Maison Gainsbourg

Maison Gainsbourg

May 28, 2021

It has been over 30 years that we lost France’s most adored prolific performer, song-writer, Serge Gainsbourg. The “artiste genial’s” Parisian home seems to still be inhabited by his charismatic presence… Cigarettes fill the ashtray, red wine bottles are half empty, the piano is open, ready to welcome new melodies. His small, graffiti-covered Paris house is almost exactly as he left it—crammed with mementos of his poetic and scandalous life.

From the living room where Brigitte Bardot used to linger, to the Persian-style bedroom where his mints and chewing gum still sit on the nightstand next to his mink covered bed, the house has remained untouched for the last 16 years until now. His daughter Charlotte, an actress and a huge star in France, is now the owner of the house and wants, with the help of architect Jean Nouvel, to turn it into a museum.

Serge Gainsbourg in London with his lover Jane Birkin

Serge and Jane in the 5 bis rue de verneuil house

Serge with his daughter Charlotte

Serge and Charlotte in her room

For the first time since Serge Gainsbourg’s death, Charlotte has agreed to reveal the private world of France’s most beloved and important songwriter. It’s been announced that the building will be opening as a museum in October, later than planned because of the pandemic which has lead to all museums, galleries and tourist sites in France being closed to the public until further notice. Charlotte told AFP news agency that the museum will give visitors a feel of the environment where Gainsbourg produced his work, and she hopes it will become part of the “heritage” of Paris.