The Embassy of France, one of the first diplomatic missions settled in Thailand, after the Embassy of Portugal, was initially established to operate as a consulate in 1857, after the signature of a treaty of friendship and commerce between France and Siam. The land was first made available to French diplomats by King Mongkut (Rama IV) in 1857. Then King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) decided to give the property rights in 1875. The building which now houses the Residence of France was heavily modified after this donation, between 1875 and 1894, to transform the small sober missionary-style building into a colonial-style mansion, then again at the very beginning of the 20th century. These transformations reflected the growing importance of Siam for France since the consulate was raised to the rank of legation in 1893. A porch and a veranda were notably added, with a mixture of neo-Palladian and Victorian styles known as “gingerbread”. The lithograph reproduced on the gate of the Residence was made from a photograph of 1894, by Lucien Fournereau, published in the L'Illustration newspaper in 1898. This historical monument contrasts with the contemporary design of the new building which houses the offices of the French Embassy, ​​completed in 2015. The Residence of the Ambassador is open to the public each year in September during the European Heritage Days.

Photographs of the Residence of the Embassy of France in Thailand