Jean Jacques Rousseau bust

The bust of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in Annecy

The bust of Jean-Jacques Rousseau recalls the stay in Annecy of the famous philosopher and writer, and his meeting with Madame de Warens. The Annecy audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this monument, linked to a significant episode of the life of the thinker.

The meeting of the philosopher and Madame de Warens

The bust pays tribute to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the greatest philosophers and writers of the Enlightenment, whose life is linked to Annecy. It is here, on Easter day of the year 1728, that the young Rousseau, then aged sixteen, met Madame de Warens, a baroness who was twenty-eight. Thus began what he later called the happiness of his life. The baroness took him in and played a determining role in his formation, his education and his path, as he recounted in his famous Confessions. This meeting deeply marked the existence and the thought of the future author of the Social Contract and Émile. The bust of Rousseau perpetuates the memory of this episode and of the link between the philosopher and the town of Annecy.

What to see

You admire the bust paying tribute to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a great philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment, who met in Annecy in 1728 Madame de Warens, the beginning of what he called the happiness of his life, recounted in his Confessions. The bust perpetuates the link of the philosopher with the town. It is a stop for lovers of literature, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The bust of Jean-Jacques Rousseau lies in the old town of Annecy, reachable on foot. It is an open-air monument, freely visible from the public space. You discover it during a walk in the historic centre.

What link does Jean-Jacques Rousseau have with Annecy?

It is in Annecy, on Easter day 1728, that the young Rousseau met Madame de Warens, who took him in and marked his formation and his life, the beginning of what he called the happiness of his life, recounted in his Confessions.

Where is the bust of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Annecy?

In the old town of Annecy, in France.