Hôtel Raoul de la Faye

Hôtel Raoul de la Faye is a residential house built around 1510 on rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie in the 4th arrondissement. The structure displays Renaissance features including decorative molded windows, thick stone walls, and a rooftop window called a lucarne, while the interior preserves painted wooden ceiling beams and a staircase adorned with stone sculptures of a dolphin and sphinx.

The house was constructed around 1510 for Raoul de la Faye, a royal notary and finance official under King Louis XII, and remained in his family for generations. In the late 1600s, Claude Dunoyer occupied the property before his death in 1683, bringing ties to the glass-making trade through his brother's nearby factory.

The house is named after Raoul de la Faye, a royal notary from the 16th century, and this connection to his public role shapes how the building is understood locally. The street itself remains part of a neighborhood where craft traditions and commerce once flourished, giving the area a working-class heritage that contrasts with grander districts nearby.

The house is privately owned and not open to the general public, though it is currently used by Rice University. Guided tours are occasionally offered to view the exterior and learn its history, so check in advance for tour availability when planning a visit to the area.

The house underwent a comprehensive restoration between 1996 and 1998 using a detailed 1544 inventory that documented its original furnishings and decorations to guide the reconstruction. This rare historical record allowed restorers to accurately recreate Renaissance details like painted ceiling panels and architectural features that had been lost or altered.