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IF ONLY THESE WALLS COULD TALK: From the Old World charm of the
Hotel Regina to the luxurious Ritz, Paris's landmark hotels are every bit as
glamorous as the famous guests who frequented them.
'Either this wallpaper goes or I do," said Oscar Wilde --
so the legend goes -- as he expired in a Paris hotel bed. He went. Now Wilde's
old hostelry has emerged, phoenix-like: The former Hôtel Alsace has been
renamed L'Hôtel, which, as one wag noted, is like calling your dog
"Dog." It has only 22 rooms, so book early if you want to stay in
Oscar's room, number 16. It is safe to assume he would like the hotel's lavish
style, ranging from French Empire to Art Deco. Chances are, like a later
visitor, author Jorge Luis Borges, he would decide to stay.
Paris hotels are perfect places to play at being rich,
eccentric, famous -- or all three. They glow with the history of their
celebrated patrons: Coco Chanel, Ernest Hemingway and Diana, Princess of Wales
at the Ritz; Cary Grant at the Napoleon; Oscar Wilde and Jorge Luis Borges at
the Alsace (now L'Hôtel).
Here are some of the city's best hotels for playing at being
rich and famous:
HOTEL NAPOLEON "I like hotel bars," confides my
Parisian friend Stéphanie. "They're so discreet." We are having
breakfast at the Napoleon, and scrambled eggs and feathery croissants do not
demand much discretion, but I understand what she means. The newly renovated
bar/breakfast room at this hotel near the Étoile is just about perfect. Warm
and sunny painted ceilings bring to mind French Morocco; potted palms sit next
to our linen-clothed table. After the breakfast dishes are cleared away, the
room transforms itself into le Bivouac, a bar that echoes France in its Sahara
days.
Recently renovated, with un-Parisian additions such as larger
elevators and conference rooms, the Napoleon still feels cozy, with a dash of
movie star glamour. The family-owned hotel was a magnet for stars such as Errol
Flynn and Cary Grant, whose signed photographs grace the lobby, along with
Napoleonic memorabilia. And, you cannot beat the location: close to the Champs
Elysées and all the fashionable watering holes. The rooms are generous, and the
bathrooms are decked out in pink marble. Alerted by some corny marshal music one
evening, I opened my balcony doors to see veterans in berets and rain coats
trooping off to lay wreaths under the Arc de Triomphe. Whether it is the end of
the Tour de France race, a night out at the chic Buddha Bar or a simple
remembrance ceremony, the Hotel Napoleon remains in the heart of the action.
L'HOTEL The tiny reception area is staffed by friendly folk,
and as for the new decor -- my dear. The bar features striped silks, tasselled
everything and gold-tipped black furniture. There are enough nooks and crannies
and flattering lighting to make one ache with a need for a discreet meeting in
Paris. I ordered a citron pressé, that very French refresher: fresh-squeezed
lemon juice with water and sugar, presented on a silver tray. Perfect.
RITZ PARIS Former Montrealer Adam Gopnik took his son to the
Ritz Health Club to swim and consume pricey chocolats chaud when the family
lived in Paris, as he recounted in his memoir, Paris to the Moon. Everyone in
the place looks, well, ritzy -- even the staff at reception are a trifle snooty.
This hotel is pure glitz, starting from the outside, where a rather hideous
Napoleon-topped column rules the Place Vendôme.
"Meet me at the Ritz" has an undeniable ring.
Checking out the bar that Hemingway "liberated" after the Second World
War, I imagined him marching determinedly past seas of Louis XV furniture, Sten
gun under his arm. Hemingway's likeness is everywhere, and manly cigar smoking
is encouraged.
HOTEL REGINA When I found the Regina, I felt as if I had
strolled into a 1920s film, straight off a luxury train from somewhere equally
glamorous. It feels very Scott-and-Zelda-in-Paris. Built in 1904, the Regina was
nicely broken in by the '20s and still has its original mahogany Art Nouveau
furnishings. The old Caisse is there, where one settled the bill, but today it
is more of a museum piece, next to an efficient front desk.
In the quiet courtyard, summer diners can listen to birdsong
in the heart of Paris. The oak-panelled Bar Anglais offers lighter fare. The
Regina oozes Old World charm; its rooms are large and much apparent is a
traditional silk fabric called "toile de Jouy," now fashionable for
summer dresses. Outside, on place des Pyramides, a gilded statue of Jeanne d'Arc
astride her horse brightens even the most drizzly Paris day. Rooms on the rue de
Rivoli face the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens.
HOTEL DU NORD The plain white Hôtel du Nord achieved fame in
the eponymous 1938 Michel Carné film about Paris's working poor. If Oscar Wilde
fled to Paris today, he would feel at home here in the 10th arrondissement. But
he could not rent a room, for this is no longer a real hotel, but a restored café/bar
(opened in 1995), managed by a former assistant to the revered Carné. The place
breathes showbiz; jazz and folk artists perform regularly and posters line the
walls -- among them our own Bruce Cockburn.
IF YOU GO:
Hotel Napoleon 40, avenue de Friedland, 75008 Paris. Phone: 33
(0) 1 56 68 43 21; www.hotelnapoleonparis.comL'Hôtel 13, rue des Beaux-Arts,
75006 Paris. Phone: 33 (0) 1 44 41 99 00; www.l-hotel.com
Ritz Paris 15, place Vendôme, 75041 Paris. Phone: 33 (0) 1 43
16 30 30; www.ritz.com
Hôtel Regina 2, place des Pyramides, 75001 Paris. Phone: 33
(0) 1 42 60 31 10; www.regina-hotel.com
Hôtel du Nord 102 quai de Jemmappes. Phone: 33 (0) 1 40 40 78
78 - by Nancy Wiston
National
Post
29 March 2002
Petit dolls and PhD cosmeticians in Paris
Shopping in Paris, like being in love in Paris, is
often romanticized. Everywhere you turn, there is another little shop, a better
vista for canoodling - so much so that there is a kind of performance anxiety
built into your trip. Maybe that is why so many couples find themselves arguing
in hotel rooms instead of strolling by the Seine River, while shoppers run
blindly from the Galeries Lafayette to the Left Bank in a quest for a shopping
story to tell ("Oh, this old thing? I found it in the greatest little shop
in Saint Germain.") That said, there are a few places around the popular
1st arrondissement and on the Left Bank that, unlike love, are guaranteed not to
let you down.
In the 1960s, husband-and-wife team André and
Coqueline Courrèges designed clothes for the future. And on rue François 1er,
where designers go in and out like the seasons, their all-white, minimalist
boutique, Courrèges (40, rue François
1er; 33-1-53-67-30-00; ), is timelessly different. It's as if a UFO had touched
down on Earth to bring a fashion message of white boots, vinyl and simplicity.
Inside, the staff are haughty enough to make you feel as if you are from another
species (and so are the out-of-this-world prices). But you won't see the
space-age jackets, tights and shiny accessories anywhere else.
On the other hand, Victoire
(12, place des Victoires; 33-1-42-61-09-02; ) is a mini-chain with labels
that the habitués of designer row might consider "up and coming," but
to anyone from outside the land of Chanel and Christian Louboutin, it will
satisfy that Paris shopping ideal. After all, those luxury brands are dreams
that anyone can buy into around the world, while here a sexy-but-cute merino
wool dress, a trench and a stealth-chic handbag by Ramica, an Italian label, are
not only at prices the average fashionista can afford (about $200 to $500), but
one-of-a-kind in style. (In Parisian fashion, the shop's philosophy is "to
be avant-garde by uniting the classic and the ephemeral.")
For a child, the Boutique de Palais Royal (Jardin
du Palais Royal - 9, rue de Beaujolais; 33-1-42-60-08-22) offers a sense of
magic, time travel and toys. The shop itself is a surprise, set in a glassed-in
corner below a covered arcade that leads to the enchanting square of the old
Palais Royal. Among miniature theatres and puppets, the many Petitcollin dolls
steal the show - the soft-bodied kind with expensive heads and realistic hair.
It is up to you whether to tell your offspring about Colette, the naughtiest of
schoolgirls, who once lived above here.
Similarly, of the many romantic-looking cheese shops
in Paris, Barthélémy (51, rue de Grenelle, 33-1-42-22-82-2) is the one
you are looking for. The cheese is fantastic and impeccably packaged, but that
almost isn't the point. As many as five staff members can be found serving
stylish hostesses in a store so small that to enter it feels a bit like getting
into a packed elevator. "In 36 years, I have never counted," I was
told when I asked how many cheeses the shop sold. "It's like age, madam. We
change a bit every day."
There are also few places still worth visiting even
though they are on the beaten path of shopping. Le
Bon Marché (22, rue Sèvres; 33-1-00-46-19-33; ), considered the
world's oldest department store, still has the last word in snacks, with the
countries of the world arranged by aisle in its food hall. Any location of Petit
Bateau (9, rue du 29 Juillet; 33-1-42-96-28-15; PetitBateau.com) is a great
way to stock up on cute-but-sensible basics, no matter how much the trendy
T-shirts fetch in other parts of the world. And Colette
(213, rue Saint-Honoré; 33-1-55-35-33-90;), the original art gallery-style
lifestyle boutique, may be overrun with hip tourists, but that only gives
visitors an interesting perspective on the season's trends - if only so you can
reject them.
In St. Germain, Karl Lagerfeld's bookshop 7L
(7, rue de Lille; 33-1-42-92-03-58) is surprisingly laid-back for the designer
behind Chanel, Fendi, etc. But it is fun to eavesdrop on the
black-glasses-wearing staff (who might stop by today?) and peruse the books on
design, photography and style - a selection that may be modest in some of its
ambitions, for such a famous literary quarter, but which is not modest in its
ambitions for how to decorate your coffee table.
And there is nothing like a French pharmacy. Now is a
good time to pay homage, because recent legislation is allowing big-box stores
to compete with these traditionally independent, guild-run operations for the
first time. Pharmacie Homéopathique Weber (8, rue de Capucines;
33-1-42-61-03-07), a favourite of Sofia Coppola, has none of the distractions
you might find in a North American drugstore; the yogurt, the skydiving coupons.
Instead, you'll find high-tech Fluocaril toothbrushes, rare skin-care products
and expert advice (where else can you get a PhD to choose your lipstick?). If
you're a bit heartsick after the strain of Paris, they probably have a something
for that too. - 2007 November 2 GLOBE
& MAIL by Jessica Johnson
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