Hotel Lutetia
The Lutetia is a Left Bank institution — the only palace-tier hotel on that side of the river, an Art Deco landmark on the Boulevard Raspail that reopened in 2018 after a four-year, ground-up renovation.
The history runs deep and not always lightly (it has a serious 20th-century story), and the restoration handled it with care.
The history runs deep and not always lightly (it has a serious 20th-century story), and the restoration handled it with care. What you get today is a grand hotel in the most literary, walkable, civilized part of Paris — Saint-Germain — with a bar that ranks among the city's best.
The price is palace-level and the location, frankly, justifies it.
A landmark Art Deco facade on the Boulevard Raspail, restored to full grandeur. Arriving at the Lutetia feels like arriving at an institution, because that's what it is.
Renovated throughout in the 2018 restoration — Art Deco bones, contemporary comfort, generous proportions. Among the finest rooms on the Left Bank, where palace-tier hotels otherwise don't exist.
Bar Joséphine is one of the great hotel bars in Paris — frescoed, grand, worth a visit whether or not you're staying. The hotel's dining carries the same restored-landmark seriousness.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th arrondissement — the cafés, the bookshops, Barthélémy the fromagerie, the Luxembourg Gardens, the most civilized walking in Paris. The Left Bank at its best.
The Lutetia is the Left Bank's only palace, restored with care and anchored in its best neighborhood. For Saint-Germain, the price is the price — and the location is irreplaceable.
The only Art Deco grand hotel on the Left Bank. The renovation took four years and returned the building to a condition it arguably never quite had. The lobby is one of the great hotel rooms in Paris.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés at its epicenter. The Bon Marché across the street. Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots a three-minute walk. This is the intellectual geography of Paris.
One of the larger and better-equipped hotel spas in Paris. The pool is proper — not a gesture toward a pool.
Picasso, Joyce, Hemingway, de Gaulle — and then the painful period as a Gestapo headquarters during the war. The hotel owns its history, including the parts that are not pleasant. That honesty is part of its character.
Lutetia is a grand hotel at grand hotel prices. Ensure the rate makes sense for your trip — the experience is genuinely excellent, but the premium is real.
The breakfast is one of the better hotel breakfasts in Paris and included in some rates. Worth asking about when booking.
Rooms on the lower floors toward the interior can feel darker. Upper floors with boulevard views are significantly brighter and worth the request.
The bar is a legitimate Parisian institution — regulars use it for lunch meetings and late drinks. Not exclusively a hotel bar.