and 1855. It's closed to the public.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "france/paris/st-germain-and-les-invalides/attractions/musee-rodin/a/poi-sig/372149/1322788",
  "destination": "St-Germain-&-Les-Invalides",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "France",
  "city": "Paris",
  "neighborhood": "St-Germain-&-Les-Invalides",
  "position": "superzone"
}