Sylvie Vartan: Johnny Hallyday’s Paris Apartment With Steinway Piano, Large Speakers, and Iconic Guitars Amid an Orange Decor Filled With Buddhas and Golden Hookahs

On Tuesday, January 23, 2024, during Yann Barthès’ Quotidien program, Sylvie Vartan announced her plan to end her career and retire. While the singer is best known for her signature songs La Maritza and Comme un garçon, she is especially known for having shared her life with Johnny Hallyday. The couple even lived together in a spacious apartment in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday: The Parisian Apartment They Shared in the 1960s

In the 1960s, after a spell in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the Hallyday family (Sylvie Vartan, Johnny Hallyday and their son David) settled at 16, Avenue du Président-Wilson, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The young family moved into an apartment located on the fourth floor, with a long L-shaped hallway, as David Hallyday notes in his book Best Album. It was in this apartment that the singer led an unconventional childhood, between a father often absent and a devoted grandmother, Ilona, Sylvie Vartan’s mother.

Sylvie Vartan: A Parisian Apartment with Musical Treasures

“Music was obviously omnipresent, and a sublime Steinway & Sons piano appeared to visitors on a dais, in majesty,” says David Hallyday in his book. The “office,” his father’s music room, was equipped with vinyl turntables, powerful amplifiers, and huge acoustic speakers. Not to mention Johnny Hallyday’s iconic guitars that occupied a prominent place in the apartment, notably the singer’s white Telecaster.

Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday: A Parisian Apartment with Hippie Chic Style

But the Hallyday home was above all an eclectic blend of styles, featuring buddhas, statues of deities, lotus motifs on the wallpaper, and golden hookahs competing with lamps on coffee tables. As David Hallyday recalls, the apartment of Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday breathed hippie chic style, with abundant flower power, a dominant orange color, and a woody aroma that perfumed every room.