Musée Colette

Established on the initiative of her daughter Colette de Jouvenel and opened in 1995, the Colette Museum is an accredited ‘Musée de France’. Gabrielle Colette, the famous author, was born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye in 1873. The museum dedicated to her, situated in the very heart of her home village, is housed within the château, which was rebuilt in the 17th century. Although she never actually stayed there, Colette nevertheless refers to it at the beginning of her first novel, *Claudine at School*: ‘Montigny […] rises in terraces beneath a large château, rebuilt under Louis XV and already more dilapidated than the Saracen tower—thick, low, entirely covered in ivy—which is crumbling from the top, a little bit every day. ” The so-called Saracen tower is a keep with a rare, ovoid plan, dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. It is in this setting of greenery and history that the Colette Museum is situated, ‘a museum for the senses as much as for the mind’, as the museum curator, Hélène Mugot, describes it. A living museum where Colette’s voice and gaze guide the visitor to an imaginary library where chance leads to the discovery of the author and her works. Before venturing into the village, be sure to stop off at La Pause Gourmande, the Colette Museum’s shop and tea room, situated in the castle’s former kitchens. This spot invites you to read, to enjoy an intimate moment with Colette – a break that is as indulgent as it is literary.