Bal au Grand Hôtel

The Couvent des Jacobins invites you to discover Toulouse in the Belle Époque with the exhibition “Bal au Grand Hôtel : se divertir à Toulouse à la Belle Époque”. Between 1871 and 1914, the city undergoes profound change: new forms of transport, technical progress, the growth of shops and evolving social habits give rise to new ways of living and of enjoying leisure.

Across 650 m², the exhibition offers an immersion in Toulouse in 1900 through life-size sets. A Toulouse street, the lobby of the Grand Hôtel, a market, a café-restaurant, a shop, a railway station, a domestic interior or a ballroom: each setting tells a facet of everyday life and leisure at the time.

More than 150 heritage objects, costumes, posters, furniture and everyday items, combined with soundscapes and reconstructions, bring this era of change to life. The exhibition thus reveals how cafés, restaurants, shows, promenades, celebrations and balls gradually became essential places of sociability.

Self-guided, narrative or playful thanks to a hands-on approach, visitors can explore the exhibition at their own pace and according to their wishes. A full cultural programme also accompanies the experience, with guided visits, workshops, meetings and events around everyday life and leisure in the Belle Époque.

An immersive plunge into Toulouse in 1900, to understand a city in motion and discover history in a different way.