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Origin and history

Hotel Dorléans is a private hotel built in 1725 in the city of Valognes, in the Manche department of Normandy. Located at 12 Alexis-de-Tocqueville Street, it is distinguished by its sober architecture and interior elements, such as a Renaissance-style stairwell, a notable archaism for the period. The building, rectangular, has two levels and retains a street façade with built-up bays, as well as a wrought iron balcony.

The hotel has not undergone major changes since the 18th century, although it lost part of its garden after the Battle of Normandy, during the Reconstruction. Acquisé in 1807 by Victor François Guillaume François d'Orléans, then imperial prosecutor and then president of the court of Valognes, he sheltered the offices of the Savings Bank in the 20th century. Its large portal was redone at the end of the 20th century. Since 2012, its facades, roofs, stairs and fence walls have been protected as historical monuments.

The simpler facade on the garden has an original projection with a helical staircase. Two reverse-revolution staircases provide access to the garden, located at a higher level than the house. The roof, with broken panels, is pierced by three skylights illuminating the attic. These architectural features, combining classicism and archaicism, make it a valuable testimony to the urban history of Valognes.

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