Part Two: Hôtel De La Païva – The Intriguing Story Of The Woman Behind The Most Sumptuous “Hôtel Particulier” On The Champs-Elysées

Part Two: Hôtel De La Païva – The Intriguing Story Of The Woman Behind The Most Sumptuous “Hôtel Particulier” On The Champs-Elysées

While La Païva was often described as an overly ambitious upstart, excessive in her need for material goods and uncouth in her way of showing her fortune and possessions, I’d rather explore the reasons that might have led her to adopt certain behavior and what really fueled that determined ambition and drove her to build her extravagant Hôtel Particulier. She was, after all, a courtesan...

Part One: Hôtel De La Païva – The Intriguing Story Behind The Most Sumptuous Mansion on The Champs-Elysées

Part One: Hôtel De La Païva – The Intriguing Story Behind The Most Sumptuous Mansion on The Champs-Elysées

While I was flipping through a book about historic palaces in Paris, especially those rarely accessible to the public, a particular and quite unusual story caught my eye and sparked my interest. The fascinating story I am about to describe narrates the life of the mastermind behind one of the most emblematic monuments on the Champs-Elysées (Hôtel Particulier in French): Hôtel de La Païva, the only example left of the magnificent palaces that once lined the iconic avenue...