Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière, 18th-century mansion near Place de la Concorde, Paris, France
The Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière was an 18th-century mansion near Place de la Concorde with a grand salon featuring neoclassical decorations inspired by archaeological findings from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The interior displayed refined taste through its ornamentation and artistic embellishments.
Built in 1775 by architect Jean-Benoît-Vincent Barré, it belonged to Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, a tax official from the Seven Years War period. The original structure stood for roughly 150 years before demolition in 1932 to make way for a new embassy building.
Alexandre Grimod de La Reynière, the heir to the mansion, created France's first restaurant reviews and published eight volumes of the Almanach des Gourmands. These publications made the house a center where food culture and written commentary on dining became intertwined.
Today the site is occupied by the United States Embassy, which is easily accessible from Concorde metro station. The original mansion is no longer open to visitors, but the location remains a significant landmark in Paris.
Eight decorated wooden panels depicting scenes from Achilles' life once adorned the interior. These panels were sold in 1850 and now reside in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
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