Hôtel Lambert

The palace was designed by the architect Louis Le Vau, and built between 1640 and 1644 for Claude Lambert de Thorigny, president of the Chambre des Comptes. One of the finest examples of 17th century palace architecture in France, the palace was decorated by Charles Le Brun and Eustache Le Sueur. Both painters had worked on the internal decoration for almost 5 years.

With luxurious apartments, it was once the home of actress Michèle Morgan and to Baron Alexis de Redé who rented the first floor from 1949 until his death in 2004. The palace was purchased by Baron Guy de Rothschild and his wife Marie-Hélène de Rothschild in 1975 who used it as their Paris residence.

Among the notable guests and patrons of the Hôtel Lambert were some of the most notable artists and politicians of the epoch, including Frédéric Chopin, Zygmunt Krasiński, Alphonse de Lamartine, George Sand, Honoré de Balzac, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Eugène Delacroix and Adam Mickiewicz. Chopin's "La Polonaise" was composed exclusively for the Polish ball held there every year.