Get an eyeful of this rooftop view of Paris
Being more of a Marais/Ile Saint-Louis kind of girl, I’d never stayed in the Champs-Elysees neck of the woods in Paris before. Oh, I’d spent time there alright, wandering both on, and off, the famous main drag, and I’d even once eaten there, many moons ago, in a very swanky restaurant that was so blindingly white inside that you almost needed sunglasses – at night.
But no, I’d never stayed before in this part of Paris – not until the Peninsula Hotel kindly asked me to stay for a night with my son when we travelled recently from Venice to Paris on the Orient-Express. I’d stayed in one of the Peninsula hotels before – a lovely hotel in Chicago, but that had been my only other Peninsula experience.
I love a hotel with a bit of history and so I was fascinated to discover that it was in the Paris Peninsula’s magnificent building that the Paris Peace Accords was signed, that being the treaty that finally ended the horror of the Vietnam War. Henry Kissinger wasn’t there himself on the January day in 1973 when the peace was signed in what, back then, was the Hotel Majestic; the US delegation that day was led by Henry Cabot Lodge.
It was signed in the part of the building that is now the Bar Kleber – a place with a lovely clubby feel to it, darker in décor than the rest of the hotel but very welcoming and atmospheric. Well, we certainly thought so when we pitched up there at after 11pm after walking through a beautiful, night-illuminated Paris, all the way back from Place des Vosges.
I have often thought that Paris is at its most beautiful at night, and earlier this month, when we took that walk through the Marais and all along the Seine, it certainly lived up to my expectations. As did the cocktails in the Bar Kleber when we arrived back at the Peninsula and sat down on its outdoor terrace for a well-deserved nightcap after our nocturnal trek.
Nor is the Vietnam treaty this magnificent building’s only historic connection, for it also served as a field hospital during World War One, was used by the German command as a base during World War Two, and played host to the great and the good down the years, from all manner of European royalty to Stravinsky, Proust and, notably, George Gershwin who actually wrote An American in Paris while staying in the hotel.
It became the Peninsula hotel group’s first European outlet when it opened four years ago, and yes, it’s pricey, but not bonkers money. (Prices vary depending on the room type and the season so it’s best to check out the website.)
What I loved about it was the juxtaposition of the beautiful historic building with the subtle, modern ‘take’ that you find inside. The thing that made me gasp in awe actually happened immediately after we arrived to check in – the absolutely stunning piece of artwork, suspended from the ceiling of the lobby, and known as The Dancing Leaves. I kept walking into the lobby throughout our stay just to look at it again and again.
It’s a pretty hi-tech hotel throughout. The son was delighted to find that everything in our room, for example, was operated from the provided iPad – be it the television, the opening and closing of the curtains, the lights, or the exterior awning to give the room shade.
And as for the bathroom. How shall I put this? When it comes to ‘la toilette’, as in personal hygiene, just the touch of a button results in squirting water from various directions, leaving you cleansed to within an inch of your life.
Despite not being as familiar with this part of Paris, we found ourselves close to a wealth of amenities and sights. The Arc de Triomphe is, literally, around the corner, and the various attractions of the Champs-Elysees were just a fiveminute stroll away – from standard stores, to cinemas, to a vast Louis Vuitton outlet, to the Paris St Germain shop. The Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides are also convenient when you are in this part of the city. On the evening we arrived we walked to the Georges V metro stop, hopped on a train and, hey presto, just a few minutes later, found ourselves exiting again at street level from the St Paul station – on the same line. From there I led the son into the heart of the Marais. It was after this that we decided to walk back along the Seine, seeing how far we would get before tiredness overtook us. The city looked magnificent and so we just kept walking, mesmerised by it all, and finally arrived back to the Peninsula, more than ready for that cocktail on the terrace.
On the same terrace the next morning we enjoyed a delightful breakfast before taking another stroll, this time in the Tuileries Gardens, where, somehow or other, the son managed to persuade me to accompany him on the water-splash ride. He’d done it himself with his stepfather about 20 years ago and nothing would do him but that, this time, I would be his sidekick. Yes, we got soaked, of course, but it was scorching hot and so very welcome. And it was great fun.
Back at the Peninsula, meanwhile, people were lunching on the terrace in the August sunshine (there’s also a fine dining French restaurant and a Cantonese restaurant in the hotel).
I had hoped to have time to take the lift to the sixth floor and stroll out on to Le Rooftop, as it’s called, a bar area which I’d been told affords spectacular views out across the city skyline.
Sadly, the airport beckoned too soon. Next time I’m in Paris, it’s definitely a visit to the Peninsula for me – for a drink on that rooftop, and to ooh and aah once again at those beautiful Dancing Leaves.
÷ Visit www.peninsula.com.