L'Hôtel

13 Rue des Beaux Arts

011 33 1 44 41 99 00

Small and opulent (when Oscar Wilde died here in 1900, legend has it that his final words were, “I am dying beyond my means”), L’Hôtel sports 20 rooms, each with a different theme—leopard, Italian Baroque, Japanese pagoda—but all tastefully over-the-top. Expect red brocade walls, floor-length silk draperies, oversize tassels, and ornate patterns covering every surface. Once the site of Queen Margot’s Pavillion d’Amour, the current 18th-century structure has a stunning spiral staircase topped with a domed skylight and cozy niches near the bar, making this one of the Left Bank’s most romantic hideaways and an A-list destination for an aperitif, dinner, or tryst.

Tip: Upon check-in, book a time slot for the private two-person pool and steam bath in the hotel’s grotto-like Gallo-Roman cellar.

Room to Book: The Apartment, for its private terrace; for a tariff that’s less astronomical, ask for one of the smaller Bijoux rooms, which still offer all of the hotel’s characteristic opulence.