Hotel de France, Palace in central Palermo, Italy.

Hotel de France is a large palace building in central Palermo with numerous rooms and expansive windows and terraces. From its upper levels, it offers views across the city and its key architectural features.

The building dates from the 17th century and was first called "castello di S. Onofrio". In 1808 its owners turned it into a hotel, and in 1838 the Giachery family acquired it, making it Palermo's most luxurious hotel, where Francesco Crispi, Edmondo De Amicis, Sigmund Freud and Joe Petrosino stayed. Closed in 1936, it later became the University of Palermo's Casa del Goliardo, was restored after years of neglect and reopened in December 2009 as a residence for foreign researchers.

The name Hotel de France recalls its 1808 conversion into a hotel, run from 1838 by the Giachery family. Before World War I the German owner Peter Weinen installed an elevator, electric lighting in every room and a jardin d'hiver. One wing now holds the Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum, founded in 1975, with a historic collection of Sicilian pupi.

The building stands on Piazza Marina in the Tribunali district, a short walk from the port and the Palazzo Steri. One wing houses the Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum, open since 1975, while the rest serves as a guesthouse for foreign researchers since December 2009. The university pension that occupied it closed in the late 1970s.

The building's name survives from its years as a hotel, though it has not lodged guests since 1936. Since December 2009 it has served as a residence for foreign researchers, and one wing holds the Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum, founded in 1975, with a historic collection of Sicilian pupi.