Musée Marcel Proust, Biographical museum in Illiers-Combray, France
The Marcel Proust Museum occupies a house where personal items, manuscripts, and photographs showcase the writer's connection to the location and its influence on his work.
The museum opened in 1954 in the house where Marcel Proust spent his childhood vacations, later receiving the prestigious 'musée de France' designation in 2003.
The museum presents the writer's connection to Illiers-Combray, which became a central setting in his masterpiece 'In Search of Lost Time', reflecting French provincial life.
Located at 4 Place Lemoine, the museum operates from Tuesday to Sunday with seasonal hours, offering self-guided tours with detailed documentation for visitors.
The museum contains the room where Proust experienced the famous madeleine episode, a central element in his exploration of involuntary memory in literature.
Location: Illiers-Combray
Inception: 1954
Official opening: 1954
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Fee: Yes
Operator: Société des amis de Marcel Proust et des amis de Combray
Address: Place Lemoine 28120 Illiers-Combray
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 13:30-17:30
Phone: +33237243097
Website: https://amisdeproust.fr/index.php/fr/musee
GPS coordinates: 48.29966,1.24305
Latest update: September 12, 2025 10:38
The Centre-Val de Loire showcases a diverse heritage, from medieval fortresses like Château de Lavardin to Renaissance structures. The region features protected natural sites such as the Chérine Nature Reserve and the Domaine du Ciran, which host hundreds of bird species in their ponds and woodlands. The Savonnières Pétrifiantes Caves illustrate local geological phenomena, while the Briare Canal Bridge demonstrates 19th-century engineering. This selection also includes historical and cultural sites, from the Dunois Mill preserving 17th-century mechanisms to the Marcel Proust Museum housed in an authentic residence. The Picassiette House in Chartres exhibits Raymond Isidore's unique work over several decades. The Parc Floral de la Source and the Saint-Ours Collegiate complete this exploration combining Gothic religious architecture with themed gardens, providing diverse discoveries accessible to visitors.
France preserves the homes of its greatest writers, transformed today into literary museums. From Balzac's house in Paris, where the author of 'The Human Comedy' wrote his novels while drinking countless coffees, to Nohant Castle in Berry where George Sand met Chopin and Flaubert, these places tell the story of French literary creation. You can also visit Montaigne's tower in Périgord, where the philosopher wrote his Essays surrounded by his library, or the Château Monte-Cristo built by Alexandre Dumas after the success of his adventure novels. These houses offer direct access to the worlds of the authors who lived there. The priory of Saint-Cosme near Tours preserves the memory of Ronsard, a Renaissance poet, while the house of Aunt Léonie in Illiers-Combray takes visitors back to Marcel Proust’s childhood. In Normandy, Maurice Leblanc’s residence in Étretat celebrates Arsène Lupin’s universe, and in the Basque Country, the Arnaga villa showcases Edmond Rostand’s regional architecture, author of 'Cyrano de Bergerac.' Each visit helps understand how these writers lived, worked, and drew inspiration from their daily environments.
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A must-visit for all literature enthusiasts, particularly for the writer Marcel Proust. One can experience the essence of his era.
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