Citéco | Cité de l'Économie

You are approaching the Hotel Gaillard, a building that looks less like a Parisian mansion and more like a Loire Valley castle transported into the heart of the city. When the banker Emile Gaillard commissioned this residence in the late nineteenth century, he wanted a grand setting for his massive collection of medieval and Renaissance art. He was a man of distinct tastes who counted the composer Frederic Chopin among his close acquaintances. The architect Jules Fevrier looked to the chateaus of Blois and Gien for inspiration, resulting in a facade characterized by steep roofs, delicate turrets, and intricate brickwork that stands in stark contrast to the surrounding stone architecture of the neighborhood.