Hôtel de Choiseul-Praslin, Private mansion in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France.
The Hôtel de Choiseul-Praslin stands at the corner of Rue de Sèvres and Rue Saint-Romain in the 6th arrondissement. Its light beige stone facade has a dark grey mansard roof with a central triangular pediment and a round window, arched windows on the upper row, six tall rectangular windows below, and a glazed double door behind a black iron fence. Inside, the vestibule, a Louis XV axial salon, a neo-Louis XVI dining room with Pompeian decor, the staircase, and a neo-gothic chapel are protected.
Built in 1722 by architect Sulpice Gaubier for the Countess of Choiseul, the mansion passed at her death to her nephew César Gabriel de Choiseul-Praslin, who lived there from 1745 to 1765 and gave it his name. He enlarged and embellished it from 1750, then exchanged it in 1765 with the king's Hôtel de Belle-Isle. The state bought it in 1886 for the Caisse nationale d'épargne; after 30 months of restoration by La Banque postale it was inaugurated on 15 September 2011.
The name comes from César Gabriel de Choiseul-Praslin, who inherited the mansion from his aunt in 1746 and lived there until 1765. From 1946 to 1973 it housed the Musée de La Poste, the postal museum, before standing empty. Since 15 September 2011 it has formed part of the headquarters of La Banque postale, and its rooms opened to the public for the European Heritage Days that year.
The building now forms part of the La Banque postale headquarters and is not open for regular visits; it is seen from the corner of Rue de Sèvres and Rue Saint-Romain, behind a black iron fence. The courtyard facades have been listed as monuments historiques since 1926, and the building opened to the public for the European Heritage Days in 2011.
The 2006 heritage listing covers not only the roof and staircase but also a set of ground-floor rooms: the entrance vestibule, an axial Louis XV salon and a dining room in neo-Louis XVI style with Pompeian decoration. Upstairs, a neo-Louis XV salon, a First Renaissance room and a neo-gothic chapel are protected.
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