Paris is a city of contrasts. On one hand, the city boasts the most exquisite hotels, finest restaurants, and storied maisons in the world. On the other, there are unmarked, discreet shops with everything from vintage couture to flea-market finds, new hotels reimagining Parisian luxury, and charming, hole-in-the-wall bistros bursting with life. But these two ways of life don’t conflict, they complement each other. And that’s the beauty of Paris. There is a dialogue between past and present and fantasy and reality.
Stay
Montmartre’s transformation continues with Hotel Rochechouart. Charmingly retro but thoroughly modern and just 10 minutes from the Moulin Rouge and Sacre-Coeur, the hotel is housed in a restored art-deco building dating back to 1929, with 106 rooms, a ground-floor brasserie, a basement nightclub, and a rooftop cocktail bar with sweeping city views. The rooms are elegant, the crowd is stylish, and the food is delightful.
In 2022, Thierry Gillier, the owner of Zadig & Voltaire, opened Chateau Voltaire in the tony 1st arrondissement. Interiors from Festen merged grand Parisian opulence with contemporary chic, quickly luring the jet set. It’s no wonder Chateau Voltaire is fashion’s favourite crash pad.
No hotel embodies traditional Parisian elegance like The Ritz. Coco Chanel herself even lived in suite 302 at 15 Place Vendôme for 34 years. Chanel historians can even reserve the Coco Chanel Suite, the most grand of all 142 rooms. Be sure to dine at Escadon, the hotel’s newest Michelin-starred restaurant in the Grand Jardin with a menu helmed by chef Eugénie Béziat that blends French, African, and Mediterranean culinary influences. Then, retreat to one of the historic cocktail bars named after famous writers for a cognac or a martini.
Grand Pigalle Hotel is steps from the dive bars and vintage shops popping up throughout the buzzy South Pigalle neighbourhood. With 37 rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant, Frenchie, the louche spirit of the former red-light district lives on in the retro-chic velvet banquettes, brass accents, and leather chairs.
Hôtel Dame des Arts revives the bohemian spirit of Paris’s Left Bank. The mid-century modern interiors nod to French New Wave aesthetics without feeling cliché. The upscale Mexican-ish restaurant has become a destination among fashionable Parisians, and the rooftop bar delivers panoramic city views.
Dine
When you can’t snag a spot at Clamato, they’ll direct you to Café Du Coin, a quaint, neighbourhood café and bistro tucked on a corner of the 11th. The space is warm and casual, but a short list of natural wines paired with a rotating menu of shareable dishes like clams, saucisson, and the taleggio pizzette (a specialty), make the restaurant both a neighbourhood staple and a destination.
Early June is a (mostly) walk-in wine bar and shop near the Canal St-Martin where guest chefs serve up delectable small plates paired with natural wines in a white-walled, minimalist room.
Come for the party-ready vibe, and stay for the scotch egg, the surprising staple dish at Lolo Bistro, a buzzy spot in the 9th with an open kitchen, blaring rap, and inventive gastronomic fare.
After dinner, have a glass of whatever they’re serving at Déviant, the microscopic, impossibly chic wine bar down the rue, before venturing next door to the new basement club, Deviant Disco.
Four years ago, the Tokyo-based architect, designer, and chef Shinichiro Ogata opened Ogata, a multistory experience that includes, among other things, a tea shop, a fine-dining Japanese restaurant, a bar, and an art gallery. The restaurant alone is a sight worth seeing. Custom chairs crafted from braided oak with regional Japanese cuisine elevated to impressive new heights and cooked in an open kitchen.
