Guided tour of Hôtel de la Païva, a mysterious residence with erotic decorations

At 25 avenue des Champs-Elysées, there's a charming mansion whose very special character is hard to imagine from the outside. Built at the request ofEsther Lachmann, nicknamed "La Païva", this mansion , erected between 1856 and 1865, boasts an opulent, flashy style bordering on debauchery, which earned it the nickname"Louvre du cul", given to it by the Goncourt brothers in 1867! Today, the site is only accessible on guided tours, which are rare and in great demand, and on Heritage Days. We were able to take part in one of these, and get an inside look at this richly decorated residence.

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If this hotel has such a sulphurous reputation, it's entirely due to the impressive story of Esther Lachmann, prostitute, courtesan, marquise and then countess, who left her mark on Parisian life! Born in Russia and Polish, she arrived in Paris in the 1840s and entered the world of prostitution, adopting the pseudonym Thérèse. During the guided tour, you'll get to know this mysterious, avant-garde woman, who was very free for her time, and who has never ceased to maintain her legend.

In 1852, she became the wife of a multimillionaire Prussian count, Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, who let her build this"Hôtel de la Païva" for 11 million francs. In the meantime, she had many rich lovers and enjoyed the social life, climbing the social ladder. Decorated by architect Pierre Manguin in the Second Empire style, the hotel features a grand staircase in precious Algerian onyx, a Moorish bathroom, a winter garden, huge fireplaces, and numerous erotic sculptures and paintings featuring women's bodies.

It is said that the Countess herself posed nude as a model! She gave some of the most famous parties here, where people didn't just drink champagne, of course. For almost a century, this place of ostentatious luxury has belonged to the gentlemen's Traveller's Club, which opens it to visitors to promote this exceptional heritage, listed as a historic monument since 1980.