Former hotel of La Vrillière, the hotel of Toulouse is a building located near the Place des Victoires in the 1st district of Paris. Built by François Mansart in the 17th century, it is now listed as a historic monument.
Its original owner had a gallery forty meters long installed with a painted ceiling in order to accommodate monumental paintings by great Italian masters. In 1811, the building became the property of the Banque de France and underwent many changes. In the eighth basement, the Toulouse hotel now hosts la Souterraine, an 11 000 m² bunker room housing the Banque de France's reserves, or 2435 tonnes of gold.
Always used for international meetings or film shoots like those of Marie-Antoinette (2006) or Vatel (2000), the Golden Gallery reveals a very beautiful Regency style. It presents in particular a fresco presenting the four elements with the chariot of Apollo in its center.
