Nuit des musées 2025 at the Maison de Balzac in Paris: the program for this special nocturne

Tucked away in a magnificent garden in Paris's 16th arrondissement, opposite the Eiffel Tower, the Maison de Balzac is one of the capital's little-known treasures. There's no better way to discover the writer's only Parisian home, still visible today, than during the Nuit des Musées! This cultural event takes place every year in spring, and offers a program of free nocturnal visits, often accompanied by special events. An unusual way to immerse yourself in the heart of our heritage.

The Maison de Balzac, home of the famous writer, and its secret garden overlooking the Eiffel Tower
The Maison de Balzac, one of the famous writer's homes, is one of the capital's literary gems, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. This house-museum also boasts an incredible garden overlooking the Eiffel Tower, as well as a café. [Read more]

This Saturday, May 17, 2025, the museum dedicated to Honoré de Balzac invites you to take part in the 21st Nuit des Musées in Paris. Come and admire the house where La Comédie humaine was completed, and let yourself be invaded by the spirit of one of France's greatest writers. The Maison de Balzac houses numerous portraits of the artist and his characters, as well as paintings, engravings and drawings. The museum gives us a fresh look at Balzac's masterpiece, making us want to read all his novels again!

• To be read
• Tips for the week of March 24-30, 2025 in Paris: free or inexpensive outings

On the program for Museum Night 2025 at the Maison de Balzac:

• The class, the work! Focus on La Peau de Chagrin
  6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
  Free of charge, subject to availability
  Take the French bac with a formidable première class from the Lycée Jacques Decour. The students have immersed themselves in Balzac's La Peau de Chagrin, part of their baccalauréat syllabus. For the past 6 months, they have been preparing to welcome the public to the Nuit des Musées. Accompanied by their teacher, Aurélie Favre, and directed by writer and stage director Julie Abécassis, they're getting really excited. They're waiting for you in every room of the museum. Our apprentice actors will be portraying Foedora, Raphaël de Valentin, the antique dealer... We're looking forward to a great show. They can't wait.
  
  
• Women's perfumes. Wow effect. A spritz of Balzacian portraits
  7:30 pm to 8:30 pm
  Free of charge, subject to availability. Please bring a free ticket
  Discover the Balzacian heroines Henriette, Beatrix and Honorine.... These three figures inspired three perfumers from Givaudan. In an olfactory performance, actress Christine Culerier will give them a voice. Discover their personalities, ambiguities and frustrations. Women corseted in their buried desires, they love, but how do they love? More or less well, victims of dictates, some believe they are free, like Honorine, but it's all a delusion. Hungry for love and conquest, unscrupulous, they are devouring and manipulative, like Beatrix. And what can we say about Henriette, who is slowly consumed by having an adorer who idealizes her and whom she wishes were more enterprising and less respectful? If Balzac has a lot to say for the heart and soul, the body is not to be outdone. The perfumes you smell will remind you of the materiality of literature and imagination.

Le programme est mis à jour en fonction des annonces officielles.

Whether you're an unconditional fan of the writer, or curious to discover this French author, we encourage you to come and visit the Maison de Balzac during this Nuit des Musées! Shall we go, friends?