Plaza Athénée

Combining eighteenth-century elegance and Art Deco cool, this Belle Epoque hotel may be a classic but it is no museum. Even in its youth, in the 1930s, the Plaza Athénée was equal parts classical French style and contemporary hipster hangout — the likes of Josephine Baker and Rudolph Valentino could be seen among the patrons of the hotel bar. Today, though a comprehensive multi-million-dollar renovation has updated the surface of the hotel, its basic character remains: that of traditional opulence side-by-side with fashionable modernity.

The Relais Plaza restaurant is still authentically Art Deco, and La Galerie counts silk curtains and ornate chandeliers among its antique touches. Not to be outdone is the haute-cuisine restaurant Jean Imbert au Plaza Athénée, designed by Remi Tessier, featuring a table of Breccia pink marble and a ceiling adorned with 20,000 gold leaves. More to the point, Jean Imbert is known for a phenomenal menu, an outstanding wine list, and unparalleled hospitality — the wait staff are the very image of propriety.

Meanwhile the Bar is an avant-garde nightspot, with its glowing iceberg bar top and oversized, inhabitable paintings, and is once again the place to be seen in Paris for international celebrities. And the Dior Spa, opened in 2023, is home to the first light therapy room in Europe, along with a long list of traditional treatments.