Palace hotels in Paris
6 palace hotels in Paris, chosen and checked by the Atlas. The grand hotels of the world: palaces on the great squares, family houses that have kept their standards for a century or more, and a few modern masterpieces.
Ritz Paris
César Ritz opened his hotel on the Place Vendôme in 1898 with Auguste Escoffier in the kitchen. Coco Chanel lived here for more than thirty years, and the Bar Hemingway remains one of the most famous small bars in the world.
Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel
An 18th-century palace commissioned by Louis XV on the Place de la Concorde, a hotel since 1909 and reopened by Rosewood after a four-year restoration. Its grand apartments were designed with Karl Lagerfeld.
Le Bristol Paris
Opened in 1925 on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, steps from the Élysée Palace. A French garden at its heart, a rooftop pool designed like the deck of a yacht, and Epicure among the city's great dining rooms.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée
The red awnings of Avenue Montaigne, the street of the great couture houses, since 1913. A Dorchester Collection palace with views to the Eiffel Tower from its upper floors.
Four Seasons Hotel George V
An Art Deco landmark of 1928 a few steps from the Champs-Élysées, famous for its flowers and home to Le Cinq, one of the city's three-star dining rooms.
Cheval Blanc Paris
LVMH's Paris palace, opened in 2021 inside the Samaritaine building on the Seine, with interiors by Peter Marino and the three-star Plénitude.
Good to know
Book direct
The best rooms and upgrades usually go to guests who book with the hotel itself, by phone or through its own website.
Ask for the history
Grand hotels are proud of their past. Ask the concierge which suite was whose; the answer is often worth the question.
Dress for the public rooms
Bars and restaurants in palace hotels expect smart dress in the evening, and a few still ask for a jacket.