Facade of Palais Rohan in Bordeaux with its paved courtyard, classical stone architecture, French flag on top, and visitors in the courtyard on a sunny day. — © Palais Rohan in Bordeaux, a classical architectural masterpiece

Gilded decoration of Bordeaux's Palais Rohan featuring a crown, three-tower coat of arms and baroque ornaments — © Golden Crown Detail of the Palais Rohan

Night view of Bordeaux's illuminated Palais Rohan with its classical stone facades, surrounded by historic buildings and busy public squares. — © Bordeaux's Palais Rohan at Night

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Palais Rohan

Located a stone's throw from the cathedral, the Palais Rohan epitomises the wealth and power of Bordeaux's archbishops in the 18th century.

Archbishop Mériadec de Rohan asked architect Joseph Etienne to replace the medieval residence with a monumental new one in 1772. This was financed by selling off surrounding land to build houses in the present-day Mériadeck district.

After the French Revolution, the building housed the Gironde department prefecture before becoming the Bordeaux Town Hall in 1837. It features an austere Louis XVI-style façade and one of the most beautiful staircases in France, considered a masterpiece of stone masonry.

It is said that the young Eugène Delacroix discovered his vocation while watching Pierre Lacour restoring paintings by Berinzago in what was called the archbishop's dining room.
Designed in 1889, the municipal council room is characteristic of official architecture during the Third Republic.

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