I like visiting authors’ homes. Mostly I like to compare their home environment to my own. Sometimes you are influenced most by your very immediate surroundings. And many writers just don’t get out much.
Besides, I like saying names like “Balzac”. The more emphasis you give it, the more it sounds like the name of someone huge and powerful. Maybe Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger—but with a real head on his shoulders, one that doesn’t sag under the staggering weight of appearing so famous as to be desirable to horny housekeepers.
In any case, if you like real literature by one of the titans of the French pen, you can go to Paris and visit Balzac’s abode. Here are instructions: Maison de Balzac Visitor’s Guide