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Old Paris Architecture An "hôtel particulier" in the Marias. Home to artistocratic families and their servants, the "hôtels particuliers" were built around large courtyards and often hidden from the street by large walls. Their grand entrance halls, sweeping staircases and formal chambers stand in stark contrast to the cramped living quarters of the lower classes and were the scenes of many of the dinners, balls and seductions in Balzac's and Stendhal's novels. |
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