Saturday 16 July 2011

Musee Victor Hugo

Musee Victor Hugo is a tiny jewel tucked away in the beautifully symmetric Place des Vosges. Not growing up French ( a tragedy that I struggle with daily), I had never quite realised the significance and regard with which Victor Hugo was, and is, held. This museum helped to correct my ignorance.

Louis XIII 1610-1643
Place des Vosges is the most symmetrical square in Paris, very beautiful and tranquil place
but still with a social conscience (100,000 people live on the streets each month)

Victor's old apartment is now a fabulous museum. It had a fantastic audioguide available in English. Even better the boys stayed outside and I was able to enjoy it at my own speed, and in peace! It helped me realise that Victor Hugo was much more than an author. He was to feature again and again during our trip. I didn't set out to stalk Victor but we accidentally did a bit. He is buried at the Pantheon, and of course we went there. He was exiled for a time in Vianden, in Luxembourg, which is exactly where we took a day trip to when we stayed in Luxembourg for a few days. We went to see Vianden Castle, and found another Musee Victor Hugo along the way. It is one of the few regrets of my trip (apart from the fact that I wanted it to be two months longer) that I never did read Notre-Dame de Paris whilst we were there. At least I already have my reading for my next Paris trip lined up and ready to go. 
The great man himself

I've never needed a case for all my gloves (gants)
A portrait of his eldest daughter Leopoldine, who drowned in the Seine when she was just 19, newly married, and her new husband drowned in the attempt to save her.
Victor's father, General Hugo
Hugo by Rodin, a copy of this bust is also in Vianden
 I initially couldn't work out what I thought was odd about the desk in his bedroom. The audioguide told me that this was indeed his writing desk, where he stood to do his writings. That is what is odd! The height. I just can't imagine that it would be comfortable for the many, many hours that he would have stood there.
He was very big on wallpapered ceilings
Even the buskers are classier in Paris



Paris in July 


Saturday Snapshot, is a wonderful weekly meme from at home with books.
at

20 comments:

  1. Trish16 July 2011 at 20:16

    Thank you for that lovely tour. The standing writing desk and wallpapered ceiling certainly are oddities!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ellie16 July 2011 at 20:29

    I love the tiny museums you discover around Europe. Whilst I do like getting lost for hours in the big famous ones, there's something quite intimate about the small ones and you always feel like you've discovered something by youtself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Laurel-Rain Snow16 July 2011 at 21:45

    Gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing your little museum with us.

    Here's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous16 July 2011 at 22:22

    That was really fascinating. Thanks for sharing it all with us. How sad that his daughter died so young and her husband too as he tried to save her. Very tragic.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kaye16 July 2011 at 22:25

    Wonderful post! I love your photos and the info with them. Such a tragedy about Hugo's daughter and son-in-law. Thank you so much for sharing your tour with us.

    ReplyDelete
  6. (Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea16 July 2011 at 23:11

    Sad story, but beautiful images. Must have been awesome to see first hand.

    ReplyDelete
  7. bermudaonion16 July 2011 at 23:34

    As many times as I've been to Paris, I never made it to that museum. It looks like it was my loss.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Paulita 16 July 2011 at 23:44

    I'm always anxious to find new places in France. I love the photos. The wallpapered ceiling is pretty, but I bet it gets to feeling a little claustrophobic.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous17 July 2011 at 00:01

    Love the busker photo! Great tour.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sheila (Bookjourney)17 July 2011 at 01:07

    Gorgeous! You make me want to travel more. The sign about the people living on the streets is really a sobering one.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Alyce17 July 2011 at 02:50

    I don't really know anything about Victor Hugo, so it's all new information to me too. :) I used to work at an office where one of the workers had a standing desk, and she stood all day every day. I certainly wouldn't want to do that.

    Loved the photos, especially of the busker!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kate17 July 2011 at 04:23

    I'm so glad I found this post! I made a pilgrimage to the Hugo Museum when I was in Paris a few months ago and was so delighted to be there (and equally delighted with lazing about in the square with ice cream in the warm sunshine after.) I seem to have stumbled upon some Paris theme with a few folks and haven't yet figured it out, but am really enjoying hearing about people's perception and enjoyment of Paris. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bev Hankins17 July 2011 at 04:30

    What a very nice tour. Thanks for sharing your visit to the Victor Hugo Museum!

    Here's mine: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/07/saturday-snapshot-july-16.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. Vicki17 July 2011 at 05:17

    I love it when someone shares photos of someplace I would never see otherwise.

    Here's My Snapshot

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cat17 July 2011 at 06:45

    Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos. Very interesting.

    http://cat-bookmagic.blogspot.com/2011/07/saturday-snapshot-paris.html

    ReplyDelete
  16. Leslie (Under My Apple Tree)17 July 2011 at 15:47

    Interesting tour. I didn't know anything about Victor Hugo, or that there was a museum about him. That wallpaper ceiling was a bit much, not sure I could look at something like that on my ceiling everyday!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Marie18 July 2011 at 07:34

    Great photos. The museum looks like a great place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Susan20 July 2011 at 07:12

    Such wonderful photos! We made it to the museum when we were in Paris, but we wandered the wrong way around the Place first. It was just about closing time when we made it to the museum and had to rush through it. Now I have an excuse to go back!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Louise20 July 2011 at 09:32

    Thanks everyone for your lovely comments. Small intriguing specialist museums are fascinating, especially in Paris. Ellie, I completely agree with your thoughts. I have so many possible themes for the Saturday Snapshots for July (if only July had even more Saturdays!), I think I will do another post about another little museum that was just amazing. But then I find everything in Paris fascinating. I highly recommend this museum to everyone. It's a fabulous glimpse into the life of this famous and talented man, and into the history of Paris too. Susan, you have every excuse to go back now, the audioguide tour was well worth taking. Paulita, that wallpapered ceiling ceiling would certainly get claustrophobic, and not be a nice place to fall asleep for me.

    ReplyDelete
  20. stenote8 January 2019 at 19:16

    Interesting article, look forward to visit the museum.
    May I share an Interview with Victor Hugo (imaginary) in https://stenote.blogspot.com/2018/07/an-interview-with-victor.html

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting.