Hotel Vernet

The 100 year-old Hotel Vernet just received a recent facelift, but don’t you dare call it anything but modern. In a hotel that almost screams to be recognised as modern, with its flashy bright lobby furniture, contemporary art-inspired rugs and a loud ceiling fresco, Hotel Vernet is on the verge of trying to hard. But we like it for its clean, contemporary (and spacious) rooms, efficient service (from the same team behind Hotel Bel Ami in the St German des Pres), and its relative calm despite being literally on top of Paris’ tourist central. Expect lots of wood in the rooms and corridors (mostly stately oak), moulded ceilings, organic cotton curtains and Hermes bath amenities.

You are barely 100m from the shops and crowds of the Champs-Élysées, which is a bit like being in the heart of Times Square or Magic Mountain at DisneyLand.

Entry level rooms start at 22sqm, but we think it’s worth throwing down a few more euros for the more spacious and comfy options on offer at Vernet. You’ll appreciate having that extra room after a day of fighting with rude taxi drivers and rubbing elbows with the multitude of tourists that pack Paris every single day of the year.

Just across the street from Vernet is the back entrance to a bustling French brasserie. Don’t be fooled by all the tourists and lack of local French people— it’s actually very good!