Description

The Hôtel de la Marine opened to the public in 2021. It was here, in the majestic setting filled with reminders of maritime history and occupied since the French Revolution by France's Navy Ministry, that the bill abolishing slavery was signed in 1848. Yet J. A. Gabriel, Louis XV's chief architect and designer of the royal square on which the Hôtel stands, conceived the edifice as the royal Garde-Meuble, or Crown Furniture Depository. Behind the regal facade of the palace, now regarded as Paris's first decorative arts museum, ran a series of exhibition spaces where furniture, artworks, suits of armour, and jewels (including the « Regent » diamond) were displayed until 1792. Graced with major examples of French 18th-century art, the former Garde-Meuble has been restored thanks to the meticulous guidance of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, under whose aegis the building is now placed. This book takes the visitor step by step through the palace's apartments and reception rooms, exploring a truly royal abode in an exceptional historical site.

The « Itinéraires » series, designed as a guide for cultural tourism, invites the visitor to discover the highways and byways of France's national heritage.