Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The avenue Montaigne, located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, extends 615 metres between the Place de l'Alma and the roundabout of the Champs-Élysées. It is 33 metres wide and marks the southern limit of the "dsor triangle", a district synonymous with luxury and refinement. Served by Alma-Marceau metro stations (line 9) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (lines 1 and 9), it is distinguished by its warm atmosphere, contrasting with the hustle and bustle of the neighbouring Champs Elysées. Its fenced gardens, evoking English courses, and its gentle slope towards the Champs-Elysées make it a popular address since the 19th century.

Originally, in the 17th century, the avenue was only a path to the gardeners' huts of the marsh of the Gourdes, a marshy land belonging to the ladies of the Visitation-Sainte-Marie. Nicknamed "Allée des Soupirs" around 1720, then "Avenue Verte" around 1750, it was planted with double rows of elms in 1770 on the order of the Marquis de Marigny, director of the King's Buildings. Renamed "Allée des Veuves" because of its reputation as a place of gallant encounters, it was home to dull guinguettes, such as that described by Eugene Sue in Les Mysteres de Paris (1838). In 1792, the Crown jewels stolen from the Hôtel du Garde-meuble were hidden under an elm.

The avenue took its present name in 1850 in tribute to the philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). At the Universal Exhibition of 1855, the Palais des Beaux-Arts was erected, marking the beginning of its transformation into a worldly place. In the 19th century it became residential, welcoming the nobility and the high bourgeoisie in private hotels. In the 20th century, its prestige attracted fashion designers and industrialists: Christian Dior installed his home there in 1946, followed by other great luxury brands. Today, it is home to boutiques of French and foreign brands, palaces such as the Plaza Athénée, and cultural institutions such as the Champs-Élysées theatre, classified as a historical monument in 1957.

The avenue Montaigne is also marked by international twinnings with iconic arteries of luxury, such as Madison Avenue in New York (1987), the Ginza neighbourhood of Tokyo (1989), or Avenue Louise in Brussels (2008). Since 1973, the Comité Montaigne, chaired by figures such as Jean-Claude Cathalan, has promoted its image through events such as the Montaigne Harvests or Christmas Illuminations. The commercial rents, among the highest in Paris, reflect its exceptional status: in 2024, the average price per square metre fluctuates between 13,239 € and 30,681 €.

Among the remarkable buildings are the Durfort Hotel (No. 9), built in 1884 in a neo-Louis XV style, or the former Porgès Hotel (No. 18), demolished in the 1960s, which housed an art collection and served as an informal annex to the Austrian Embassy. No. 30, a former hotel in Millon d'Ailly de Verneuil, welcomed Christian Dior in 1946, while no. 50, a hotel in La Riboisière, was the seat of Madeleine Vionnet's sewing house in the 1920s. Personalities such as Marlene Dietrich (No. 12), Lee Radziwill (No. 49), or Emir Abd-El-Kader (No. 22) have resided there.

The avenue was also the scene of notable architectural disappearances, such as the Pompeian House (no. 16-18), built in 1856-1860 for Prince Napoleon and inspired by the ruins of Pompeii. It was transformed into an ephemeral museum and was replaced in 1892 by the Hotel Porgès and then by a modern building in the 1960s. Another loss of heritage is the Mabille Ball (Nos. 49-53), a popular 19th-century festival, destroyed in 1882. These metamorphoses illustrate the evolution of the avenue from a place of marginal pleasure to a symbol of Parisian luxury.

External links