The Hôtel de La Païva, now owned by The Travelers Club, is a very beautiful building with an extraordinary history. It has the unique distinction of being the only remaining Hôtel Particulier on the Champs Élysées which has its original decor intact. (Note that a Hôtel Particulier, in case you don’t speak French, is a large private mansion in a city or town, not a hotel in the general sense of the word. In fact, members of the Travelers Club [an all male club, by the way] can book a room and stay in this particular Hôtel Particulier. But it is not a hotel.)
It has a a stunning façade with a beautiful doorway onto the Champs Élysées.
SOME HISTORY
While this Journal post concentrates mainly on the amazing building itself, one needs to know a little of the history of the hôtel to put the photos in context. The mansion/townhouse was built between 1856 and 1866 by the Russian-Polish courtesan Esther Lachmann, aka La Païva. From her fairly humble origins, a series of advantageous marriages brought her into great wealth which enabled her initially to buy a luxurious mansion at 28 Place Saint-Georges and then go on to achieve her dream of building the magnificent hôtel particulier on the Champs Élysées which she considered the most beautiful avenue in the world. There she entertained lavishly. You will see from the photos that the hôtel particulier is well suited to lavish entertainment.
Now for the photos of the interior. The main staircase is an extraordinary construction of beautiful yellow onyx marble – probably unique in the world. The pictures speak for themselves.
LIVING ROOM
Overlooking the Champs Élysée, the living room has some wonderful detail.
DETAILS
The devil is in the details. Hôtel de la Païva is definitely no exception.
CEILINGS
Amazing ceilings that keep you looking up.
WINTER GARDEN
The hôtel has a very attractive winter garden.
PASSAGEWAYS, VIEWS
Walking through the hôtel there are beautiful doorways, entrances, views, glimpses into spaces beyond, that add to the building’s fascination.
UPSTAIRS ROOMS
Well, there is your introduction to Hôtel de la Païva in all of its glory. We hope you have a chance to visit. It’s not open to the public. The best way to see it is to search for a guided tour of the Hôtel de la Païva on line and get in touch with a tour guide for instructions. It’s well worth the effort.
We aim to add some of the images in this post to the shop. But, if you fall in love with an image that is not listed, please contact us and we will make it available to you. The best way to let us know which exact image you are referring to is to make a screen grab of it or just save the image and send it to us in an email.
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À bientôt,
The Parisian Moments Team