Sex and Love in PIgalle: Erotic Museum & Musee de la Vie Romantique

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Sex and Love in PIgalle: Erotic Museum & Musee de la Vie Romantique
Paris’s Pigalle district is a place of diversity and symbolic of this disparity are two museums, each concentrating on a different facet of Love. Stuffed between the strip bars and souvenir shops stands the Erotic Museum, while just down the street, nestled inside a cobblestone square, rests the Museum of Romantic Life (Musée de la Vie romantique). Here’s a look at each of these locales to help you if you’re torn between the soft center and the hard core. The Erotic Museum / Musée de l’érotisme Across the Boulevard de Clichy from Metro station Blanche (Line 2) rises the Erotic Museum. Before getting any deeper into this, consider yourself warned: the pieces tucked inside the building are much more Graphic than Art. Be prepared for displays not so much erotic as pornographic. Also, the museum is privately owned and operated, so you won’t find all the amenities you would expect in a state-run setup. No coat rooms or brochures mapping out the seven floors of display space, but then again you don’t really need one. The museum is divided into several more or less distinct areas. The ground/1st floor contains fertility icons of folk art that continue to the 2nd floor, where you’ll also find Asian works (Japanese and Chinese porcelain, Indian woodworking) and a tongue-in-cheek section dedicated to the clergy. The 3rd floor contains pre-war pornographic art as well as a fairly extensive peek at maisons closes (brothels) through the ages in Paris. The next three floors are reserved for temporary exhibits. Before leaving, make sure to check out the basement, where you’ll find more contemporary pieces and designs. All in all, the Erotic Museum is really neither: not especially erotic and more a collection of pornography through the ages than a museum. The Museum of Romantic Life / Musée de la Vie romantique Just down the rue Blanche, off the rue Chaptal, you’ll find an entirely more decorous form of love. At #16, look for a lush, tree-lined alley and follow the cobblestone path to a different world and another time. La Musée de la Vie romantique resides in the Hôtel Renan-Scheffer, a private mansion owned by Dutch painter Ary Scheffer (1795-1858) who built two workshops on his property, one for his painting and another where he could receive his guests. After a short walk through the painter’s spacious work space, cross the courtyard and enter the domicile as esteemed invités. Once inside, you’ll enjoy the same hospitality lavished on Ary Scheffer’s visitors who included George Sand as well as Eugène Delacroix, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and even Charles Dickens. Chopin’s music is piped throughout the small house and accompanies the guest strolling through rooms displaying George Sand’s life and possessions. Waiting atop the spiral staircase on the 2nd floor are rooms reserved for the work of Ary Scheffer himself, as well as a space dedicated to Ernest Renan (1823-1892), French writer and philosopher who married Ary Scheffer’s niece, Cornélie Scheffer. More important than the paintings and souvenirs of the inhabitants or their circle of friends, however, is the opportunity to stroll back in time, to walk through the house, hear the footsteps of those who lived here so long ago and wonder about the wonder that must have been their lives. What’s more, if your visit to the 19th century takes place in summertime, a tea on the terrace awaits you before you say your au revoir. Which museum is a better way to spend part of your day? Well, comparatively, Sex is more expensive than Romance, which is logical enough. The Eroticism lasts longer as well unless, like in life, you’re willing to make an effort on the Romance and take your sweet time. In the end, the Erotic Museum feels a little seedier and you come away from the Romantic Life immensely more satisfied. Of course this is Paris, where they let you eat cake and have it, too. It’s not necessary to choose one over the other because here in the City of Light you can enjoy both the pleasures of the flesh and the treasures of the heart. The Erotic Museum / Musée de l’érotisme: 72 boulevard de Clichy. Metro: Blanche (Line 2). Open every day from 10am until 2am. Price: 9€ Tip: You’ll find a coupon under “Ticketing” on the website for 3€ off the 9€ ticket price. Photography permitted. The Museum of Romantic Life / Musée de la Vie Romantique: 16 rue Chaptal. Metro Pigalle (Lines 2 & 12). Open every day from 10am to 6pm. Price: Free admission for permanent exhibit, up to 9€ for temporary exhibitions. No flash photography. Paris Inspired may inspire you. If you’re coming to France (or for that matter anywhere) you can reserve your hotel here. To rent a car, Bonjour Paris recommends Auto Europe.
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