The tranquil suburb of Meudon, 10km southwest of Paris, was where Rodin spent the last years of his life. His house and studio, the Villa des Brillants, is at 19 av Rodin (May–Oct Fri–Sun 1–5.15pm; €2) and is worth a visit for its wealth of preparatory sketches, plaster casts and studies. The studies, figuring many of his most famous works, were donated to the state in 1916 by Rodin and have the distinction of being the primary material, in direct contact with Rodin's hand, something that can't be said of the finished product. It was in this house that he lived with his companion, Rose Beuret, and here that he married her, after fifty years together, just a fortnight before her death in February 1917. His own death followed in November, and they are buried together on the terrace below the house, beneath a bronze version of The Thinker. The classical facade behind masks an enormous pavilion which once housed a landmark Rodin retrospective at the Universal Exposition of 1901; today it contains plaster versions of his most famous works.To get to Rodin's house at Meudon, take RER line C to Meudon-Val Fleury, then it's a fifteen-minute walk along avenues Barbusse and Rodin. Meudon and Sèvres are conveniently connected by bus #389 (from stop "Paul Besnard" to "Pont-de-Sèvres"; roughly twenty minutes' journey) making a combined afternoon or day-trip a possibility. A couple of kilometres west, Meudon's neighbour, Sèvres, has been manufacturing fine porcelain since the eighteenth century, and, since the beginning of the nineteenth century, has been home to the Musée National de la Céramique (daily except Tues 10am–5pm; €4). A ceramics museum may possibly seem a bit too rarefied an attraction to justify a trip out of Paris, but if you do have the time, there is much to be savoured. Inevitably, displays centre on Sèvres ware, but there are also collections of Islamic, Chinese, Italian, German, Dutch and English pieces. Right by the museum is the Parc de St-Cloud, good for fresh air and visual order, with a geometrical sequence of pools and fountains. You could, if you wanted, take a train from St-Lazare to St-Cloud and head south through the park to the museum. For a more direct route to the museum, take the métro to the Pont-de-Sèvres terminus, then cross the bridge and spaghetti junction; the museum is the massive building facing the river bank on your right.
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