L’Hôtel

This boutique hotel in a 19th-century townhouse is one of the Left Bank’s most romantic spots.

• L’Hotel’s sumptuous bar features leopard-print carpets, marble and velvet banquettes
• Oscar Wilde lived at L’Hotel, and famous guests include Salvador Dali and Elizabeth Taylor
• The largest suite (45 square meters) is named for the Cardinal of Noailles and is decorated with red velvet inspired by eponymous figure’s robe

Following a makeover by French designer Jacques Garcia, this intimate twenty-room hotel—where Oscar Wilde famously expired while complaining about the ugly (now long-gone) wallpaper—has become one of the most romantic spots on the Left Bank. The soaring atrium in this early 19th-century town house is spectacular, and Garcia, using gold leaf, heavy silk and lots of antiques, created a decadent Parisian look that appropriately hugs the line between authentic and fussy. There’s a wonderful Michelin-starred restaurant on the premises and an exotic spa and swimming pool tucked away in the vaulted cellar. Each room is individually and thematically decorated so it is essential to make preferences and requests known upon inquiry.

Those looking for a Left Bank boutique hotel with a decadent Parisian vibe.