Luxury hotel holidays to Paris

The neighbourhood you stay in shapes a stay in Paris more than almost any other decision, and returning visitors often find that a different district gives them a quite different city. The Left Bank around Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in the 6th arrondissement, remains a favourite for its cafés, galleries, bookshops and easy walks to the Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens and the Musée d’Orsay; here we offer the Relais Christine, set around a flower-filled courtyard, the Hotel Esprit Saint Germain, the Hotel de Buci and the Hotel Artus on the rue de Buci, the Madison Hotel and the Hotel Bel Ami. The quieter, more residential 7th, between Saint-Germain and the Invalides, suits those who prefer calm streets close to the Rodin and Orsay museums, with the Hotel Montalembert, the Hotel Bourgogne et Montana and Le Cinq Codet. The Latin Quarter, around the Sorbonne and the Panthéon, has the Hotel Atmospheres, while the Marais, with its seventeenth-century mansions, the Place des Vosges, the Musée Picasso and the Musée Carnavalet, is home to Le Grand Mazarin. On the Right Bank, close to the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe, the Hôtel Balzac, the Hotel Norman and the Château des Fleurs offer a more polished, international atmosphere, and the Hotel Edouard 7 is ideally placed for the Opéra Garnier and the grands magasins. We know these hotels well and will match the hotel, the room category and the district to the way you like to spend your time, whether that is museums, shopping, dining or simply walking.

The great museums of Paris are best approached with some planning. The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie all require timed tickets, which we can arrange in advance, and early morning or late opening evenings make a considerable difference; for the Louvre in particular, a private guide who can lead you directly to the collections that interest you, rather than simply to the most famous works, makes a real difference. Notre-Dame, reopened in December 2024 after its restoration, and the Sainte-Chapelle, with its thirteenth-century stained glass, are also best visited early or by reservation. For returning visitors, however, some of the most rewarding experiences in Paris are found in its smaller and less visited collections. The Musée Jacquemart-André, a nineteenth-century mansion with its Italian Renaissance paintings and recently restored interiors; the Musée Marmottan Monet, which holds Impression, soleil levant and a large collection of Monet’s late work; the Musée Nissim de Camondo, an intact eighteenth-century interior; and the Musée Rodin, with its garden of sculpture, are all quieter and more intimate. Among the newer cultural landmarks, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in the Bois de Boulogne and the Bourse de Commerce, home to the Pinault Collection in a building remodelled by Tadao Ando, host major exhibitions of contemporary art. We can also book performances at the Palais Garnier, the Opéra Bastille, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Philharmonie de Paris, and arrange restaurant reservations, private walking tours of particular quarters and market visits with a local guide.

Several of the principal sights of the Île-de-France are within an hour of the city, and some are best enjoyed by staying overnight. Versailles is the obvious example: the palace and gardens are exceptionally busy during the day, and staying at the Hotel Les Lumières, which neighbours the palace, allows you to be at the gates when they open and to walk in the gardens in the evening after the crowds have left. Chantilly, around 25 minutes by train from the Gare du Nord, is far less visited and repays the journey: the château houses the Musée Condé, with a collection of historic paintings second in France only to the Louvre’s, alongside the Great Stables and gardens designed by Le Nôtre, and the Auberge du Jeu de Paume, a Relais & Châteaux hotel within the estate, makes it a natural short stay in its own right or a quiet first or last night before travelling. Monet’s house and garden at Giverny, open from spring to autumn, are around an hour and a quarter from Paris and best visited early in the day. Fontainebleau, with its royal palace and forest, and the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte, which inspired Versailles and holds candlelit evenings on summer Saturdays, are further options. For clients with more time, Reims and the Champagne houses are only 45 minutes from Paris by TGV, making a day trip or a night in Champagne easy to add. We arrange private guides and drivers or rail tickets as appropriate, and can build a stay that combines a few nights in the city with one or two nights in the country.

Eurostar from London St Pancras is the most comfortable and usually the quickest way to reach Paris, with frequent departures throughout the day and a journey time of around two and a quarter hours to the Gare du Nord; all of our hotels are then a short taxi ride away. Business Premier and Standard Premier offer more space and a meal served at your seat, and we recommend allowing ample time for check-in and border formalities at St Pancras, particularly at busy times. There are also frequent flights to Paris from London and many UK regional airports. Paris is also the hub of the French rail network, which makes it an ideal starting point or interlude for a longer rail holiday. TGV services from the Gare de Lyon reach Burgundy, Lyon, Provence and the Alps, as well as Switzerland and Italy; from the Gare de l’Est to Champagne and Alsace; and from Montparnasse to the Loire Valley, Bordeaux and the south-west. Our rail holidays combining Paris with Lyon and Avignon, with Strasbourg and Lyon, or with Lyon, Carcassonne and Bordeaux show how naturally the city fits into a longer journey, and we arrange the transfers between Paris stations, which are often the only complicated part of such a trip. Many clients also like to spend a night or two in Paris on the way to or from a stay elsewhere in France, which turns the journey itself into part of the holiday. We will advise on the best combination of trains and the most practical hotels for each route.

Paris can be visited at any time of year, but the experience varies considerably with the seasons and the city’s calendar. Average daytime temperatures range from around 7°C in January to around 25°C in July and August. April to June is the classic time, with the chestnut trees in flower, the parks and gardens at their best and long, light evenings for walking. July is lively, with Bastille Day on 14 July, while in August many Parisians leave the city and some independent restaurants and shops close for several weeks, though the major museums remain open and the city is noticeably quieter. September and October are, for many returning visitors, the most rewarding months: the cultural season begins with new exhibitions, concerts and opera productions, the European Heritage Days on the third weekend of September open many buildings that are normally closed to the public, and the weather is often settled and mild. It is worth knowing that Paris Fashion Week, in late February and early March and again in late September and early October, and major trade fairs at other times, can fill the best hotels and raise rates considerably, so we always check the calendar before recommending dates. In December the city is illuminated for Christmas, with the windows of the grands magasins and the lights along the Champs-Élysées, and January and February are the quietest months, a good time for museums, galleries and restaurants without the crowds. We will always advise on timing in relation to your interests and the hotels you are considering.