Montescot Hotel

Family meal in the living room

Behind the windows of a fantastic building in blue and gold tones, a whole family is gathered for the Christmas feast.

Conception artistique : M2.Creative

Chartres en lumières celebrates Christmas

From November 29th to January 5th, the most beautiful monuments illuminated by Chartres en lumières are decked out in Christmas colours. 

Find out about all the Christmas illuminations

A little history

The Montescot Hotel, the historical headquarters of the Chartres municipal administration, has had many successive lives since its construction in the early 17th century until its integration into the new and vast administrative center designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. The Montescot Hotel is a 17th century building whose facades and roofs have been classified as historical monuments.

Its history begins in 1546 when Jean de Montescot, administrator of the duchy of Chartres, had it built. The hotel was devastated during the Wars of Religion before being rebuilt in 1614 by his son Claude. At the death of the latter, in 1625, the hotel was sold to the Ursulines of Saumur who educated poor young girls there until 1759. In 1761, the Daughters of Providence occupied the hotel, taking in orphan girls and transforming it into a school.

In 1824, it was acquired by the city, which restored and expanded it to house a museum and a library.

On the night of May 26, 1944, the Montescot Hotel was bombed by mistake by the Allies. The bombs and fire almost completely destroyed the Justice of the Peace wing and the library wing, along with the treasures of manuscripts, engravings and books that it contained. The new Chartres City Hall, designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, now stands on their site.

Dates and times

The 21 sites of Chartres en lumières are illuminated EVERY, night from dusk to 1am (11.30pm from the 27 October), until 5th January 2025.

The lighting of the illuminations varies according to the time of nightfall.

  • November: around 6.15pm / 6pm
  • December: 5.45pm
  • January : 5.45pm