Paris Palace Hotels
The thirteen palace hotels of Paris, their entrances, their courtyards and how to arrive by car.
Paris palace hotels are the thirteen addresses holding the Palace distinction, a French state label given to a handful of five-star houses. They sit in a tight triangle: the Right Bank around the Champs-Élysées and place Vendôme, the avenue Montaigne, and one on the Left Bank, the Lutetia.
Driving to them is not the same job as driving to any hotel. Most have a courtyard or a marked drop-off point, and the doormen expect cars to arrive a certain way. The Ritz opens onto place Vendôme, where stopping is watched closely. The Plaza Athénée and the Bulgari share avenue Montaigne with the fashion houses, so late afternoons are slow. Le Bristol sits on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, one-way and narrow. The Peninsula, on avenue Kléber, is a few hundred metres from the Arc de Triomphe roundabout.
We drive to all thirteen Paris palace hotels, for arrivals from Roissy and Orly, for evenings out, and for guests who keep a car at their disposal for the day. Each page below covers one address: where the car stops, how the entrance works, and what to expect at the hours you are likely to arrive.