The Peninsula Paris

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  A restored 1908 Beaux-Arts building near the Arc de Triomphe, once the Hôtel Majestic and later UNESCO's first headquarters, reopened as The Peninsula in 2014. 200 rooms and 93 suites, home to the two-Michelin-star rooftop restaurant L'Oiseau Blanc and the largest hotel spa in Paris.

  Photo: PPR 19 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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  Built in 1908 as the Hôtel Majestic on the site of exiled Spanish Queen Isabella II's former palace, the Beaux-Arts building at 19 Avenue Kléber hosted a legendary 1922 dinner that brought Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky together under one roof. It served as the German military high command's Paris headquarters during the Occupation, then as UNESCO's first headquarters from 1946 to 1958, before reopening as The Peninsula Paris in 2014 after an extensive restoration — 200 rooms and 93 suites, among the most spacious in the city.

  Photo: The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels / The Peninsula Paris official site, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

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  L'Oiseau Blanc, the rooftop restaurant, holds two Michelin stars and takes its name from the biplane Charles Nungesser and François Coli flew in their ill-fated 1927 attempt to cross the Atlantic before Lindbergh — a life-size replica of the aircraft is mounted on the hotel's roof outside. The glass-enclosed dining room, shaped like the plane's wings, looks straight out at the Eiffel Tower; the garden terrace, framed by iron arbours, offers the same view from outdoors.

  Photo: The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels / The Peninsula Paris official site, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

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  LiLi, the hotel's Cantonese restaurant, is led by Hong Kong-trained Chef Ma Wing Tak and styled after the glamour of 1920s Hong Kong — red lanterns, dark lacquer and a dedicated tea programme alongside its dim sum and seasonal Cantonese dishes.

  Photo: The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels / The Peninsula Paris official site, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

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  The Peninsula Spa is the largest hotel spa in Paris at 1,800 square metres, with six treatment rooms, two private couples’ suites and a 20-metre indoor pool with two separate vitality pools.

  Photo: The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels / The Peninsula Paris official site, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

• Contemporary works by artists including Niki de Saint Phalle are on view throughout the public spaces and in a number of Signature Suites, part of an ongoing collaboration with Opera Gallery. Guests travel the city in the hotel's own liveried MINI Cooper S Clubmans and BMW 7 Series, and Peninsula Time allows arrival as early as 6am and departure as late as 10pm at no extra charge.

• Standard categories range from the 35–45 sqm Deluxe Room up to the 100 sqm Grand Premier Suite — Deluxe, Premier and Grand Premier Rooms overlook the city or a private balcony, while Junior, Superior and Deluxe Suites add a separate sitting room, all accommodating up to three guests. Beyond the Historic Suite, the hotel's largest signature suites include the Rooftop Eiffel Suite (139 sqm plus a 91 sqm rooftop terrace facing the tower), The Katara Suite (185 sqm with a 260 sqm private rooftop garden) and The Peninsula Suite (318 sqm, the hotel's largest, with crystal chandeliers and contemporary art throughout).

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  The Historic Suite is a direct tribute to the building's own past — a 217 sqm, two-bedroom suite for up to six guests, with period mouldings, crystal chandeliers and craftsmanship inspired by the grand Haussmannian apartments of 1908, when the Hôtel Majestic first opened its doors.

  Photo: The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels / The Peninsula Paris official site, Unconfirmed — sourced from the hotel’s official site, commercial-use rights not yet confirmed

The Peninsula Paris suits travellers drawn to genuine Belle Époque grandeur with a real, well-documented history — this building hosted Proust and Picasso before it hosted UNESCO, and that history is legible throughout the property, not just told in a brochure. Its address near the Arc de Triomphe sits a little apart from the denser palace cluster around Place Vendôme and the Champs-Élysées, so travellers who want to walk straight out to that shopping district should weigh the short taxi ride; for those who want serious art, two Michelin-starred kitchens and the flexibility of Peninsula Time, this is a strong choice.