A green-shuttered 1830 villa at the end of a cobbled, tree-shaded alley off the Rue Chaptal, this was the home and studio of the painter Ary Scheffer, who held Friday salons here for the artistic society of the Nouvelle Athènes — George Sand, Chopin, Delacroix, Liszt, and Dickens among the visitors. The ground floor displays mementoes of George Sand; the upstairs holds Scheffer's paintings.
The house is small and the collection modest, but the setting is the charm: a hidden courtyard and a leafy garden tea-room that feels a world away from the city outside. Entry to the permanent collection is free. It makes a quiet, atmospheric stop on a walk through South Pigalle.