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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Richer de Belleval hotel, commonly known as the Belleval hotel, is a historic monument building located in Place de la Canourgue in Montpellier (Hérault). Built between 1669 and 1682 by Charles de Boulhac, adviser to the Court of Accounts, it replaces an old canon house destroyed in the 17th century. The building incorporates medieval remains and is distinguished by its double inner courtyard, a rarity in local architecture. Its facade, decorated with pilasters, carved balconies and mascarons, reflects the classical influence of the era.

In 1709, the marriage of Gaspard de Belleval with Élisabeth de Fressieux allowed the acquisition of adjoining houses, expanding the hotel. His son, Joseph-Philibert de Belleval, inherited the place in 1751 and added sumptuous interior decorations, including gypseries and frescoes signed by Jean de Troy or Jacques-Louis Guigues. The hotel also houses elements inherited from Pierre Richer de Belleval, a botanist doctor who founded the Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier. After the Revolution, it became a municipal building, serving as a city hall from 1816 to 1975, before being transformed into an annex to the courthouse until 2010.

Purchased by the city in 2011, the hotel is sold in 2017 to Helenis for an ambitious rehabilitation. It was a historic monument in 2015 and reopened in 2021 after restoration, with a Relais & Châteaux hotel, a gourmet restaurant (Le Jardin des Sens), and a contemporary art foundation. The historical decorations, restored by the Workshop of Ricou, are alongside contemporary works commissioned under the direction of Numa Hambursin. The architecture, marked by columns added in 1827 to consolidate the building, today illustrates a dialogue between heritage and modernity.

The Belleval hotel is unique in its multi-faceted history: aristocratic residence, city seat and then cultural place. Its interior spaces, such as the old wedding hall adorned with Louis XV gypseries, or the painted vault representing an Assumption of the Virgin, testify to its past prestige. The recent rehabilitation, led by Philippe Prost in collaboration with the DRAC Occitanie, has preserved these elements while adapting them to contemporary use, making this monument a symbol of the revitalization of Montpellieran heritage.

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