Musée du Papier Peint, Rixheim
Just six kilometres south of Mulhouse in the village of Rixheim, an 18th-century commandery of the Teutonic Knights houses the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to wallpaper. With over 100,000 samples spanning three centuries, it is one of the most unexpected and genuinely delightful small museums in France.
Inside the Collection
The museum occupies the former factory of Zuber & Cie, founded in 1797 and still producing hand-printed panoramic wallpapers using the original wood blocks. The Zuber 'Vues d'Amérique du Nord' panoramic paper — a continuous 25-panel scene of Niagara Falls and Boston Harbour — hangs in the White House diplomatic reception rooms, and you can see the original printing blocks here.
Room after room reveals the evolution of decorative taste from Baroque grotesques to Art Deco geometric prints, with a particularly strong collection of early 19th-century French scenic papers that effectively served as travel posters for people who would never leave their village.
Getting There and Combining with Mulhouse
Rixheim is an easy 15-minute drive from central Mulhouse or reachable by bus line 15 from Mulhouse central station. The village itself is a quiet, well-preserved Alsatian settlement with a good bakery on the main street worth a stop before or after your visit.
Combine the trip with a walk along the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, which passes through Rixheim and offers a flat, scenic 4-kilometre cycling path back towards Mulhouse along the water.
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