As night falls, head for Mont-Louis in Montmorency to visit the House of Jean-Jacques Rousseau as part of Nuit des Musées 2024, the 20th edition of which takes place on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Although the philosopher lived in Montmorency for just 5 years - between 1757 and 1762 - he wrote his greatest works here: Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse, Du Contrat social, and Émile ou de l'Éducation.
The highly controversial Émile ou de l'Éducation, which led to his exile, has made the town of Montmorency a place of pilgrimage for lovers of literature. Although the philosopher's house was used after his departure, the town of Montmorency did everything in its power to recover it and turn it into a museum dedicated to Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
In this reconstructed house, we discover furniture and objects in the style of the Rousseau era, including Rousseau's bed, Thérèse's bed, the table on which he wrote his Nouvelle Héloïse, his barometer and 2 crystal jars from which Rousseau sheltered his light, so he could read at night in the garden.
On the walls, original documents take us back to Rousseau's Montmorencé period, for a biographical presentation of the philosopher of the Enlightenment. A great idea for all readers of the philosopher... or high school students studying him for the French bac, as the case may be.
The Musée Jean-Jacques Rousseau unveils a selection of more than 80 works, revealing the richness of its collections, both in terms of their diversity and their historical value.
The museum houses almost 12,000 works, mainly engravings, books and manuscripts, but also furniture, objets d'art, drawings, paintings and sculptures. This vast collection reflects the multiple identity of this emblematic site, which is both a literary museum in its capacity as a writer's house, and a history museum with its collection devoted to the town of Montmorency.
Go behind the scenes at the Museum and discover how a collection is built up, preserved, exhibited and passed on.
Thanks to various interactive devices and game booklets, join the Museum team and inspect a work of art, retrace its history or create your own exhibition!
Guided tours of the philosopher's house every 30 minutes
The budding mediators, in CE2 at the Pasteur school, present their creations inspired by Rousseau's herbariums and developed with photographer Justine Montmarché.
Concerts by candlelight in the garden:
Rediscover the music of your favorite films, played on guitar by Alvaro Cobarrubias and Yannick Deborne, two guitarists from the André Grétry Conservatoire.
Dates and Opening Time
On May 18th, 2024
Location
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Museum
5 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau
95160 Montmorency
Prices
Free
Official website
www.ville-montmorency.fr
More information
Reservations for guided tours the same day, at the Museum reception desk.
