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Origin and history

The Hôtel des Menus Plaisirs was built around 1745 under Louis XV in Versailles to house the workshops and accessories of royal entertainment, called " Menus-Plaisirs". There were stored theatre sets, musical instruments, costumes and even a physics firm installed in 1759 by Abbé Nollet for the education of the children of France, including the future Louis XVI. The architecture was organized around two separate level courts: the lower courtyard on Avenue de Paris and the upper courtyard, rue des Etats Générales.

In 1787 and 1788, the upper court will house a temporary hall for the assemblies of the notables. This hall was enlarged in 1789 by architect Pierre-Adrien Pâris to accommodate the 1,200 deputies of the General States, the last meeting of the Ancien Régime. King Louis XVI gave a keynote address on 23 June 1789, after the oath of the Jeu de palme. The night of 4 August 1789 saw the abolition of privileges in the same room, followed by the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen on 26 August.

After the Revolution, the hotel served as a barracks, a military store, and then a distribution centre before being partially demolished in 1800. In the 20th century, it was restored for the bicentenary of the Revolution (1989) and since 1996 houses the Baroque Music Centre of Versailles. The traces of the General States Hall, including the cobblestones delineating the stands, remain in the upper courtyard.

Ranked a historic monument in 1927 (indoor) and 1929 (façades), the Hotel des Menus Plaisirs is now part of the National Estate of Versailles. Its role in the beginnings of the French Revolution made it a symbolic place, where political debates, ephemeral architectural innovations and cultural heritage intersected.

The facades and some interior parts are protected, while the remains of the General States Hall, although disassembled, remain visible thanks to a footprint. The site thus illustrates the transition between the Old Regime and political modernity, while maintaining a cultural function with the Baroque Music Centre.

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