Musée de la vie romantique

Métro: Saint-Georges (line 12), Pigalle (line 2 or 12), Liège (line 13)
Address: 16 rue Chaptal - 75009 Paris
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Closed on Monday
Cost: Free
Website: www.paris.fr

Talk about having a life! This place was originally housing for the nuns of Saint-Lazare then transformed into an amusement park where you could find the first roller coaster of France ( right around 1815) to be then sold and changed into this lovely place: the Hôtel Renan-Scheffer.

This mansion belonged to the artist Ary Scheffer. Between 1820 and  1860, it was the social gathering spot for Chopin and George Sand. Neighbors included Franz Liszt and Pauline Viardot. So it made total sense to Cornélie Scheffer-Renan, the last owner, to leave to the city of Paris at her death (granted she did not have any descendants). It is now the Museum of Romantic Life.

  Portrait de la Reine Marie-Amélie (1857) by Ary Scheffer

It is a free museum, however you will still need a ticket to get in. You can visit this fairly small house on your own, get an audio guide or even get a guided tour. You can admire paintings, furniture and even listen to some Chopin.

    Cast of the hand of George Sand by Auguste Clésinger

I love the stairs. It makes me so admirative of those ladies that could play acrobats on uneven stairs with huge dresses. The steps are all crooked. You feel like Indiana Jones crossing a bridge over a ravine. Maybe that's just me.  

If you really want to feel romantic, enjoy the tearoom outside! Feeling so bourgeois under the shade of those trees. All that is missing is a little Chopin copycat for a majestic concert.