Heritage Days 2026 at the Paris Court of Appeal — Hôtel de Beauvais

The architecture of theHôtel de Beauvais is well worth a visit during the Heritage Days. Built between 1654 and 1658 on a narrow 15-sided plot, this mansion is one of the most original of its time. Its architect succeeded in conceiving a building with five doors, hidden behind a magnificent "Grand Siècle" façade with elegant ornamentation. At the time, it included stables, a chapel and a hanging garden.

This building belonged to Catherine Bellier, known as Cateau la Borgnesse, the first chambermaid to Queen Anne of Austria, who denounced the young Louis XIV. She had it built with money donated for "services rendered". Seized during the French Revolution and transformed into a stagecoach office, the hotel was then rented out and modified. It was finally bought by the City of Paris in 1943 as part of the spoliation of Jewish families.

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Converted into a rental housing building, it was occupied until 1985 before being left to stand abandoned. In 2001, the townhouse underwent major restorations to restore its 1658 appearance. A research project was undertaken to recover its former splendor, thanks in particular to archives and contemporary testimonies. Since 2004 it has housed the Cour administrative d’appel de Paris, but it remains a striking example of Grand Siècle architecture, to be visited on September 19 and 20, 2026.

Heritage Days 2026 program at the Paris Court of Appeal – Hôtel de Beauvais:

• Guided tour of the Hôtel de Beauvais

  The iconic and splendid Hôtel de Beauvais began construction in 1654, led by Antoine Le Pautre (1621-1679), the King’s premier architect, on the site of the old town house of the Abbaye de Chaâlis, which still preserves, notably, a remarkable 13th‑century Gothic hall. Catherine de Beauvais, known as Cateau la Borgnesse, the queen Anne d’Autriche’s first lady of the chamber, was chosen by the queen, in keeping with the mores of the era, to “unveil” the young Louis XIV. As a reward for her service to the Crown, she secured the funds needed to build this splendid townhouse in the heart of the Marais. The very irregular plot—a seventeen‑sided polygon—prompted Antoine Le Pautre to conceive a building of strikingly original architecture, with trompe‑l’œil effects and deliberate asymmetries, organized around a semi‑oval courtyard that is unique in the world. It was at Hôtel de Beauvais, inaugurated on that occasion, that Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche were welcomed in Paris by the Queen Mother, surrounded by Mazarin and the entire Court, on the day of their solemn entry into the capital after their marriage (26 August 1660). Among the glories of this hôtel is its role as a lodging for the young Mozart—then only seven years old but already renowned as a child prodigy—during the Bavarian Embassy’s stay in Paris from November 1763 to April 1764. It was there, where Mozart resided with his family, that he composed the first works published during his lifetime. Hôtel de Beauvais, a classified Historic Monument, has housed the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal since its complete restoration, completed in 2003.

  Access

  Saint-Paul Metro (Line 1), Pont Marie Metro (Line 7)

  Participation requirements: Free | No reservations required

  Hours: Saturday, September 19, 2026 — 10:00 to 17:00 | Sunday, September 20, 2026 — 10:00 to 17:00