l'hôtel Joyeuse - un détail

Here's a little detail that you might have missed in yesterday's post.  Do not trespass on this guy's turf.

l'hôtel Joyeuse

This old residence was built around 1500.  For awhile it was used to house the Post Office museum, but that was later transferred to Paris.  The best I can observe now is that it is broken up into individual apartments.

The term "hôtel" is another one of those "false friends" for English speakers.  The English word means of course a big building for nightly stays by tourists, business people, etc.  But in French it can also mean a large public building (such as city hall) or a private mansion like this one.  So, don't go the hôtel de ville  (city hall) and ask for a room !