8 Great Places to Stay in Paris

As the world’s most popular tourist destination, Paris has no shortage of accommodation options. Visitors are spoiled for choice in an ultra-competitive hotel market where hoteliers compete to distinguish themselves with stellar design and amenities. (The Peninsula even offers nail dryers in the bathrooms for freshly manicured hands.) This is, after all, the country famed for its so-called Palaces: five-star hotels so luxurious that they fall into their own category. This year all eyes are on The Ritz, as the storied Grande Dame reopened after a years-long restoration project on the Place Vendôme.

There’s a hotel for every mood, whether you want to replicate the comforts of home or immerse yourself in a designer’s dream world. Indeed, it seems a new boutique hotel opens up every month, many designed around a specific theme: cocktails (the Providence), literature (the Proust-inspired Hotel Swann), even the seven deadly sins (the Vice Versa). Pick a personality, and you’ll find it in Paris. If you’re just looking for a cheap crash pad, even the hostels are stylish, with an innovative approach to what used to be youth-centric bunk-style lodgings. Here are eight hotel picks.

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Artus Hotel

A picture-perfect location on rue de Buci and a beautiful new redesign makes this a top choice in Saint-Germain. Of the 27 guest rooms, the top-floor suite boasts a terrace overlooking saint-sulpice church while the duplex offers a marble bathroom with its own sauna under the eaves.

34 rue de Buci, Tel: +33 (0)1 43 29 07 20

Generator Hostel

This isn’t the backpacker hostel of your youth. A new hospitality concept, Generator combines affordable, stylish rooms with social events in cool, convivial spaces. Friendly staff, a rooftop terrace, fast, free Wi-Fi… it’s a winning formula.

11 place du Colonel Fabien, Tel: +33 (0)1 70 98 84 00

Hôtel Bachaumont

This four-star hot-spot opened in 2015 just steps from rue Montorgueil, the popular pedestrianised market street. You’ll find gorgeous custom décor, a popular restaurant serving bistrot classics, and a bar run by the nightlife impressarios behind the Experimental Cocktail Club.

18 rue Bachaumont, Tel: + 33 (0)1 81 66 47 00

Le Meurice

This was the first palace hotel in Paris, and it commands a prime position facing the Tuileries gardens. A long-time destination for celebrities (and artists like Salvador Dalí), this historic hotel has a wonderful 400-person staff to ensure a perfect stay. Philippe Starck and Alain Ducasse recently made a splash overhauling the restaurant concepts.

228 rue de Rivoli, Tel: +33 (0)1 44 58 10 10

Paris Perfect- Place Dauphine

The reputable apartment rental company has restored a prized piece of real estate on the Ile de la Cité. Gabor Mester De Parajd, chief architect of France’s Historic Monuments, oversaw the painstaking restoration which saved the former Hotel Henri IV and transformed it into seven vacation rentals, decorated with cool décor plucked from the Paris flea markets and privy to hotel-style services (like breakfast delivery).

25 Place Dauphine, 75001

Pavillon de la Reine

Tucked away under the arcades of the Place des Vosges, this four-star hotel is an oasis of calm with a flowering courtyard. You’ll find all the luxuries of a palace hotel—including top-notch service and a Carita spa—but in the warm, intimate ambience of a 17th century townhouse.

28 Place des Vosges, 75003. Tel: 01 40 29 19 19

Renaissance Hotel République

In April, Marriott’s upscale Renaissance brand opened a hotel near Place de la République. A stone’s throw from the Canal St. Martin and the Marais district, this is one of the trendiest areas in town, and the arty Renaissance offers vast landscaped terraces for people-watching. The penthouse suite has a Jacuzzi on its private terrace.

40 rue René Boulanger, +33 (0)1 71 18 20 95

Shangri – La Hotel Paris

Housed in the majestic palace of Prince Roland Bonaparte – Napoléon Bonaparte’s grandnephew – the Shangri-La commands a perfect perch facing the Eiffel Tower. All marble and gold leaf… this is a palace hotel par excellence.

10 avenue d’Iéna, +33 (0)1 53 67 19 98

From France Today magazine