Hôtel de Fontfreyde, Renaissance mansion in historic center of Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Hôtel de Fontfreyde is a 16th-century mansion on rue des Gras, formed of two residential wings joined by a spiral staircase topped by a turret. The small courtyard facing rue Saint-Pierre has two facades of the second half of the 16th century, with windows framed by Doric, Ionic and Corinthian pilasters, the Corinthian order on the top floor. The roof carries a dormer framed by Corinthian pilasters and crowned with a mask of scrollwork and a pine cone.

Built in the late Middle Ages when prosperous families constructed such city mansions to display their status, this residence reflects that period's domestic architecture. Excavations in 2001 revealed earlier settlement layers in the cellars, demonstrating centuries of continuous occupation at the site.

Since April 2010 the building has housed a photography centre that shows monographic and group exhibitions of contemporary work and hosts artist residencies. The pink banners on the rue des Gras facade announce the current exhibition and the "Centre photographique" label. The mansion is not to be confused with the hôtel de Fontfreyde at 28 rue Jules-Guesde in Montferrand.

The building stands on the west flank of the Clermont-Ferrand butte, between rue des Gras to the south, place Saint-Pierre to the north and the small rue Saint-Pierre to the east. The entrance is on rue des Gras, where the carved "HOTEL FONTREYDE" inscription and red doors mark the doorway. The spiral staircase links the two wings; the courtyard facades are seen from the small rue Saint-Pierre side.

The spiral staircase bears two coats of arms carved at the base of its first flight: Gabriel de Fontfreyde's three gold trunks with a boar's head, and a second shield recalling his son Jean's marriage to Marie de Cistel, which dates the stair to shortly after 1578.