Maison Gainsbourg
The most difficult Paris museum to get a ticket to these days is the Serge Gainsbourg House and Museum, a must for die-hard fans of the talented (and infamous) musician-composer. Due to its small size, only a handful of visitors are admitted every hour so be sure to book your ticket before you arrive (spots often book up months in advance).
Born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928, Serge Gainsbourg wrote multiple hits for top pop artists along with performing several of his own, becoming well-known for his adept play on words and provocative lyrics. His most famous song, "Je t’aime . . . moi non plus (I love you . . . me neither)", recorded in 1969 with romantic partner Jane Birkin, was banned by the Vatican for its blatant eroticism, but the single sold millions around the world. Gainsbourg died in 1991 but the house where he lived on the Rue de Verneuil stayed in the family and is now easily recognizable by its front wall, lovingly graffitied with tributes and portraits since the day of the artist's death. A 30-minute, auto-guided tour is narrated by Gainsbourg's daughter with Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who takes visitors through her childhood house, recounting her memories and describing her father’s love for the objects that surrounded him. After the tour, visitors can continue across the street to a small museum that has a chronology of recordings (in the original French with English subtitles) of the many interviews Gainsbourg gave over the years, along with additional Gainsbourg-related memorabilia.
