Experience The Delights Of Paris
Victor Hugo was a very talented man. Not only a writer and poet, he was also a dramatist, politician, academic and a proven intellectual. He contributed, like Baudelaire, to the renovation of poetry and literature.
In Paris, the two houses that he occupied have been kept intact as a tribute to his memory. The first, that of Rohan-Guéménée, is situated at place des Vosges in the district of Marais. He rented it for sixteen years between 1832 and 1848. The house was taken over by the Paris council in 1902 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Victor Hugo by Paul Meurice (1818-1905) intimate friend and fervent defender of the author and his works. It is the first literary and monographic museum and houses graphic works and by manuscripts as important as that of the National Library of France. The house dates back 1605 when a lot was granted to Isaac Arnauld in the south-east corner of the square.
It was substantially improved by the de Rohans family, who gave the building its current name of Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée. Victor Hugo was 30 when he moved into the house in October 1832 with his wife Adèle. Nearby the house there is lots of apartment in Paris and Paris hotels and the house is within easy walking distance of three Paris Metro stations; Saint-Paul, Chemin-Vert and Bastille and opening times are from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. It is closed on Mondays and public holidays. Phone numbers for the museum are 00 33 (1) 42 72 10 16 and for fax 00 33 (1) 42 72 06 64.
Secondly, the city of Paris also owns the house that Victor Hugo was exiled to from 1855 to 1870 in Guernesey. The Hauteville House where he lived is situated at 38 rue Hauteville in St Peter Port in Guernsey. The apartment, which is found on the second floor of Rohan-Guéménée includes original editions, paintings and sculptures in his honor, stamps, caricatures and furniture that belonged to him.
Victor Hugo bought the house on May 16, 1856 so as not to be expelled by the Guernsey law prohibiting the deporting of people with properties on the island. Built around 1800 by an English privateer, the house belonged to one William Ozanne, but gained the reputation of being haunted by the spirit of a woman who had committed suicide, and was unoccupied for several years. It was transformed, built, furnished and decorated over time by the writer who lived in it, and who returned during the summer of 1878.
The house consists of 4 levels, with the top floor featuring a glazed lookout over the surrounding islands. The garden is filled with trees and flowers growing in abundance due to the mild climate. This house was acquired by Victor Hugo with the profit from the initial success of the publication of Contemplations. Don’t forget to book your Paris accommodation in time!