Hôtel de la Païva – Champs-Elysées Avenue

Hôtel de la Païva and Esther Lachmann

The Hôtel de la Païva is one of the elegant private mansions lining the prestigious Avenue des Champs-Elysées.

Hotel de la Paiva
La Paiva’s emblem

Esther Lachmann, the daughter of a modest Polish Jewish tailor, commissioned this mansion in the mid-19th century after marrying the wealthy Prussian Count Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck.

One of the most prominent courtesans in Paris, Esther soon adopted the pseudonym La Païva, a name imbued with nobility. Her aspirations for a more prestigious social position indeed demanded a name more befitting her new status!

Her legendary soirées became renowned, attracting the best of Parisian society. The salon at La Païva hosted a range of distinguished guests from the political, artistic and literary spheres, including personalities such as the Goncourt brothers, the esteemed writer Théophile Gautier and Léon Gambetta, Prime Minister from 1881 to 1882.

The Italian Renaissance Hôtel de la Païva

La Païva spared no expense and hired the greatest artists of the time to adorn her mansion in an opulent Italian Renaissance style.

Hotel de la Paiva
Hotel de la Paiva

The most extravagant features are undoubtedly the yellow onyx staircase with its finely painted ceilings, as well as her sumptuous Moorish-style bathroom. She also commissioned extensive art and furniture collections, creating a tableau of ostentatious luxury that contrasted sharply with her modest origins.

La Païva’s life of opulence was, however, short-lived. She was indeed accused of espionage during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71 and was forced to flee with her husband to Silesia in 1877, where she died in 1884, never returning to Paris.

The Hôtel de la Païva remains in its original state. Thus, you can still admire the wrought-iron gate adorned with his initials, which opens onto the double entrance that once welcomed carriages. You can also enter it, as the magnificent Hôtel de la Païva is now a prestigious restaurant.

Directions: 8th district – no25 Avenue des Champs-Elysées
Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt on Line 1
Coordinates: Lat 48.869334 – Long 2.307998

Paris – Ile De France – Latest content