A family HISTORYde famille

1855. Paris. New buildings are rising from the ground all over the French capital of the Second Empire. Haussmann's Paris is coming into being. With this new surge of urban development, the walls of Paris are torn down, and turned into boulevards. Narrow winding alleys give way to big wide streets and vast squares. In the places where there used to be hovels, there now emerge these characteristic buildings, usually 4 storeys high with an attic floor in the mansard roof. Number 20 rue Cujas is no exception. Over 150 years after it was built, it remains an attractive example of the architecture of this period.

At the end of the 19th century. Paris. At 20 Rue Cujas. The townhouse is used as a furnished hostel, mainly for students of the prestigious Sorbonne nearby. Originally the façade of number 20 also included what is now the cinema… which was back then a shooting gallery. A café called "Les Dernières  Cartouches" was popular among the lively students of the Latin Quarter. After the First World War, when the Roaring Twenties were in full swing, shooting gallery closed. It was replaced by a dance hall, a sign of those carefree times. The boarding house itself provided its residents with a catering service at midday and in the evenings.

It was after the Second World War, that the Hotel Excelsior came into our family's ownership. At that time, an inner courtyard gave access to the floors where most of the bedrooms were located. And while my grandfather took charge of the establishment in 1966, his daughter Annick managed the premises from 1981. In 1995, her daughter-in-law Florence joined her and she brought the hotel into the new millennium. Since 2009, Florence has run the hotel, and it is to her that the Hotel Excelsior-Latin owes its new image. Renovation, graphic and inspired decoration make an attractive combination thanks to her efforts. To ensure that your comfort and relaxation in the heart of Paris are always in tune with the times.