Visits to both the historic house and the museum require a timed-entry ticket booked online—no exceptions. The “House & Museum” combined tour (€29 adults; €16 youth/discount) includes the immersive 30-minute guided visit through Gainsbourg’s two-level home, narrated by his daughter Charlotte via geo-located headphones, then access to the multimedia museum featuring 450 original artifacts across eight chapters. If timed tickets for that tour are sold out—often the case—your fallback is the “Museum only” (€12 adults; €6 youth/discount) experience, which still offers a rich retrospective of Gainsbourg’s creative life and legacy.

Leisurely free spaces like the bookshop-boutique and Le Gainsbarre café & piano bar next door (14 Rue de Verneuil) are open to the public without tickets and make for excellent alternatives or post-visit stops. The Gainsbarre channels Gainsbourg’s cabaret roots—cozy by day, sultry piano bar by night.

Opening hours vary: the house, museum, and shop are open Tuesday–Sunday—typically 9:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m. on Tues/Thurs/Sat, 10:30 p.m. on Wed/Fri, and 8:00 p.m. on Sundays. Closed Mondays (with occasional holiday openings). The Gainsbarre runs later, often until midnight or early morning.

Due to the limited visitor capacity and high demand, arrive 10 minutes before your time slot and be punctual—late arrivals risk losing entry.

The historic house tour lasts about 30 minutes; the museum tour about 1 hour. Bring your headphones and linger over film clips, manuscripts, and Gainsbourg’s personal artifacts. The museum is very intimate, with no more than 10–12 people inside at a time.

To experience Maison Gainsbourg like a Parisian insider: book your ticket early (especially for the house tour), arrive promptly, and plan to linger over the audio-immersive home visit and museum artifacts. Cap it off with a cocktail at Le Gainsbarre for a visit that’s at once reflective and exhilarating.