Photograph of Victor Hugo Victor Hugo captured 19th century Paris like few others, taking readers down her Mediaeval side streets and atop her most famous cathedrals. Hugo revealed a Paris much like Dickens’ London, a place where the beauty of the city is covered by the grit and grime of abject poverty. Contemporary visitors to Paris have a hard time imagining the struggles of post-Napoleonic France while shopping along the Champs-Elysees or dining at a café along the river Seine. However two special exhibitions, running all January long, bring the words of Hugo’s Paris to life and add insights into the city of light today. New York Habitat has dozens of available apartments in the modern Paris, far from the cramped quarters that defined Hugo’s era.

Two museums, the Musée Carnavalet and the Maison de Victor Hugo, illuminate the history, social commentary, and spirit of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. The exhibition at the Maison de Victor Hugo, in the 4th arrondissement, focuses directly on the melange of history and fiction within the novel, examining the work through the voices of its characters. The Musée Carnavalet, in the 3rd arrondissement, offering focuses on Paris, ultimately the vital main character guiding the Les Misérables narrative. Visitors explore a city at the crossroads of modernity and tradition, open to changes of the future yet encapsulated in the medieval alleyways and narrow lanes of the city’s architecture. The two exhibitions are in easy walking distance of each other, and like wine and cheese, are best when paired together.

After visiting the two exhibits visitors will be glad to be tourists in today’s Paris instead of Hugo’s. New York Habitat has Paris accommodations that blend the architectural history of the city with the comforts of modern Europe. Below are a few highlighted accommodations available during January:

-This 1-bedroom rental apartment in Marais-Les Halles (PA-227) is in the heart of Hugo’s historic old stomping grounds and steps from the world-class contemporary Centre Pompidou museum.

-This 2-bedroom apartment rental in Opera-Le Louvre (PA-2961) is bright, contemporary and spacious. Just blocks from the world-famous Louvre museum.

Once you see these exhibits comment below on your favorite parts of Hugo’s world in Paris