Hôtel particulier (French:[otɛlpaʁtikylje]ⓘ)[1] is the French term for a grand urbanmansion, comparable to aBritish townhouse. Whereas an ordinarymaison (house) was built as part of a row, sharingparty walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, anhôtel particulier was often free-standing and, by the 18th century, would always be locatedentre cour et jardin – between thecour d'honneur (an entrance court) and thegarden behind.[2] There arehôtels particuliers in many large cities inFrance.
The wordhôtel represents theOld French "hostel" from the Latinhospitālis "pertaining to guests", fromhospes, a stranger, thus a guest.[3] The adjectiveparticulier means "personal" or "private".
The English wordhotel developed a more specific meaning as a commercial building accommodating travellers;modern French also useshôtel in this sense. For example, theHôtel de Crillon on thePlace de la Concorde was built as anhôtel particulier and is today a public hotel.
InFrench, anhôtel de ville ormairie is atown hall and not a hotel, same for thepolice station that can be called anhôtel de police. Other official bodies might give their name to the structure in which they maintained a seat: besidesParis, several other French cities have anHôtel de Cluny, maintained by theabbey of Cluny. TheHôtel de Sens was built as the Paris residence of thearchbishop of Sens. TheHôtel de Bourgogne in Paris was a theatre, taking its name from the former Paris residence of theDukes of Burgundy on the site. TheHôtel de la Marine, now a museum, took its name when it was the naval ministry building.
Hôtel-Dieu ("hostel of God") is the old name given to the principalhospital in French towns (and those inQuebec), such as theHôtel-Dieu de Beaune. TheHôtel des Invalides in Paris retains its early sense of a hospital for war wounded.
Monographs have been published on some outstanding Parisianhôtels particuliers.
The classic photographic survey, now a rare book found only in large art libraries, is the seriesLes Vieux Hotels de Paris by J. Vacquer, published in the 1910s and 1920s, which takes Paris quarter by quarter and which illustrates manyhôtels particuliers that were demolished during the 20th century.
Blanc, Olivier,Hôtels particuliers de Paris (1998)
Caylux, Odile et al.Les Hôtels particuliers d'Arles (2000)
Coquery, Natacha,L’hôtel aristocratique. Le marché du luxe à Paris au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne, 1998
Courtin, Nicolas,L'Art d'habiter à Paris au XVIIe siècle : L'ameublement des hôtels particuliers, Paris, Faton, 2011
Cros, Philippe,Hôtels particuliers de France (2001)
Gady, Alexandre,LesHôtels particuliers de Paris, du Moyen-Âge à la Belle époque, Paris, Parigramme, 2007
Naudin, Jean-Baptiste et al.,Hôtels particuliers de Paris: Visite privée (1999).
Papillault, RemiLes hôtels particuliers du XVIe siècle à Toulouse (Serie Memoires des pays d'Oc)
Favreau, Bertrand,Une promenade dans Bordeaux, les hôtels parlementaires, B550B, Mérignac, 2012,ISBN978-2-95410-753-0.
