The Maison Jean Monnet is only an hour from Paris, in the heart of the Yvelines. This was the place where the man came to recharge his batteries away from the hustle and bustle of the capital and where he also welcomed the high officials with whom he spoke about the future of Europe. In accordance with the wishes of his daughter Marianne, the place is now a museum in which the public can discover on the ground floor the rooms in which Jean Monnet lived with his family, where he received politicians and where he worked. Upstairs, the interactive exhibition on the life and work of Jean Monnet takes place in the rooms where his daughters and guests used to live. Interactivity is the word to use in connection with the modernisation of the first floor undertaken by the European Parliament in 2019. The House of Jean Monnet now offers four areas that allow visitors to delve into the history of Europe in the digital age. And to continue this trend, the escape game set up in the Maison Jean Monnet by Quaestyo also makes the discovery of this great place of history interactive. So don't forget your smartphone!
The first floor of the Jean Monnet House: a more interactive permanent exhibition
The European Parliament bought Jean Monnet House in 1982. In keeping with the desire of the man and his closest collaborators to see the residence open to the public and in particular to young people, the parliamentary body of the European Union has made it a place of memory where visitors can learn about the workings of the Union, while discovering the living environment of the last years of one of its 'founding fathers'. Today, the Maison Jean Monnet offers a superb permanent and multimedia exhibition on the first floor of this beautiful cottage. A space that has been completely modernised in 2019 by the European Parliament to make the experience even more interactive. Through projections, touch screens and tables or by connecting to online tools, young and old alike can discover Jean Monnet's vital contribution to the construction of a united Europe after the Second World War, but also the extent to which the Community institutions influence the daily lives of citizens.
The "Synthesis" room
In this room, visitors to the museum discover a 12-minute documentary film made from rare videos on the occasion of the centenary of Jean Monnet's birth in 1988. In it, we listen to the man give his vision of Europe, how the idea of several states united around a common project germinated in his mind as well as the future he saw for Europe. It is also an opportunity to discover how Jean Monnet went to meet the greatest political personalities of the world at the time to explain his project
The "Retrospective" room
Equipped with a stylus given to them by the reception staff, visitors can navigate the "Retrospective" table. This interactive and fun surface provides access to photos, short videos and texts that shed light on key dates in the life of Jean Monnet and the construction of Europe. 16 key moments to better understand the stages that helped shape Europe, and speeches by illustrious figures such as Robert Schuman and Simone Veil
The "Perspective" room
This room is also interactive, with the "Perspective" table available to the public. Each of the five key words of this round table proposes to explore in greater depth a theme dear to Jean Monnet. These are "political vision", "the economy as a starting point", the notion of "stronger together", "a taste for travel" and "a dialogue for unity". All these strong points of Jean Monnet's method and action have important resonances in our contemporary times. The animations illustrate Jean Monnet's words and invite reflection. This room is also home to a pair of old-fashioned binoculars that allow you to go back in time to 1950. They offer a vision of Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman and Bernard Clappier talking about European integration under one of the trees in the park. The moment refers to the Schuman Plan, the starting point of what would later become the European Union.
The "Vision" room
This room is Jean Monnet's former office. It was a place he was particularly fond of for its view of the green countryside of the Ile-de-France. The space invites you to read and reflect. It is a library where you can consult works on the history of Europe and on the great figures who have marked its construction. It is also a place of interactivity, with the possibility of connecting to the European Parliament's databases and tools for information.
A fun time with an escape game
During a visit to the Maison Jean Monnet with family or friends, you should not miss the escape game offered by Quaestyo. The game is called"Europe's secret team" and offers participants the chance to experience the great adventure of building the EU. The game is free, you just need a well-charged smartphone and up to 6 people can participate. For 75 minutes, connected to the application on their smartphone, participants try to solve a riddle by collecting clues scattered around the ground floor of the house, the first floor and the park. Note that the smartest ones are rewarded and meet at the reception desk to discover their surprise. This is another way of discovering the Jean Monnet House and plunging into the heart of the construction of Europe in an interactive way.
Don't miss the walk in the park
A visit to this incredible site in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne also includes a stroll through the park, where explanatory panels allow you to go back in time and immerse yourself in the life of Jean Monnet, before stopping off at the "European citizen's garden", where you can discover the plant emblem of each European country and a circuit indicating the different trees in the park planted by European political figures
