Hôtel Matignon

Standing here on Rue de Varenne, you are looking at one of the most powerful addresses in France. Since 1978, Hôtel Matignon has been the official residence of the French Prime Minister, but the building carries centuries of remarkable stories within its walls.

It started as an aristocratic home, passed through the hands of nobles, and was eventually acquired by Anne Éléonore Franchi, a professional dancer who had been expelled from Austria for being the mistress of Emperor Joseph II, the Habsburg ruler and brother of Marie Antoinette. She had already had three children with the Duke of Württemberg and arrived in Paris as arguably its wealthiest woman. Not a bad résumé for someone who was essentially shown the door by an empire.

Inside the grand meeting room, the painter Thomas Couture decorated the walls with lush, sensual frescoes filled with naked angels. By the late 1950s, officials decided the artwork was a little too distracting for cabinet meetings, so the frescoes were quietly painted over with whitewash. They are still there today, sealed beneath layers of paint, patiently waiting.