Fragrance house

Maxim's de Paris

Maxim’s originated in 1893 as a restaurant at 3 rue Royale in Paris, opened by café waiter Maxime Gaillard, with Irma de Montigny associated with its early public legend. Around the 1900 World Fair, Eugène Cornuché transformed the establishment into an Art Nouveau venue; its three ground-floor salons were listed for historic protection on 11 December 1979. Octave Vaudable bought Maxim’s in 1932, and his son Louis helped establish it as a major postwar Paris dining institution, including a period with three Michelin stars beginning in 1953. Pierre Cardin took over in 1981, broadening the name through restaurants abroad and branded categories beyond dining while restoring parts of the historic interior and turning former upper-floor spaces into an Art Nouveau museum. Société de Gestion Pierre Cardin owns the Maxim’s site and brand context, while restaurant operations were entrusted to Paris Society for four years beginning in October 2023.