Art & Architecture
article | Reading time7 min
Are you passionate about literature and dream of following in the footsteps of your favourite authors? The good news is that a number of writers' homes are open to visitors!
George Sand at Nohant
An essential living and working environment for George Sand, her house in Nohant, in the Berry region of France, was a haven where she liked to retreat, far from the hustle and bustle of Paris. It was here that she wrote her main novels, such as La Mare au diable.
It was here that she regularly entertained her many friends and major artists of the 19th century, including Franz Liszt, Honoré de Balzac, Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Flaubert. Frédéric Chopin spent his summers here from 1839 to 1846, composing two-thirds of his works, including the Funeral Sonata and his last three Polonaises!
The beautiful residence houses two theatres: one known as the "actors' theatre" (or grand theatre), the other devoted to puppet shows.
And let's not forget Nohant's garden and small park, inseparable from the life and work of George Sand. The writer cultivated her land with passion throughout her life.
I garden furiously, in all weathers, for five hours a day. While digging and raking, I start making verses.
George Sand now lies in Nohant cemetery, protected by a centuries-old yew tree.
© Gillard et Vincent
Voltaire in Ferney
It was not far from the Swiss border that Voltaire decided to move in 1759: he acquired the château de Ferney, which was then no more than a "miserable hamlet" located between the Jura mountains and the Alps.
Why did this renowned philosopher settle in this remote area? Here's his answer:
Is there a happier state? I find myself between France and Switzerland without depending on either. After living with kings, I have become a king in my own home.
Until 1766, he transformed the estate from top to bottom and built "a convenient, rustic and comfortable house".
He also had the gardens laid out, overlooking the high peaks, which he considered to be the estate's most beautiful ornament. He even said that he took "more pleasure in ploughing, sowing and planting than in writing tragedies"! Candide's famous epilogue, "One must cultivate one's garden", therefore makes perfect sense in Ferney.
The illustrious philosopher of the Enlightenment spent the last 20 years of his life at the château de Ferney. There he continued his literary work, writing more than 6,000 letters, as well as the Philosophical Dictionary, the Treatise on Tolerance, etc.
© Patrick Tourneboeuf - Tendance Floue / Centre des monuments nationaux
Honoré de Balzac at Sèvres
Before being acquired by Léon Gambetta in 1878, the bucolic Maison des Jardies in Sèvres, built at the end of the 17th century, belonged to Honoré de Balzac.
Located just a few kilometres from the capital, the town of Sèvres was still very rural at the time, and the famous writer hoped to find some peace and quiet here.
In 1837, he settled at Les Jardies, and lodged his gardener in the humble winegrower's cottage adjoining his property.
Unfortunately, his well-deserved rest was short-lived: saddled with debts and pursued by his creditors, Balzac was forced to put the house up for sale in 1840.
© Patrick Cadet / Centre des monuments nationaux
Colette and Cocteau at the Palais-Royal
In the 20th century, the charm and serenity of the Palais-Royal gardens in Paris attracted intellectuals and artists.
In 1926, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette moved into a mezzanine flat at 9 rue de Beaujolais, which she nicknamed "the tunnel". She left the premises in 1929, then returned for good in 1938: she moved to the same address, but this time to a beautiful flat on the "sunny floor", a flight of stairs higher up. It was here that she wrote most of her work until her death in 1954.
Her next-door neighbour was her friend Jean Cocteau, the theatre director and author of La Machine infernale and Les Enfants terribles. He lived at 36 rue de Montpensier from 1940 to 1947. Together they regularly met for lunch at the Beaujolais gallery restaurant, Le Grand Véfour.
The Palais-Royal was a village for those who chose to live there.
The garden of the Palais-Royal is a reminder of their presence: two paths bear their names, and quotations from their works are engraved on the poem benches (created by Quebec artist Michel Goulet).
© CMN
Alexandre Dumas in Villers-Cotterêts and Marseille
Alexandre Dumas was born on 24 July 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts, a small town in the Aisne department. The famous author of The Three Musketeers spent the first twenty years of his life there, even taking fencing lessons in the castle built by François I.
The château de Villers-Cotterêts is now home to the Cité internationale de la langue française, a unique cultural centre entirely dedicated to the French language!
Discover the Cité internationale de la langue française
Alexandre Dumas travelled to Marseille several times in his life and discovered the dreadful château d'If, the prison where one of his father's friends, General Kléber, had been held.
In the 1840s, he began writing one of his most famous novels: The Count of Monte Cristo. He imagined the character of Edmond Dantès, who was unjustly imprisoned in the château d'If before escaping and finding a fabulous treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. It was a phenomenal success, and even today many of you still come to the château d'If hoping to catch a glimpse of Edmond Dantès...
© We are Content(s) / Centre des monuments nationaux
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