Can’t decide where to stay in Paris? A guide for every type of traveller
After a difficult year, Paris has reclaimed its spot as one of the most popular tourist cities in the world
You’re finally taking that dream trip to the City of Light. Or maybe you’re a Paris-obsessed francophile who visits every year, and the enticement of a youthful new president (Emmanuel Macron is the youngest in French history) has ensnared you.
After a difficult year for tourism following another high-profile terrorist attack, Paris has reclaimed its spot as one of the most popular cities in the world. In fact, the number of hotel overnights in January reached a 10-year high for the month.
Paris is a laboratory for experimental hotel concepts and creative design, and the world’s largest market for Airbnb.
No matter your personality type, you’ll find lodgings that are pinch-yourself perfect. Here’s our guide:
Backpackers: Did you know you can camp in the heart of Paris? Not far from Montparnasse, the former Saint-Vincent-de-Paul hospital is being repurposed into an “eco-neighborhood” in the 14th arrondissement. In the meantime, the vast verdant site is home to Les Grands Voisins, a community-centric project with cafés, nonprofit organizations, artists’ studios, organic gardens and even its own campground, with tents and cute cabins such as the popular La Cahute, a mobile miniature Maison crafted in Brittany.
Two-person tents cost 22 euros a night (about $25) and are available until Oct. 1, but take note that this is the final season.
Hostels aren’t just for backpacking 20somethings. FIAP hostels welcome both groups and individuals, young and old alike, and offers community-Center ambience with a café and rotating exhibitions.
Penny-pinchers: Can you find a Paris bolthole for less than 150 euros a night? Oui, and they’re not fleabags, though keep in mind that Paris hotel rooms can be quite small. In addition to the aforementioned hostels, you’ll find affordable rates and friendly service at the Hotel Mayet, which is within walking distance — along the lovely rue du Cherche-Midi — of the bustling heart of Saint Germain. The Grand Hotel Leveque has developed a word of mouth reputation as a great budget option in the Eiffel Tower area; an added bonus is its location on the rue Cler, a wonderful market street in the shadow of La Dame de Fer.
Across the river, in a nontouristy area of the ninth arrondissement, the Hotel du Temps is a small neighbourhood hotel with soul; the rooms are stylishly decorated with a vintage, 1950s look.
Not far from the Jardin des Plantes, the Hotel La Demeure has a welcoming, friendly vibe. Flavie+Paul, a young Parisian design duo, created a colourful, playful ambience with the modern decoration and space-saving elements in the guest rooms. Note that this family-owned hotel plans to upgrade from a three-star to a four-star establishment, so room rates are likely to change. Also note that the Elegancia Hotels group has a number of stylish boutique properties, such as the Hotel Crayon and the Hotel Crayon Rouge, that won’t break the bank.
High-rollers: Paris is home to some of the most luxurious hotels in the world — so posh, in fact, that they merit their own
“palace hotel” classification. These 10 landmarks are destinations in themselves, and promise a check-all-the-boxes guest experience. Think dreamy spas, Michelin-starred restaurants and art-filled rooms so gorgeous that you might never want to leave. Bien sûr, they’ve got a price tag to match. The newest of this elite bunch is La Reserve Paris, a sumptuous Jacques Garcia-designed hotel not far from the Elysee Presidential Palace. Here, the Parisian beaux mondes rub shoulders with out-of-town visitors in the buzzy restaurants and the Duc de Morny library, which morphs into a jazz lounge in the evening. On the fashionable avenue Montaigne, Hotel Plaza Athenee has a Dior spa and a Michelin three-starred restaurant by Alain Ducasse, who champions a sustainable “Naturality” menu starring fish, veggies and grains. Vegetables, including ancient and rare varietals, are exclusively cultivated at the Jardin de la Reine at the Chateau de Versailles.
Occupying the former mansion of Prince Roland Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte’s grandnephew, the Shangri-La Hotel Paris has the only luxury accommodations facing the Eiffel Tower, and a quarter of the rooms have a balcony or terrace with eat-yourheart-out views.
In his lifetime, flora-obsessed Roland Bonaparte created Europe’s largest herbier. And at the new Botanist Bar, you can sip a potent cocktail crafted with interesting plants and herbs, such as Sichuan peppers, tonka beans, even pine cones.
Fans of Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” will recognize Le Bristol, which served as one of its sets. With exquisite dining by chef Eric Frechon and a teak-lined pool resembling a yacht floating above the Paris rooftops, it’s easy to see why soccer star David Beckham shacked up here when he played a season for Paris Saint-Germain.
Next in line to nab the palace title surely is the Ritz, which made international headlines when it reopened last year after a no-holdsbarred renovation.
Romantics: Arguably, any place in Paris is saturated in romance, but in addition to the palace hotels, there are a few standouts. The Pavillon de la Reine is housed inside a 17thcentury hotel particulier (nobleman’s mansion) on the prettiest square in Paris: the Place des Vosges in the Marais. From under the arcades, duck inside the leafy courtyard to find this discreet four-star address.
Between the Champs-Élysées and the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, the Hotel Daniel is a showcase of 18th-century French Orientalist style; think chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper and exotic toile de Jouy.
With its ancient timber beams, Versailles parquet floors, a monumental fireplace and a jazz piano bar, Hotel d’Aubusson has an unbeatable location in the Saint Germain-des-Pres district.
Dressed to the nines in Carrara marble and hand-painted walls, the Nolinski Paris opened in July 2016 on the Avenue de l’Opera. The rooms are so stunning — is that an armoire imagined as a travel trunk in lacquered wood? — that you’ll pine to take a piece home with you. Luckily, you soon can; a catalogue will highlight custom decor — such as cubist-style mirrors by Cassimidy — available to order. Great food can be found at the hotel’s Brasserie Rejane, and the subterranean spa features treatments by La Colline skin care.
In the seventh arrondissement, Le Cinq Codet was conceived by Jean-Philippe Nuel, one of France’s most in-demand hotel designers. The custom decor is striking; the lobby desks, for example, look like Rodin’s blocks of marble, in homage to the nearby Rodin museum. The duplex suites are decorated in oak panelling, while the Dome suite has a terrace overlooking the gold Dome des Invalides. There’s also an open-air Jacuzzi on the patio in the spa.
Trendsetters: In Paris, you’ll find thrilling new hospitality concepts. Case in point: MOB Hotel, Of the People, founded by philosopher-entrepreneur Cyril Aouizerate. He has teamed up with Steve Case, longtime friend Starck and business magnate Michel Reybier on what he calls a new “movement” — “not a hotel chain.”
Leave it to Aouizerate to pinpoint the cool, emerging neighbourhoods, and Saint-Ouen, a northern suburb which is home to the famous Marche aux Puces antiques market, is seeing a renaissance. Here, inside a red brick building that was former a telecom facility, MOB opened in March. Film screenings and cultural events are hosted, neighbours cultivate the vegetable garden, and a rotating roster of startups are allowed to use workspace free. There’s an organic restaurant, an expansive outdoor terrace and pop-up shops to showcase the work of young creatives. A true innovation is the “Air Mob Lounge” where guests can nap, shower, or make international calls in the Skype phone booth — all before check-in. In the rooms, fun, playful touches abound: air mattresses for additional guests, teepees, smartphones for guests’ personal use during their stay, and shadow-puppet theatres behind the headboards. Future locations include Washington, D.C.; Lyon, France; and Los Angeles.
Also coming soon: Yooma, a new “urban lodge” concept decorated by French designer Ora-ïto in collaboration with artist Daniel Buren, who sculpted the facade — his biggest permanent work in Paris after the striped columns in the Palais Royal courtyard. Situated in the 15th arrondissement next to the Seine and Le Cordon Bleu’s new cooking-school campus, Yooma aims to create a “lifestyle ecosystem” and bring together visitors and locals. Other features: a rooftop garden, a lobby robot to check guests in, artists in residence, a cooking school and rooms accommodating up to six guests.
Fringers: For a nautical experience, check into Off Paris Seine, the city’s first floating hotel. This custom-built barge — complete with a trendy lounge and a little pool — is docked near the Gare de l’Austerlitz.
Love art? In the heart of the city, the new Drawing Hotel was founded by Carine Tissot, who heads the contemporary art fair DRAWING NOW PARIS. Six artists were commissioned to decorate the corridors on the hotel’s five floors. Perks include an art concierge and a private art centre.