The building was sited on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, which was then a winding road that passed through fields and market gardens to the village of Roule on the outskirts of Paris.

In 1785, the duc of that time rented the hôtel to the Comte de la Marck, a rich landowner from the Low Counties, who saw to the completion of much of the house's eighteenth-century interior decor.

[1] Borghese added two large wings to the south side of the house, facing the garden.

His dramatic return that climaxed the next year at Waterloo was partly financed with the sale of this house to the British.

[2] Although the Duke of Wellington was Ambassador for only five months in 1814, he entertained lavishly, buying new silver and Sèvres china for the house.