Romantic Itinerary n° 2

Eugène Delacroix Museum: view of the artist's studio from the garden
Eugène Delacroix Museum: view of the artist’s studio from the garden

Itinerary 2: Victor Hugo’s House – the Louvre – Eugène Delacroix’s House

Walking difficulty level: Medium

Romantic-ometer score: 8/10

Start at Victor Hugo’s house, an apartment in an elegant building on Place des Vosges.  Afterwards, it’s about a half-hour’s walk along Rue de Rivoli to the Louvre. I won’t give you a detailed guide to the Louvre because I’m not an art historian, and – well, it’s MASSIVE – but, for the purposes of this tour, I recommend you take in some of the Romantic masterpieces:

Detail of Théodore Géricault's "Raft of the Medusa" (Louvre)
Stained glass window in Victor Hugo's House, Place des Vosges, Paris
A stained glass window in Victor Hugo’s house
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, "La Grande Odalisque" (Louvre)


Eugène Delacroix, Self-portrait (Musée Eugène Delacroix)
Self-portrait of Delacroix

If you’re still feeling energetic, it’s just a ten-minute walk from the Louvre across the Seine via the Pont des Arts to the Eugène Delacroix Museum in rue de Furstemberg.

The artist lived and worked here from 1857 until his death in 1863. Like the Musée de la Vie Romantique, the permanent collection isn’t very extensive and it’s hardly one of the top ten museums in Paris; but again, the venue and location are charming and, sadly, not that many people know about it; personally, it’s one of my favourite small museums.

After you’ve had a look around the main house, go outside to visit Delacroix’ studio, which, like the house, is now an exhibition space. I love sitting in the beautiful little walled garden (see picture at the top of the page). 

“La peinture me harcèle et me tourmente de mille manières, comme la maîtresse la plus exigeante.” 

“Painting harasses and torments me in a thousand ways, like the most demanding of mistresses.” 

Eugène Delacroix