A luxury short break in Paris - Le Bristol and Le Marais
We have these moments, usually when we’re walking the dog and talking rubbish, when we go ‘we MUST go on a break to Paris’. We both adore France, but have never actually been to Paris together, unless you count Disneyland, and it’s been on our to do list for ages. Finally, this summer, we got to plan our trip together, and we decided to go all out: a wonderful, romantic, luxe short break - just the two of us. Here’s how we got on.
If you’re treating yourself to a luxury break, the first thing you need to do is get there in style, and that means the Business Premier service on Eurostar. We set off early in the morning, and it’s so nice to be able to use the Business Premier lounge, to sit and have a coffee and pastry and read a magazine. When you’re on board, the seats are lovely and comfy, and the breakfast is amazing – it’s been created with Raymond Blanc and was quite delicious – airlines take note! You can even buy your metro tickets on board, to save you the job as soon as you get into Paris.
The Raymonc Blanc breakfast on Eurostar Business Premier
The Métro de Paris is a dream: easy to negotiate, clearly marked and with wide, airy platforms. We challenged ourselves to use our rusty GCSE French while we were there, and didn’t get lost once, which I thought was quite impressive!
A warm welcome at Le Bristol, Paris
Our first stop was the stunning Le Bristol hotel. I’ve always wanted to stay here, and from the moment the very polite uniformed doorman takes your luggage, the whole experience is truly magical - absolute and utter luxury. Staff are polite and friendly and the rooms are – well, have a look! Ours was sumptuously decorated in rich creams with muted florals and checks with a touch of rich russet. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a suite with a huge lounge area and windows overlooking the beautiful Le Bristol garden. The whole place was heavenly, with an enormous marble bathroom with La Prairie products (and a bath big enough for a rugby team), chandeliers, rich wood and gilt. I’d happily live there forever. Oh, and the view over the rooftops from some of the windows? Pure Ratatouille (above).
Utter luxury - the lobby area of Le Bristol, Paris
The bedroom of our suite at Le Bristol
Our incredibly sumptuous lounge area
All the best sorts of bubbles in the ultra luxurious bathroom of Le Bristol
As an example of the service at Le Bristol, I realised that I’d forgotten my moisturiser. I thought I might be able to borrow a smidge from the spa. Two seconds after my phone call to reception, this appeared:
When the Spa Le Bristol comes to the rescue, they do it in style
Still, seeing as we’d come to explore, we decided to resist the temptation of the enormous bath and take a wander. We were lucky to visit when the weather was warm, and Le Bristol is within walking distance of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower, and we walked to the tower, before heading back to the Champs-Élysées for a quick, eye-wateringly expensive bite to eat, a glass of wine and a lovely bit of people watching.
A spot of sightseeing
A snack and a spot of people watching on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées
Later, we walked around in the eerily quiet streets – the only people around seemed to be police, setting up ready for the Bastille Day celebrations the next day.
Outside Le Bristol
The streets of Paris, all set for Bastille Day
We stumbled upon a cute little restaurant called Villa Spicy – there were quite a few people in there so we decided to join them and it ended up being rather a good decision. We started with minted green beans with slivers of parmesan and chunks of really good, chewy bread, then we had delicious, delicate sea bream with ratatouille, and finished off with toasted brioche, smothered in caramel and served with vanilla ice cream. All this was washed down with a very good Provençal rosé. A very good start to the trip. Back at Le Bristol, we headed to the gorgeous bar for a glass of Miraval rosé and a quick game of ‘spot the most expensive handbag’, before heading up to bed, exhausted.
The incredible minted green bean salad at Villa Spicy
Bar area at Le Bristol
The next day we were woken by an aerial flypast (which we missed) and the sound of brass bands marching past the hotel. Breakfast at Le Bristol is an absolute joy, and we dined on perfect poached eggs, ham and tomato, plus pastries and more, all with a view of the pretty garden.
Breakfast at Le Bristol
Breakfast with the prettiest view at Le Bristol
Venturing out onto the bustling streets, we were caught up in the crowds and went with the flow for a little while before wandering to the nearest Métro station and making our way to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Now, I didn’t deliberately set out for this trip to be some sort of Disney pilgrimage, but y’know, you can’t look at the Cathédrale without imagining Quasimodo hiding amongst the spires. It really is the most beautiful building (there are free tours too, if you don’t mind queuing).
Le Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
We spent a while mesmerised by a particularly brilliant opera singing busker, before wanding north, past the Hotel de Ville, to explore the cobbled streets of Le Marais.
Le Marais is the ancient Jewish quarter of Paris
Le Marais is one of my favourite parts of Paris. It’s lovely just to wander in this old Jewish quarter of Paris and have a nose in the shops, and it’s absolutely imperative to join the queue for falafels to scoff in the pretty public gardens of Les Jardins de Rosiers - Joseph-Migneret, and then eat ice creams while lying on the grass and watching the clouds in the lovely place des Vosges.
Queuing for a falafel in Le Marais
”One falafel with absolutely everything, please”
Les Jardins de Rosiers - Joseph-Migneret
La Place des Vosges
After this, we took the Métro back to Le Bristol, ready to check out. I’m determined to return one day and have a longer stay. There’s nothing quite like it. Plus, I missed seeing the two resident Burmese cats, Fa-Raon and little Kléopatre. Guests often encounter them in the lift of just milling about the garden, but we didn’t spot them, so obviously we’ll need to go back!
In part two, we check in to our next hotel and experience a bit of ‘ooh la la!’ at Le Moulin Rouge. À bientôt!
THANKS:
To the staff of Le Bristol, for taking such fantastic care of us. Rates at Le Bristol start from €830 (£586) per night, room only. lebristolparis.com
To Eurostar, for whizzing us swiftly to Paris (fares in Standard start from £36 one way, Standard Premier from £94.50 one way, and Business Premier from £245 one way). Visit eurostar.com. Oh, and by the way, Eurostar currently has a sale on, which is worth a look: there are all sorts of deals available from 27th August to 8th September for travel valid until late September 2015. There are also 140,000 seats available at £32 one way for standard travel from London, Ashford or Ebbsfleet to Paris, Brussels, Lille or Calais for travel from 22 September to 16 December 2015.
This post was added to #CityTripping - a collection of city-related travel posts collated by Cathy from Mummy Travels.
What a wonderfully indulgent stay in lovely Paris and such a good link up this week. You pictures capture the city beautifully. We didn’t have time to wait in line for a tour of Notre Dame but I think I’ll add it to our sightseeing checklist for next time #citytripping
The line was HUGE when we were there Claire, but then it was Bastille Day! Thanks for stopping by x
Thanks for highlighting why Paris is so great - particularly needed at the moment. Looks like the perfect break away and love how you totally did it in style! My friend recently stayed at Le Bristol and I couldn’t get over how luxurious the rooms were. Would love to stay there someday. Thanks so much for linking to #citytripping
Thank you! It was lovely to look back on it again. We’ll be planning another trip next year without a doubt x
Not sure what impressed me the most - food or interior design :)) #citytripping
I know! So beautiful isn’t it? x
Sounds like the most fabulous trip - all the things I love about Paris, and exactly the kind of reminder I need at the moment of the joys of the city. Thanks for linking to #citytripping
Oh me too. And thanks for reminding of this post. I love Paris so much x
Looks gorgeous, I’m dying to go to that hotel, love Paris
Oh it’s heavenly! And such a great position too. You must x
I love Paris - what a lovely trip. Oh and Business Premier is the only way to Eurostar!
Hi Alice, oh it was so lovely and totally agree about Business Premier - brilliant way to travel x