Ritz Paris

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  Founded in 1898 by César Ritz on Place Vendôme, the world's first hotel with electricity on every floor and a private bathroom in every room. Reopened in 2016 after a four-year, $450-million renovation, with 142 rooms and suites (71 of them suites). L'Espadon is the only Michelin-starred restaurant on Place Vendôme, and the legendary Bar Hemingway remains one of Paris's most storied bars.

  Photo: Wolfgang Jung / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

• Founded in 1898 by César Ritz at 15 Place Vendôme, the world's first hotel with electricity on every floor and a private bathroom in every room. Two major renovations followed — 1980-1987 under Mohamed Al-Fayed, and a $450-million, four-year rebuild from 2012 to 2016 that reopened in June 2016, trimming the room count from 159 to 142 (71 of them suites) in exchange for larger bathrooms.

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  L'Espadon is the only Michelin-starred restaurant on Place Vendôme, led by chef Eugénie Béziat — her cooking carries the imprint of an African childhood, leaning Mediterranean and built on local, seasonal produce, in a dining room that opens onto the hotel's Grand Jardin. The kitchen's lineage traces back to 1898's first chef, Auguste Escoffier, the founder of modern French cuisine and namesake of the hotel's own Ritz Escoffier cooking school. Executive Chef Jérôme Legras has led a kitchen of nearly 60 since 2019.

  Photo: Ritz Paris / Ritz Paris, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

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  The legendary Bar Hemingway is small but remains one of Paris's most storied bars, its walls covered in memorabilia tied to the writer; the brighter Ritz Bar is known for its star-studded ceiling. There's also Bar Vendôme under its glass roof, and the old-world Salon Proust for classic French afternoon tea.

  Photo: Ritz Paris / Ritz Paris, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

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  The Ritz Club & Spa has its own entrance at 17 Place Vendôme — the indoor pool, under a painted sky ceiling, is one of the most photographed hotel pools in Paris, alongside three fitness rooms (two private) and the David Mallett hair salon.

  Photo: Ritz Paris / Ritz Paris, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

• The address sits on Place Vendôme, one of the most elegant royal squares in Paris, across from the flagship jewellery houses, within walking distance of the Tuileries and the Opéra district.

• Of the 142 rooms and suites, 71 are standard rooms across four tiers — Superior Room (35㎡), Executive Room (40㎡), Deluxe Room (45㎡) and Grand Deluxe Room (55㎡) — and the other 71 are suites, starting with the Junior Suite and Suite tiers (60-90㎡, some overlooking the Grand Jardin) and running up to the named signature suites below, most with marble bathrooms.

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  The Suite Coco Chanel, at 188 square metres, is the hotel’s most storied address — Chanel lived at the Ritz for over two decades, calling it "ma maison." It overlooks Place Vendôme, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and its own hammam.

  Photo: Ritz Paris / Ritz Paris, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

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  The Suite Impériale, at 218 square metres, is the hotel's most opulent — Versailles-style gilding and classical panelling throughout, with a private dining room and kitchen. Beyond it, a run of suites named for historical figures — Proust, Hemingway, Chopin, Chaplin — each carries its own story.

  Photo: Ritz Paris / Ritz Paris, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

Ritz Paris suits travellers who want to stay inside living Paris history — from Chanel to Hemingway, this hotel is a social history of the city in its own right, and the Place Vendôme address and Michelin dining hold their own too. For a more contemporary design sensibility with less weight on historical narrative, an Art Deco or design-led palace is worth considering instead — but for a genuine stay inside the legend, this one is singular.