Montcalm hotel, 19th century mansion and art gallery in Montpellier, France
The Montcalm Hotel is an early 19th-century private mansion on a plot bought in 1816 by cavalry officer Louis Marie André Dieudonné de Montcalm. Its cream facade has three levels: a rusticated ground floor with a panelled wooden double door under a metal canopy, five shuttered windows with blind arches on the middle level, and five small square windows above. Since 2019 it houses the MO.CO. Hôtel des collections, with a 366 m² exhibition space under the north courtyard.
The building was constructed in 1816 as a private residence and underwent major renovations to become a modern art center. This transformation made it an important venue in Montpellier's contemporary cultural landscape.
The name honours Louis Marie André Dieudonné de Montcalm, a cavalry officer descended from the lieutenant general who defended Quebec in 1758. Since 29 June 2019 the mansion has housed MO.CO. Hôtel des collections, a contemporary art venue, and its park reopened as the Jardin des cinq continents, designed by Bertrand Lavier with Gilles Clément and Coloco.
The mansion stands between the Gare Saint-Roch and the Place de la Comédie, a short walk from either. The Jardin des cinq continents, laid out as a garden-atlas by Bertrand Lavier with Gilles Clément and Coloco, reopened with the MO.CO. on 29 June 2019; it was closed for several years before that.
The outdoor garden was designed by a prominent French artist and represents a world map using different plant species. Each section of the garden showcases flora from different continents and creates a surprising contrast to the architecture.
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