10 Paris Hotels with Stunning Views

Cour des Vosges, 4th arrondissement

On the oldest square in Paris with its Louis XIII architecture, blush-pink buildings and primped and preened gardens sits a heavy, nondescript door, wedged between a traditional brasserie and a new-age patisserie. This swings into the quiet, cobbled courtyard belonging to Cour des Vosges, a 17th-century mansion that’s a refuge for the cultured polymath with its evocative interiors, a subterranean Roman bath and views across the square. A fictional family art collection is rolled out across the four floors and all the rooms are different. One top-floor room has a bath with a glass-wall view, but it’s the first-floor rooms – traditionally where Parisian nobility would lay their heads – that are the real show-offs, with original wooden beams, terracotta floors covered in baby-blue rugs and clay-coloured, unpainted walls dressed in tapestries and modern art. In one, a steel spin on the four-poster is immense, swallowing most of the room and shutting out the neighbouring retro furniture with futuristic sliding doors.

While there’s no restaurant, you’ll find Pâtisserie Brach on the ground floor – a tearoom peacocking feted patissier Yann Brys’ pastries. Breakfast is the headline performance when it comes to food, served in your room with a cavalcade of silverware, cold-pressed juices, pastries, yogurts and organic eggs – to which black truffle and caviar can be added. As for the crowd: elusive movers and shakers who wish to be left alone in the company of Voltaire and de Beauvoir, until another glass of Burgundy is called for.

Hotel Grand Powers, 1st arrondissement

The Grand Powers, in the 1st arrondissement behind the Champs-Élysées, does have a certain grandeur–it’s been a hotel in Paris since 1920 and is a stalwart of the city’s scene. Thanks to the building’s corner spot, there are views of the Eiffel Tower just poking above the romantic rooftops from almost half of the rooms.. And there are balconies too, meaning that the bedrooms are lighter, as well as much bigger, than the majority of boutique hotel rooms in the city. Deep red clashes with pale pink; dark teal with spearmint cream; and gilded mirrors complement plush velvets and scrawling florals.

A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, the Grand Powers feels cozy, and the staff are exceptionally helpful and delightfully jolly, while not being too much. At breakfast there are just-baked madeleines as well as eggs made to order – the boiled ones come shell-less in silver egg cups with Jenga-style soldiers. But there are also detox juices with beetroot and ginger and sushi-grade salmon in thick slices. This hotel provides quiet respite from the busy shopping district – so much so, you wouldn’t know the Arc de Triomphe was just a 10 minute stroll away.

La Demeure Montaigne, 8th arrondissement

It takes a certain level of confidence to arrive in Paris’s Golden Triangle, among the Chanel boutiques and urban palaces such as the Four Seasons and Hôtel Plaza Athénée. La Demeure Montaigne–a newcomer from the Frontenac Group that has three hotels nearby–does so with sly whimsy. There are feather-flower chandeliers, jungle wallpaper, and ginkgo-patterned carpets throughout the 93-bedroom address. Soft jazz and the delicate scent of powder filters up from the subterranean spa–a future-forward draw, with its quartz-walled pool, hot baths, steam room, and cabins with heated tables for massages using marine-based Thalgo products. Back upstairs, a Carrara marble hall leads to a stately billiards room that exudes cozy chic, with its fireplace, circular granite bar, and Pop Art portrait of French philosopher Michel de Montaigne.

The restaurant, L’Envolée (‘Flight’), is in a dramatic glass atrium, above which soars a bird mobile by sculptor François Lavrat–a sort of metaphorical challenge to chef Grégory Réjou, who sharpened his knives alongside Alain Sanderens at the nearby Plaza Athénée; for dessert try the candied clementine and poached pear with tonka-bean cream. For all the sense of a hush-hush retreat, there are landmark views–in apartment 605 and suite 608, king-sized beds face wrought-iron balconies with views of the Eiffel Tower. There’s a floral femininity to most rooms, with reliefs of birds and fauna, and TVs are discreetly positioned behind dressers or ornate wall mirrors–all of which suits the overriding feeling of discovering a hidden treasure.

Chouchou Hotel, 9th arrondissement

Some hotels clearly set out to be places in which to gather as much as to sleep. At the Opera district’s new Chouchou hotel, it’s possible to miss the entrance entirely, drawn instead into Le Marché, a food market which doubles as a venue for DJs, live music, and stand-up. On this visit, the space is buzzing with young Parisians packed onto trestle tables, ordering cheese and charcuterie plates or oysters for a euro a go from mock stalls with striped awnings. This is the 19th hotel from the Elegancia group, the brand behind smart addresses such as the Left Bank’s floral-chic Hôtel des Grandes Ecoles and the sultry black Hotel Snob in Les Halles. But never has an outpost been so squarely aimed at locals as well as visitors.

This is Paris, though, so the 63 reasonably priced bedrooms remain eminently grown-up: in L’Arrache Coeur (The Heartsnatcher) suite, named after the Boris Vian novel, there are blue-paneled walls, a forest-green sofa against a bookshelf wall (lots of Vian), and jazz LPs for the Grundig vinyl player. Slightly smaller junior suites are named after classic French songs, such as the pastel-pink La Vie En Rose, with views across copper chimney pots to the Palais Garnier opera house. Downstairs, the continental breakfasts are unfussily satisfying, though it’s worth saving room to join the line later at nearby patisserie Cédric Grolet, where the croissants are famous. This needn’t feel sacrilegious: Chouchou isn’t a place to be sequestered away from the city, but a place to be plugged into its rhythms.

Grand Pigalle Hotel, 9th arrondissement

With its creamy stone façade and slate-grey bar and restaurant, this freshly restored hotel is a real standout among its well-worn neighbours on a lively street in trendy SoPi (South Pigalle). It was conceived by the innovative Experimental Group–three childhood pals who founded the Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels and a flurry of Experimental Cocktail Clubs–as a 'Bed & Beverage' hotel. Here, the cocktail is gleefully celebrated, from the gold pineapple ornaments on the doors and the carpets patterned with Martini glasses right down to the bathrooms stocked with Cognac-scented products packaged in mini liquor bottles. Designed by Dorothée Meilichzon, the rooms are uncluttered, with vintage-style furniture, faux fireplaces, original pressed ceilings, and colorful tiled bathrooms; mini-bars are well stocked with craft beers and pre-mixed Negronis for that one last nightcap.

Book a garret-style room under the eaves on the top floor for the consummate bohemian experience and sweeping views across Montmartre. There's no need to venture far for sustenance: the restaurant serves delicious bistro food (sea-bass carpaccio with yuzu; Basque-inspired cheeseburgers with chorizo) and has an impressive wine menu (200 varieties and counting). The buffet breakfast is a riot of homemade breads, jams and cakes, laid out prettily on the zinc bar.

Hotel Lutetia, 6th arrondissement

When Hotel Lutetia first threw open its doors in 1910, it was deemed very much ahead of the curve. A fusion of Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture, it was the first true luxury hotel on the Left Bank–and to this day it remains the only Palace Hotel to grace this side of town. Camus and Sartre came to ponder existentialism in its grand salons; Matisse and Picasso took up residence in the suites, and Josephine Baker’s performances in the bar helped sweep Paris into the Jazz Age. In short, it perfectly captured the artistic zeitgeist of the time. And despite the fact that it has changed hands countless times over the decades, no overhaul of the hotel has been as extreme – or impressive–as the latest one. Overseen by The Set hotel group (of London’s Hotel Café Royal and the Conservatorium in Amsterdam), a four-year overhaul stripped back layers of plaster to reveal original frescoes, opened up gloomy internal courtyards to flood the place with light, and slashed the number of bedrooms to create a luxury so often absent in Parisian hotels: space.

 Downstairs, public areas shine in marble and brass; there’s a hushed spa with a pool actually big enough to swim in; and there are six restaurants and bars – the flagship, Brasserie Lutetia, is overseen by Michelin-starred chef Patrick Charvet. In the bedrooms, hand-blown Murano glass lamps light up tactile wooden panelling painted midnight blue, while baths are carved from two-ton slabs of Carrara marble (ceilings had to be reinforced to take the weight). And at the end of 2018, the final touch was unveiled; a handful of signature suites designed to pay homage to the hotel’s artistic spirit. Fitted out with artworks and antiques supplied by Paris’s most prestigious club of art dealers and collectors, the Carré Rive Gauche suite is more akin to a private museum (and it’s all for sale). The Francis Ford Coppola suite, meanwhile, is a utopia for film buffs. This is the star director's private home in the city, and he's filled it with stills, photographs, and movie memorabilia from his own collection. His vintage Éclair camera sits on one cabinet, his original annotated copy of The Godfather on another. But the best bit is the terrace–hidden above a slither of retractable-glass roof–which has exactly the type of knockout cinematic views people come to Paris for.

Hotel Le Wallace, 15th arrondissement

Despite being within eyeshot of the Eiffel Tower and the gilded dome of Napoleon’s tomb, the 15th arrondissement in western Paris has always felt more like a neighborhood than a destination per se. For the Wallace’s owners, Louis and Anouk Solanet, that was part of the charm when they gave a coolly retro makeover to a derelict building which locals might vaguely recall was once a low-cost hotel. Now, it feels like the heart of a quietly hip village, in an area of little boutiques and specialist food stores. The Solanets maintained the original structure but added several floors and a leafy terrace accessible from the third floor, with a Nordic bath, outdoor sauna, and classic view of Parisian rooftops.

Among the 45 bedrooms, several on the first few floors have more of a motel vibe–small but comfortable, with windows looking onto an interior glass roof. The others, including the top-floor junior suite with a sizable double balcony dotted with deckchairs and bedroom skylight, evoke the elegance of an Orient Express-style night car. Headboards and shelves are sleek, in lacquered and varnished wood, while brass reading lamps, fringed light fixtures, and Kartell nightstands add to the retro vibe. Striped coral-and-white curtains lend a hint of Riviera colour, while the terrazzo floors and bathroom countertops are signatures of the interior designers, French-Italian duo Samantha Hauvette and Lucas Madani. There’s no on-site restaurant, but the glass-covered cocktail bar has a menu of local nibbles selected by the team at cult rotating-chef restaurant Fulgurances.

Hôtel Adèle & Jules, 9th arrondissement

Adèle and Jules are two halves of a single charming hotel or, technically, two hotels in one block. Reserved romantics will appreciate its low-hype offering–30 varied bedrooms in each of the buildings, a Taittinger-led honesty bar in Adèle and a superb welcome with a proper concierge service. This is combined with a tucked-away location in a newly but not aggressively trendified slice of the 9th, close to rue des Martyrs (food shopping), Grands Boulevards (nightlife), and the Gare du Nord. Designer Stéphane Poux's style is a deliberate mishmash of urbanity and generous homeliness, his eye traveling around ikat prints, Indian cotton quilts, and witty, intriguing artworks. Club rooms have balconies big enough for prolonged nightcaps, a bathtub, and twin basins.

If you get a view–say of the landmark BNP Paribas building or Grand Rex cinema – the smaller deluxe rooms are charming too. Breakfast features eggs, sausages, and mini viennoiseries, and between 4pm and 6pm there's a pick-me-up of Dammann Frères tea, cakes, pastries, and fruit. This takes place in a cosy living/breakfast room lined with decent reading material: not just the usual glossies, but also shelves of Folio paperbacks. The no-restaurant issue is very much a non-issue, with local options including Abri, Vivant, and Richer. A sibling to long-time fashion-pack bolthole Hôtel Thérèse in the 1st and Hôtel Recamier in Saint-Germain, this civilized, chic four-star deserves to become a cult hero/heroine, as well.

Hôtel 9Confidentiel, 3rd arrondissement

Philippe Starck has done it again, and this time he’s brought a flirty Art Deco hotel to the lower Marais. With falafel-favorite Miznon just to the east and French fashion brands The Kooples, Maje, and Sandro to the west, this petite mirror-glazed gem is a very affordable and comfortable hideaway with a funky feel to boot. There isn’t a traditional lobby here–blink and you’ll miss the entrance–but, nonetheless, it feels straight out of Twenties Paris, with its dusty-pink and yellow walls, diamond-shaped rugs, and geometric-print cushions.

Each of the 29 rooms is named after a mademoiselle of the time and has a picture-postcard view of Parisian rooftops and enormous fluffy beds–a welcome retreat for an evening of wine and steak frites. Nicolas de Soto (formerly of Experimental Cocktail Club) is behind the bar, and while the drinks are worth stopping by for, people might not spot it when walking past. Baskets of mini croissants are laid out for breakfast–but we’d suggest heading over to Parisian favorite Circus, on the Left Bank, for their fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls and frothy cappuccinos.

Hotel du Sentier, 2nd arrondissement

Despite opening just 10 months after the first lockdown in January 2021, this 30-room, six-floor stunner in the 2nd arrondissement was fully booked. Not with tourists–most foreigners were still forbidden–but with local Parisians looking to escape their own boxed-in bedrooms or to co-work with friends. (The hotel introduced a day-rate option during the pandemic that took off.) For first-time hotel owners and couple Charlotte and Samuel Castro, this meant they’d achieved their goal of becoming a sociable space that also feels like one’s own home–an astutely designed one at that. Many of the rooms feature custom-made, jewel-tone floor tiles in the bathrooms and exquisite windows that let in the most luminous afternoon light. Overhauling the property, which features an Egyptian facade dating back to 1798 that’s also a historic monument, wasn’t easy for architect Vincent Bestie. Challenges included framing, ledges, and the fact that the building also straddles a centuries-old covered arcade. But the 18-month effort paid off. While some rooms, like the top-floor suite with its wrought-iron spiral staircase leading to a private, plant adorned balcony, overlook the Passage du Caire where local garment workers can be seen rolling trollies of textiles during the day; front-facing rooms offer views of the hotel’s convivial Place du Caire, a pedestrian-only triangle that boasts benches and is surrounded by shops and cafés.

The hotel’s ace location is not only walking distance to popular sites such as the Louvre, Opera Garnier, and the Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection, but also near some of Paris’s tastiest restaurants (see: Frenchie, La Poule au Pot, and Shabour). And for visitors who don’t feel like dining out, it’s an easy stroll to Rue de Montorgueil where ginger cookies from Stohrer and chocolate ‘orangettes’ from À la Mère de Famille, can be taken back to the room since many are outfitted with a small round bistro table and quintessentially-French rattan café chairs. What a noble concept: to feel like you’re dining outside in Paris while being inside in Paris at a space that feels like chez toi.