Hôtel Pams

Of all the sayings we still hear today, there’s one in particular that rarely gets proven wrong. You know the one — “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And here, at 18 rue Emile Zola, that’s exactly the advice to follow. Not for a person, this time — but for a building. A true must-see in the Catalan city, the Hôtel Pams is a heritage gem that welcomes around 250 visitors a day, both locals and tourists. And when you see its rather plain-looking façade, that might come as a surprise. But trust us —it’s just the beginning. The story begins in 1852, when Pierre Bardou — heir to the JOB cigarette paper fortune — bought this building and the neighboring plots to build his factory. It became the first factory in France dedicated to this kind of production. Upon his death, twenty years later, his daughter Jeanne and her husband Jules Pams — an influential politician who nearly became President of the French Republic — transformed the property into a magnificent private mansion, between 1896 and 1902. In this case, magnificent is really a suitable word to decribe it ! Redesigned by architect Léopold Carlier, a specialist in grand interiors for hotels, seaside casinos, salons, and government buildings, the mansion covered 4,000 square meters and included 45 rooms and reception halls. Everything was designed to dazzle the eye and stir the imagination. As soon as you walk through the main door, the visit begins in a vestibule where a grand staircase made of onyx stone rises up, its wrought-iron railings with gold leaf touches here and there. On the walls and ceilings of the different floors, you’ll see paintings by Paul Gervais — a Toulouse-born artist who also decorated the casinos of Monaco and Nice, as well as the Capitole in Toulouse. His favorite themes included elegant women, love, the virtues of civilization, and occasional nods to history.The carved wooden panels, trimmed with olive branch motifs, were brought back from the Chinese Pavilion of the 1889 World’s Fair. And at the back of the mansion, there’s a peaceful patio where architecture and greenery blend beautifully. In 1946, sixteen years after Jules Pams passed away, his widow — Marguerite Pams-Holtzer, his second wife — sold the mansion to the city of Perpignan. For a while, students used the building as part of the university, before it became the city’s public library, and later a reception venue for official events. A symbol of the local bourgeois lifestyle in the 19th century, with its elegant Art Nouveau style, the Hôtel Pams remains the most famous private mansion in Perpignan. Of course, it’s officially listed as a historic monument.