Champagne!

There are so many "off-the-beaten-track" things to do in Paris... Like what I did last evening: attend a movie screening at the Royal Monceau hotel (remember?) including a little glass of Champagne  before the movie. Don't go thinking that I had any special privileges, I simply took part in the Sunday Night Film Club at the Royal Monceau where they were showing one of my favorite movies: Lawrence of Arabia. A great evening (that I owe once more to Lynn! aka PHX-CDG to followers of this blog!)

From rooftop of the Peninsula hotel...

France is going through a big economic crisis, but in Paris, there is still room for luxury and glamour! Hence the Peninsula Hotel, the brand new luxury hotel that opened on August 1st after 4 years of work! Large swimming pool, SPA, 45 suites, art pieces everywhere, outstanding service and, of course, excellent restaurants. One in particular called L'oiseau blanc (after the name of a plane that disappeared in 1927), located at the top of the hotel, facing the Eiffel tower (bien sûr...). Thanks to AALynn (that you know if you've been following this blog for a long time) I had the please of having lunch there, in excellent company! It was unforgettable... (and before you ask, no, I walk discuss price here!).

Secret garden...

Even in a very busy city like Paris you can manage to find some peace. Like in the secluded garden of Le Mandarin Oriental, where I had the opportunity to take a few photos yesterday morning. It was raining, unfortunately, so I could not sip my drink outside, but I could take cool photos... It's been a long time since I've made a little Animoto, so here you go; it's short, but gorgeous and you can see the amazing one piece marble var, the glass curtain and a few other things that make this place pretty exceptional (and this is NOT paid advertising!).

Season decor

Here is another view of the Winter Ferris Wheel that they install in the Concorde gardens every year. I took it from the Hotel Meurice on rue de Rivoli, where they covered all the pillars in front of the hotel with pine branches. The owner of  this wheel has been in the news lately; he's accused of hiding the income he gets from the wheel from the government...  

An evening in Paris

I had a drink not far from Place Vendôme yesterday evening and on the way back home I came across the Westin hotel, which is currently beautifully decorated. On each side of the entrance there are two stunning chandeliers that I could not help but take a photo of! Paris is surprisingly busy at the moment, but everyone is in a very festive mood, which is very pleasant!

Snake preview: Hotel Banke!

Last evening I attended a little party for the birthday of someone that true PDP followers know well ;-) It took place in the beautiful bar of the Hotel Banke at rue Lafayette. Of course I could have shown you the actual bar or the stunning hall or the silky entrance, but no... I couldn't resist posting a photo of their bathroom! Truly amazing... (And in case you're wondering, no, it's not real snake!). I know, it's weird ;-) 

Cold!

I know it's winter, I know it's January, I know there is nothing extraordinary about the kind of cold we have at the moment and I also know than compared to other places like northern Europe or USA, I have no reason to complain! But I'am glad I had the chance to sit by the Hotel de Montalembert fireplace today... Very nice place I must say (the Hotel de Montalembert was Steve Jobs' favorite hotel when in Paris) and very cozy. Stay warm everyone (well except if you live in Australia of course...).

Sharing Paris...

Last evening I was invited to a little gathering organized by Paris-Sharing, one of the sites that provides vacation rentals, home exchange and B&B in Paris (of course this one does it better ;-). It took place in one of the apartments - well I should rather say houses - they have for rent. A real dream place, coincidentally located just a block away (in French we say "pâté de maison") from the Juillet street of yesterday's post. It's what we call an "architect house", with a real garden and plenty of space (check out here), which is pretty rare in Paris. The weather was perfect and the company very cosmopolitan, which was fun. I had a real nice time.

Dinner in town

Last evening I had the pleasure of having dinner at Le Burgundy, a superb hotel located near La Madeleine. It's a er... pretty fancy hotel and the food was really delish, needless to say! To be honest I had never heard of this hotel and if it weren't for my host Splendia, the high-end booking site that organized the evening, I still wouldn't know of it. Just for fun and to make you take part in the experience, I made a new experiment: I photographed my meal every 10 seconds! Check out the results here ;-) Note:  for those who are wondering, this is NOT a sponsored post, there has never been any and will never be one on PDP!)

Cold attack!

It had to happen... The summer is definitely gone in Paris, and the temperatures are about to drop dramatically - they said the thermometer would go down to 2°C (35°F) tomorrow morning (Thursday). To "celebrate" here is a photo of the "famous" mantelpiece of the Murano hotel (or rather as they like to call themselves the "Murano Urban Resort"!") at Boulevard du Temple in the 3rd arrondissement. This mantelpiece is located at the entrance, and it's really worth the look.

Cocktail at Shangri-La Hotel Paris

Last night I attended a party for the opening of the French office of Linkedin, the business networking site, that you probably all know. I went there because I like the Linkedin people, but also because I wanted to see the famous Shangri-La hotel in Paris, where the event took place. The hotel opened last December and it is located in the former house of Prince Roland Bonaparte (Napoleon Bonaparte's grandnephew). Needless to say, the place is absolutely stunning! Did I mention it also has a breathtaking view on the Eiffel Tower?!

A room with a cool view!

Here is a little teasing... Once again I was lucky enough to visit one of the finest hotels in Paris. I'll disclose which one tomorrow, but in the meantime (and to give me enough time to select the best pictures among the zillion photos I took!) I thought I'd make you guess which one it is. Like I said, it's one of the top palaces in Paris. Little hint: the King of Pop enjoyed this view last time he was in Paris...

Inside the Hotel Athénée

I don’t always get invited to big hotels like Le Royal Monceau... sometimes I also have the chance to see charming little hotels that are definitely worth the visit. Hence the Hotel Athénée, a 20 cosy room hotel in the Opera area, facing the backstage entrance of the Olympia Hall. The whole place was entirely redecorated by Jacques Garcia (who’s apparently a famous designer) and each room has an Opera theme (see more in this little Animoto). Really beautiful. My advice, if you want to have the best value for money... Book one of the rooms on the top floor: they are a little smaller but as nice as the other ones and less expensive.

Return to Royal Monceau

In June 2008 I posted a photo of the inside of the Royal Monceau hotel prior to its complete renovation. Well, here we are, 2 years after, the work is done and the hotel is about to reopen soon... I had the chance to visit it yesterday evening and to wander in a couple of rooms, the bar and the lobby. Stunning. Philippe Starck managed to combine luxury, modernism, classicism and "Frenchism" . It's impossible to explain in words and hard to show in photos. You will have to come and check for yourself... BTW, did I mention the Patisserie (including the Macarons) is made by Pierre Hermé?!

Coffee at the Marriott

I don't always have the time to meet PDP followers who come to Paris, but today I did! Thus, I had the pleasure of having coffee with Ed and Barbara from Atlanta in the lobby of their hotel: the Marriott on the Champs Elysées. And you know me, I can't go somewhere without taking a photo ;-) So I did. That is how you're looking at the magnificent Atrium of the hotel. I remember that in the early days of this hotel they even had a huge tree in there. Really impressive.

Chocolate bar at hotel Cadran

A few days ago I received an email from someone at hotel Cadran, a hotel located very near the rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement. Laura - that's the name of the person who wrote to me - said "I enjoyed visiting your blog about Paris, you may be interested in the chocolate bar (and macarons) we created with the help of Christophe Roussel in our hotel." Chocolate bar?! You bet... I was there the next day with my camera! I took a zillion photos as always but only kept a few and saved this one for easter as it is the tradition in France to eat chocolate on Easter's Sunday. The hand belongs to Laura, BTW! Pay the hotel Cadran a visit if you're in the neighborhood, maybe they'll give you a little extra chocolate if you say you came on behalf of PDP!

The Lutetia is 100 years old

In Paris, most of the luxury hotels are located on the right bank. On the left bank, the most famous one is called the Lutetia and it was the first Art Deco hotel in Paris (the facade is absolutely stunning). It was inaugurated in December 1910 so quite logically they are currently celebrating its 100th anniversary (check the web site if you want to know more about its history). And BTW, if you want to stay there for 3 nights between December 1st and December 31st, you will get a 100 € voucher!

Medieval Paris

There are few remains of medieval buildings in Paris - most of them burned because of their wooden construction among other things, but if you wander in Le Marais though you will see some of them. I already showed this one 2 years ago, and in this photo you can see a part of another one (on the left, with the wooden beams precisely - see a close up here) that apparently was built around 1540. If you're thinking "how amazing would it be to spend a night in a building like this!" Well... you can! This place is now a youth hotel called Le Mije. Ask for the place 12 rue des Barres.

Hotel Le Meurice

Hotel Meurice - Le Meurice, as it's generally called - is a famous hotel located on the rue de Rivoli, near La Concorde. It was built in 1835 (although in some aspects it has a much longer history that you can check here) and was one of the favorite homes of famous British travelers and many European kings and Queens. Nowadays, you can find iPod docking stations in each room! Anyway, as I was passing in front of it, I noticed this bike, that they probably lend to customers who want to go for a ride in Paris. Much more chic than a velib!

Puttin' on the Ritz

Crisis, what crisis?! I know you're going to say I'm spoiled... But, hey, doesn't Champagne taste better in a luxury hotel lounge than "Chez André"? ;-) Anyway, a friend of mine had a little birthday gathering at the Ritz and she was kind enough to invite me, how could I refuse such a photo opportunity ?! Here is some music to celebrate... FYI, and on a less funny note, this is the hotel that Diana and Dody Al Fayed left, right before they had their deadly accident.