César Ritz opened the Ritz Paris on the Place Vendôme in 1898 with the chef Auguste Escoffier, and the hotel has been part of the city's social and cultural life ever since. It reopened in June 2016 after a four-year restoration by the architect Thierry Despont, who raised ceilings, added windows and set a retractable glass roof over the Espadon while keeping its character, down to the tulip bedside lamps. The Prestige Suites recreate the rooms of famous guests, among them Marcel Proust, Frédéric Chopin, Coco Chanel and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, several with views over the square. A gallery of boutiques runs through the building from the Place Vendôme to the rue Cambon, beside the Grand Jardin. At Espadon, Eugénie Béziat holds a MICHELIN star for cooking that draws on her African childhood and the Mediterranean. Bar Vendôme serves all day, tea is taken by the fire in the Salon Proust, and the Bar Hemingway is a Paris institution. The Ritz Club and Spa keeps its celebrated pool, and the Ecole Ritz Escoffier teaches in the hotel's own kitchens. There are 142 rooms and suites, and the hotel holds Three MICHELIN Keys.
- Nearest airport
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), 14 Miles / 23 Kilometres
- Rooms
- 142 rooms and suites
Insider tip Ask for the Hemingway Suite, which has a leafy terrace garden, and ask whether lunch in the kitchens with the brigade can be arranged.
Why I choose it The Paris original: the Place Vendôme hotel of César Ritz and Escoffier, carefully restored and still the measure of the city's grand hotels.