Our Blog - Palais Niel

Every year in September, they have the European Heritage Days (in French, the Journées européennes du patrimoine). For 2 days, there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of different things to see and do. In some cases, you are able to visit buildings that are not normally open to the public. For example, the Elysée Palace (including the office of the President of France) can be visited if you are lucky enough to get one of the 20,000 spots available. In Toulouse, one of the buildings that you can only visit during the Journées du Patrimoine is the Palais Niel.

The Palais Niel is the most prestigious property built in Toulouse during the 19th century. It was built for Marshal Niel, head of the French regional army of the South, which was based in Toulouse. Originally, his headquarters was in the Duranti Hotel, but he decided he needed a new place that was more prestigious. The construction lasted from 1863 to 1867 and on January 1st, 1868, the commander of the 6th corps took possession of the palace. Ironically, this was Count Goyon and not Marshal Niel because he had become minister War in 1867 (so he never actually lived in the palace that still has his name) and then died a year later in 1869. The building has 3 levels, the ground floor for reception rooms, the middle floor for offices, and the top floor (under the Mansard roof) are the rooms to house the personnel.

The North facade sits behind a large black gate and fence, and has a French garden with a small fountain. The building entrance is framed by Doric columns which is meant to evoke a triumphal arch. The large frieze at the top over the main entrance has trophies and helmets, which emphasizes the military aspect of the building.

The entrance hall has a monumental staircase with cast iron railing adorned with palms and foliage, leading to a large painting of Marshal Niel from 1860. Around the ceiling are detailed decorations with eagles, trophies, and military armaments.

The main things to see in the White Salon are the white-tiled stove and the bronze and gilded bronze clock that sits on top. The clock represents Ariane asleep and is a copy of an antique statue that can be found at the Pio-Clementino Museum in the Vatican.

The decoration in the Yellow (or Gold) Room shows the spirit of the 18th century and especially of Louis XV. There are large panels and mirrors on the walls, large marble fireplaces and furniture in various styles.

The Dining Room is furnished with Napoleon III-style furniture, typically black with gilding. There is also a lovely fireplace with flowers around the face. It is fairly small, as it can hold only 14 guests. But this intimate setting also allows the guests to really get a close look at the detailed plasterwork decorations on the walls and ceiling.

The Pink Room, also known as the Minerva Room, gets its name from the headless statue of Minerva found there (this is a copy of the original, which is in the Musee Saint Raymond). You get a reminder that this is a military building with the medallions containing helmets and weapons.

The Grand Salon is a large, majestic space decorated with arched columns, carved panels on the walls and ceilings, and five magnificent chandeliers. It is unique in that the arches divide it into three parts. The large mirrors, surmounted by the imperial eagle, highlight its prestige. The bust on the fireplace mantle is that of Madame Niel. You can also see decorations with musical instruments.

The Maréchaux Salon, or marshals lounge, is a reception room that lies in a semi-rotunda that opens onto the park on the South side of the building. You can see how the ceiling, which is decorated with a long vegetable garland as well as trophies, the imperial emblem, and two majestic eagles, goes around the rotunda. You would imagine the bust on the mantel would be someone associated with the military, but it is not. Instead, it is the sculptor François Lucas, who created the bas-relief on the bridge at Ponts-Jumeaux (which we see almost every time we drive back into Toulouse as that is the exit from the highway that we take).

They had some exhibitions there for the Heritage Days, and this one was someone talking about parachutists.