The Shangri-La occupies the mansion that Prince Roland Bonaparte, Napoleon’s great-nephew, had built on avenue d’Iéna in 1896. Several rooms are listed historic monuments.
Avenue d’Iéna
The prince’s former dining room has become the restaurant L’Abeille, and the reception room the Bauhinia, under a Belle Époque glass roof. Some of the rooms look straight at the Eiffel Tower, across the Seine.
Arriving by car
Avenue d’Iéna climbs towards the Étoile and drop-off is under the hotel porch. The Trocadéro and Alma area seizes up on event days at the Palais de Chaillot or match days at the Parc des Princes.
Photo: Flightlog / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 2.0
Around the hotel
Avenue d’Iéna climbs from the Seine towards the Étoile, away from the main tourist routes. The Guimet museum is at the end of the street, the Palais de Tokyo a little lower, and the pont d’Iéna leads straight to the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The district stays residential and quiet, even in summer.
Our journeys from the Shangri-La
The streets around the hotel are narrow and one-way: the driver comes in along the avenue and pulls up at the entrance without manoeuvring. Many guests leave from here for a Seine cruise at port Debilly, or for dinner on the Left Bank — either way, the return is along the quays.
