Napoleonic Museum · Rueil-Malmaison · 15km West of Paris
Château de Malmaison & the Paris Museum Pass
The most intimate Napoleonic museum in France — the private home of Napoleon and Joséphine, filled with original furniture, Joséphine’s legendary rose collection, and the memory of their marriage.
Last updated: February 2026 · Prices and details verified
Is the Château de Malmaison included in the Paris Museum Pass?
Yes — the Paris Museum Pass covers full entry to the Château de Malmaison, saving you €12 per person. No reservation required. The château is 30 minutes from central Paris — take RER A to La Défense, then Bus 258 to Malmaison.
Château de Malmaison — Fast Facts
Address
Avenue du Château de la Malmaison, 92500 Rueil-Malmaison
Nearest Metro
La Défense (RER A) → Bus 258 to Malmaison — 30 min total from central Paris (RER A)
Bus
Bus 258 from La Défense RER
Opening hours
Monday, Wednesday–Sunday · Weekdays (Oct–Mar): 10am–12:30pm and 1:30pm–5:15pm · Weekdays (Apr–Sep): 10am–12:30pm and 1:30pm–5:45pm · Weekends (Apr–Sep): 10am–12:30pm and 1:30pm–6:15pm · Closed Tuesday, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
Closed
Tuesdays · 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
Individual ticket
€12 (2026)
With Museum Pass
Free — included
What to Know Before You Visit
The Château de Malmaison was Napoleon and Joséphine’s favourite home — purchased by Joséphine in 1799 and decorated in the Directoire and Consulate styles that Napoleon championed. It is the most personal of all Napoleonic museums: here you can stand in the library where Napoleon worked 18-hour days during the Consulate, see the council chamber disguised as a tent, and walk through Joséphine’s bedroom. After their divorce in 1809, Joséphine remained at Malmaison until her death in 1814. Napoleon stopped here during his flight from Waterloo in 1815 — the last time he would see the house.
No reservation required. No reservation required. The château closes between 12:30pm and 1:30pm daily for lunch. Closed Tuesdays. Note the seasonal hours vary — check chateau-malmaison.fr before visiting. The château is 30 minutes from central Paris by RER A to La Défense then Bus 258.
Note: Joséphine’s rose garden was the most celebrated in France during her lifetime — she employed the botanist Aimé Bonpland (companion of Alexander von Humboldt) to maintain over 250 rose varieties, many of them new to French horticulture. The rose varieties she collected and hybridised transformed European rose cultivation. The garden is replanted with period roses and is at its best in June. The nearby Château de Bois-Préau (also in Rueil-Malmaison, 10 min walk) holds additional Napoleonic collections and is covered by the same Museum Pass entry.
Collection Highlights
The most intimate glimpse of Napoleonic private life in any French museum — personal rooms, original furniture, and Joséphine’s legendary roses.
Highlight 1
Napoleon’s library and council chamber
the library where Napoleon worked constantly during the Consulate period, with original furnishings, and the council chamber designed as a military tent with striped fabric walls, one of the most extraordinary Empire interiors in existence
Highlight 2
Joséphine’s apartments
her private bedroom, music room, and boudoir with original furniture and personal effects, evoking the private life of the most powerful woman in Napoleonic France
Highlight 3
The rose garden
Joséphine’s legendary collection, replanted with period varieties, at its peak in June: over 250 rose varieties she collected, many of which were unknown in France before her systematic cultivation and the collaboration with botanist Aimé Bonpland
Visitor tip: Visit in June when the rose garden is in full bloom — it is one of the most beautiful garden experiences near Paris and included in your Museum Pass entry. Allow 90 minutes for the interior and another 30 minutes for the garden. The nearby Château de Bois-Préau (10 min walk, same pass entry) holds additional Napoleonic objects and is worth combining.
Getting There
Take RER A westbound to La Défense (15 minutes from Châtelet), then Bus 258 (direction Rueil-Malmaison) to the Malmaison stop — approximately 15 minutes. Total journey: around 30 minutes from central Paris. By car: A14 motorway or N13 westbound through Nanterre — approximately 20–25 minutes.
Ready to Visit Château de Malmaison?
€12 entry included with the Museum Pass. Plus 50+ more venues across Paris.
Take RER A westbound to La Défense station, then Bus 258 (direction Rueil-Malmaison) to the Malmaison stop — the château is a short walk from the bus stop. Total journey time from central Paris is approximately 30 minutes. By car from Paris, take the A14 motorway or the N13 westbound through Nanterre.
Unlike Fontainebleau or Compiègne, which are vast palace complexes associated with formal court life, Malmaison was Napoleon and Joséphine’s private home — the place they retreated to when not on campaign or at official duties. The rooms retain their original furniture and personal objects, and the scale is human rather than imperial. Napoleon worked here during the Consulate period (1799–1804) on the legislation and administrative reforms that transformed France. After the divorce, Joséphine lived here alone until her death in 1814, continuing to develop the rose garden and botanical collections. The atmosphere is more intimate than any other Napoleonic site.
After his defeat at Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon fled south through France. He stopped at Malmaison on 25 June 1815 — the last time he would see his former home. He spent several days there in a state of extreme agitation, uncertain whether to flee to America or surrender to the British. Joséphine had died at Malmaison the previous year, and Napoleon wandered through her former rooms. On 29 June he left for Rochefort and eventual exile on Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
