Hôtel Coulanges

Hôtel Coulanges stands on the Place des Vosges in Paris’s fourth arrondissement, among the square’s historic façades. Philippe I de Coulanges and Marie de Bèze commissioned the mansion in 1607.

Marie de Rabutin-Chantal was born here in 1626 and lived here until age eleven. Later known as Madame de Sévigné, she became a celebrated French letter writer. Painted beams cross the French-style ceilings, while large stone fireplaces mark the interiors. Georges Dufrénoy lived here from 1871 to 1914 as a post-impressionist painter. In the early twentieth century, Isadora Duncan and Paris Singer turned the reception hall into a dance space.

French heritage protection covers the façades and roofs since 1926, alongside the staircases and vaulted gallery. Béatrice Cottin led restoration work for more than forty years during the mid-twentieth century. A monumental staircase remains the clearest reminder of the building’s later transformation into a place for dance.