By any standards, the Duc de Choiseul, Louis XV’s politically nimble chief minister, lived well – exhibit A being his five-storey mansion on Rue Saint-Marc in Paris’s then stylish second arrondissement. Built in 1791 as the Duc’s post-retirement digs on a corner block facing the Opéra Comique and a stone’s throw from the Opéra Garnier and the fashionable rue Vivienne, the handsome pile has gone through several hands over the years – most famously as the Italian restaurant Poccardi where, in 1914, one Raoul Villain steadied his nerves with a meal before heading out to assassinate the French socialist leader Jean Jaurès.
By the time Nadia Murano and Denis Nourry, the owners of the Christian Lacroix-designed l’Hotel du Petit Moulin, took over 36 Rue Saint-Marc in 2013 with the object of turning it into a bijou hotel, it was looking a little the worse for wear, its once stately grandeur hidden under almost two centuries’ worth of accretions and grime.
A two-year restoration led by the Milanese designers Dimore Studio has literally lightened up the building’s interiors though without the riotous excesses of the l’Hotel du Petit Moulin. A glass-topped, trellis-lined courtyard has been carved out of a central room, flooding with light the public spaces dressed with black and white marble, luminous Dedar velvet, Jim Thomson silks, and a mood board of blues, blush and dusky reds.
The hotel’s 26 rooms are casually varied in their permutations of bold Art Deco-inspired palm-print drapes and dressing tables, burnt orange sofas, Louis de Poortere rugs, Fontana Arte and Flos lamps, and O. Borsani brass headboards.
The basement has been reinforced for the insertion of a small heated swimming pool (with a counter current mode for laps) and hammam. Possibly as a discrete acknowledgement of what happened the last time the building had a restaurant, the hotel offers only room service and light snacks, though that’s not such a disadvantage – the Grand Boulevards with their little nooks filled with brasseries and wine pits are just steps away.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
36 Rue Saint-Marc
-
‘Just beneath the surface there’s another world’: How David Lynch used hair and make-up to create his singular universeFrom Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive to Twin Peaks, David Lynch used hair and make-up in his films as a narrative device, writes Laura Havlin
-
Burns Night 2025: where to celebrate in LondonIt is time to raise a wee dram to Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns on Burns Night (25 January). Here is our pick of places to enjoy an evening of generous speechmaking, toasting, and drinking around London
-
Tag Heuer unveils sporty new collections at LVMH Watch Week 2025Tag Heuer has announced a series of new watches at LVMH Watch Week, including Formula 1 and Carrera editions
-
Ski in, ski out at Courchevel’s hot new piste-side dinerLoulou, the new Courchevel restaurant inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s muse, is playfully elevated by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s pop art branding
-
The cosiest alpine retreats to book in EuropeBrowse the Wallpaper* edit of European alpine retreats where to fully embrace the ski season
-
First look at Maison 3, an eclectic new Parisian bar for sleepless nightsMaison 3 is an enigmatic space with a sensual atmosphere brought to life by the French studio Les Beaux Jours Architectures
-
The world’s most enticing new hotel openingsExplore the best new hotels in the world, from luxe new suites at Badrutt’s Palace to the long-awaited Zaha Hadid-designed Romeo Roma
-
Dine at Paris’s historic Maison Baccarat, reimagined by chef Alain DucasseThe newly opened Ducasse Baccarat restaurant – at the crystal house’s Paris mansion – offers not just a culinary experience but a cultural encounter
-
Stylish Paris ice cream parlours for melting momentsCool off with the best ice cream in Paris: Wallpaper’s favourite scoops span from classics at chef Alain Ducasse's ‘glacerie’ to ice cream sandwiches at JJ Hings
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture loversAuberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
-
Taste Japan from the comfort of Hakuba at Cheval Blanc Paris HôtelNew restaurant Hakuba offers an authentic omakase experience orchestrated by chef Takuya Watanabe and pastry chef Maxime Frédéric
