hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau

The Hotel de Mercy-Argenteau features a stone facade decorated with intricate wrought iron balconies that date back to seventeen seventy-eight. Originally built for the Austrian ambassador Florimond-Claude de Mercy-Argenteau, the mansion served as a residence for high-ranking diplomats. During the nineteen eighties, the building became the headquarters for the École des hautes études en sciences sociales. Today, it houses the jewelry collection of the Van Cleef and Arpels foundation, preserving the ornate interior salons where eighteenth-century aristocrats once plotted European political alliances.