In case you missed it, we recently filmed a walk through the US ambassador’s residence in Paris. The video marked Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer’s farewell to Paris and her post here.
The video was popular – close to 150,000 hits on YouTube and a frenzy of (sometimes frenzied) opinions in the comments field. That video brought in 3,000 new YouTube subscribers! Join them in one click here.
However, we never shared it here on The Earful Tower’s website! So here’s our take on it, via sharing what we consider to be the top ten rooms that we saw, counting down from 10 to 1. First: The full video.
Now, some background
An 18th century hôtel particulier steeped in French and American history, the residence – officially known as Hôtel de Pontalba – is a building of exceptional beauty, both inside and out. It was a real treat, getting a sneak peek into some of the more private sections of the residence, as well as those open to the public. Highlights included a painting of George Washington loaned from the Palace of Versailles, furniture designed by Thomas Jefferson and one or two secret surprises.
If you want a deeper dive on the whole video, you can listen to the podcast episode we made about it below. Then keep scroll down for more pictures and our very official ranking.
10) The State Dining Room
9) The Josephine Baker Ballroom
8) The lobby with staircase
7) The Louis XVI Room
6) The garden
5) The Pontalba Room
4) The Octagonal Room
3) The Jefferson Library
Ambassador Bauer said this library was great room for conversation. There’s a book-spinner and chair designed by Thomas Jefferson and the book collection is impressive. You can see why this is the ambassador’s favourite room.
2) The Presidential Bedroom
The Hôtel de Pontalba became the US ambassador’s official residence in 1971 and since then eight US Presidents, as well as a handful of other dignitaries, have stayed in this bedroom. It has a uniquely spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower and Grand Palais.
1) The Samuel Bernard Room
It’s not difficult to see why The Samuel Bernard Room comes out on top of this countdown. The room is used to host receptions and large parties for VIPs. As the ambassador said, “This has been such an extraordinary period in time in France. I’ve been so lucky to have the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation, D-Day itself…Former President Obama came and we had a table down the centre of this room with twenty people, talking about the partnership between our two countries, which is so fabulous.”
Thanks to Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer for her generosity, Hary Ranerison for video production and Hannah Coyle for additional reporting.
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