Courtney Whitaker moves into the Plaza Athenee Hotel on fashionable Avenue Montaigne, Paris

Location: It’s hard to miss this building located in the heart of one of the most fashionable streets in Paris, Avenue Montaigne. This famous tree-lined boulevard is the birthplace of high fashion, and you don’t have to travel far to find some of the world’s top fashion houses.

Perfect for: The ultimate luxury Parisian experience: a honeymoon, a birthday or a party.

Price: Starting at $2600 per night.

Registration: Before even entering the hotel, a minute is needed to marvel at its facade. Bright red awnings adorn the windows and 1900 assorted geraniums spill over the curved iron balconies. This has to be one of the most photogenic buildings I have ever seen. Hairstylist doormen pull our bags out of the taxi and I glance at the Lamborghini in the hotel’s loading area before entering the lobby. Described as “dramatic yet understated,” the lobby’s marble columns and large floral displays certainly hit the mark, and my eye is drawn to the shimmering chandelier at its center. Discretion, I imagine, is found in the cozy seating areas tucked into private corners behind the columns, the inimitable professionalism of the reception staff, who welcome us warmly, and in the mystery that lurks beyond the lobby. I’m struck by an intoxicating smell – it’s woody, musky, masculine – and later told that it’s a scent created especially for the hotel.

Story: Paris is home to some of the most amazing historical monuments in the world, and this building stands proudly among them. Indeed, the architecture of the hotel and the woodwork of the restaurants and bar are on the list of historic places in Paris. The Haussmann-style structure was designed by Charles LeFebvre and officially opened in 1913, with a classic cut stone facade. In 1946, Christian Dior opened his first boutique on Avenue Montaigne and was a regular at the hotel, organizing fashion shows and photo shoots in its rooms. Over the years, the hotel has hosted countless celebrities and is often used as a film set (think Netflix’s Emily in Paris, and while we were there, the HBO series Julia was filming in the lobby). In 2011, the hotel received the exceptional “Palace” distinction (awarded to a handful of 5-star hotels).

Bedroom: Superior suite. Our own “Parisian apartment”, with a separate living room and bedroom, large double wardrobes and French windows with Juliet balconies overlooking the hotel’s leafy inner courtyard. The king bed is large and luxurious in embroidered Beltrami linen, while the living room has an elegant work desk and a stunning marble fireplace under a large wall mirror, which we will discover later is also a television. Beautiful antique furniture, embroidered cushions, elaborate chandeliers and fresh flowers enhance the spacious, traditional French-style suite. Room service and spa menus are all on an iPad, including extensive caviar and champagne menus. An unpacking service is also available. Room options vary, from a classic Single Room, to a Junior Suite, to something a little more special, like the Eiffel Haute Couture Suite — which has views to die for.

Bathroom: Designed in signature marble, with double sinks, monogrammed bathrobes, deep soaking tub and separate shower and toilet. Heated mirrors are a nice touch, as are the gorgeous aromatherapy shower capsules, which create lavender, tea tree, and vanilla scented water. The toiletries are Guerlain Eau Impériale.

Food and drink: Jean Imbert barely had time to unpack his chef’s knives when his new restaurant, Jean Imbert at the Plaza Athénée, was awarded a Michelin star. The Imbert restaurant is an ode to traditional French cuisine in a Parisian brasserie. Everything is marble, chandeliers and gold leaf, and although the restaurant is closed for the summer holidays, we can have breakfast here every morning. Croissants and breadsticks are piled on our table, and we order the Grand Croissant Noisette (Hazelnut Croissant), an oversized specialty pastry filled with a fluffy hazelnut cream. But that’s just a starter: the soufflé omelet with spinach and goat cheese is my choice, and the chef’s specialty, and we’re also very impressed with my husband’s pain perdu (French toast with caramel sauce and a crispy crème brûlée crust). It’s the best French toast we’ve ever had, bar none, and we order it every day. On my last morning, I take the healthy route and opt for the Plaza Avocado, with quail eggs and citrus juice, and enjoy it alfresco in the peaceful La Cour Jardin (courtyard) , with the vines climbing wildly up the walls around me. My dish was balanced, light, and the frame? All simply magnificent.

Facilities: Two things are rare in Paris: elevators and air conditioning, and I’m delighted to report that this hotel has both, which is a relief as we arrived in the heat of the day. In addition to the spa, there are meeting rooms, a stunning ballroom (a popular spot for weddings), and a choice of dining options. In addition to Jean Imbert at the Plaza Athénée, there is the Art Deco Relais Plaza, the long corridor La Galerie, perfect for afternoon tea or a glass of champagne, the sophisticated Le Bar, where you should head to a late-night cocktail, and La Terrasse Montaigne, set outside on Avenue Montaigne under the hotel’s red awnings and sheltered by pretty planters. The hotel also offers a macaron masterclass, etiquette lessons, a workshop with an artist plumassiere (an artist who works with feathers), and perfume workshops. Wi-Fi is free and fast.

Spa: The Dior Spa has treatment rooms, steam rooms, saunas and a well-equipped gym. There are treatments for almost any ailment, pain or skin problem you could think of, including Dior oxygenating masks and de-stressing massages. The spa also offers bespoke Dior makeup consultations.

Supplements: Special mention should be given to the tireless efforts of the concierge team to track down a copy of the New Zealand Herald in Paris. The day after I asked, today’s paper magically appeared on my doorstep and I still wonder how they did it. Cheer!

Style: The epitome of Parisian chic. Levels 7 and 8 have recently been transformed in an Art Deco style, while the other levels are in a traditional French style.

In the neighborhood: Louis Vuitton is across the road and Dior’s newly renovated flagship store at 30 Montaigne is a two-minute walk down the avenue. Next door, the fashion house’s new museum, La Galerie Dior, is well worth a visit (the Plaza Athenee concierge can arrange “skip the line” tickets, which is recommended). Opposite Dior you will find the famous L’Avenue bistro, perfect for spotting celebrities, or strolling a little further will bring you to Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga, Prada, Saint Laurent… you get the idea. If you want to play tourist, the Grand Palace is nearby, as is Avenue George V, which faces the Pont de l’Alma, where tourists still go to pay their respects to Princess Diana. There are also great views of the Eiffel Tower here, and plenty of upscale bistros nearby.

Friendly and family: We saw plenty of families staying here, and the hotel offers “Family Time”: a package that includes a half-price connecting room for the kids, gifts, cookies, daily breakfasts, and, of course, champagne. for the parents.

Accessibility: There are several accessible rooms and, with the exception of La Terrasse, all public areas of the hotel are wheelchair accessible, with wide doors and elevators with Braille buttons. Wheelchairs can also be provided on request.

Sustainability: The hotel is on a mission to reduce emissions, including LED light bulbs throughout the building, recycling bio-waste to generate green electricity, donating used products to charity, and installing systems efficient heating and cooling. In 2012, the hotel was also named “Green Host” by the Paris Tourist Office.

Contact: dorchestercollection.com/fr/paris/hotel-plaza-athenee/

Last word: Leaving was as emotional as a breakup, but a gift made it a little less painful. The staff had remembered my fascination with the hotel’s signature scent and a small spray bottle was prepared for me to take home. One spray and I’m transported to the Plaza Athénée (. . . with a little imagination).

A doorman working at an elite Parisian restaurant embroiled in a racism scandal said on Monday he was told to refuse entry to non-white customers.

The Manko restaurant and nightclub on exclusive Avenue Montaigne, a short walk from the Champs-Élysées, is under investigation after a video showing black women turned away was released.

The Peruvian-themed venue denies having a racist policy and has apologized to three shocked women who filmed their experience on July 16 and posted it on TikTok.

“They immediately told me ‘you shouldn’t let in a lot of Africans. You shouldn’t let in a lot of people from the Maghreb (North Africa),'” the doorman, seen in the clip, said on Monday. BFM television.

Named Damien by the channel, the bouncer was removed from his post after the TikTok clip went viral, but he said the guidelines came from “managers” and he was simply following “establishment policy”.

The women in the video are turned down on the grounds that they are not in “evening attire” – even though they are wearing dresses and heels. “But we’re in evening dress! Just kidding…what should I have been wearing?” One can be heard saying, adding that it was his “first experience of racism”.

Other blacks can be seen turned away, while white guests are allowed in.

Damien, who worked for a private security company, said he was told to find excuses to refuse entry to non-white customers.

French justice opened an investigation on Friday into a possible case of racial discrimination.

“When I found out about this I was furious because like everyone else I saw this footage and I was like ‘what the hell is going on?'” manager Tony Gomez told BFM last week.

France Media Agency

Most people now know the secret to perfect skin: Biologique Recherche. What was once a niche French family brand with a cult following has become a household name among beauty enthusiasts everywhere. You’d be hard-pressed to see a beauty editor’s vanity counter without a bottle of P50 Lotion or Living Mask. Something like a shock swept through the beauty community, seemingly overnight. In fact, the meteoric rise of Biologique Recherche products in the United States has occurred over the past 5-7 years. Despite their high-demand products, the integrity and ethos of the brand has remained the same. Consumers can only buy these high-end masks and creams from certified beauticians and spas. Sometimes booking a treatment or filling a mask can become a daunting but worthwhile task.

And while Paris is still considered a mecca for Biologique Recherche facials — particularly their signature micro-current Remodeling Face treatment — appointments at the brand’s Beauty Embassy are hard to come by. Like most things in Paris, emotional surprises exist at every turn.

Known for its glamorous and luxurious suites and its Michelin-starred restaurant, The Peninsula hotel in the chic 16th arrondissement of Paris offers a signature Biologique Recherche facial treatment to turn back time on the elasticity of the skin and the radiance of the complexion. youth – especially beneficial after a long flight from Los Angeles.

The Remodeling Face – a personalized bio-electrotherapy machine – is unique to Biologique Recherche and The Peninsula Spa uses its magical powers. Don’t miss the opportunity to have four different currents that activate muscles in your face that you didn’t even know existed.

In addition to Biologique Recherche facials, The Peninsula’s spa offers wet and dry saunas, a cold shower, and a relaxation room worthy of deep REM sleep. Whether it’s a fashion week, a wedding weekend or an inspired getaway in the City of Light, a stop at The Peninsula spa should be high on your to-do list. .

Afternoon tea by Gucci? Oh dear!

Paris just got a little more chic: The Peninsula Paris, one of the most exclusive addresses in the city, is teaming up with Maison Gucci for an ultra-stylish new tea service, in honor of the week of this summer’s haute couture.

Served in the beautifully opulent and gold-adorned Le Lobby restaurant and terrace and prepared with ingredients sourced from the hotel’s rooftop garden, the new afternoon tea is by pastry chef Anne Coruble, who was recently hailed as an emerging young pastry chef to watch. by Michelin in 2021.

Expect treats adorned with a Gucci monogram print and flavored with caramelized tobacco and Japanese green shiso, plus three new Italian cocktails from the hotel’s head bartender, Ivo Correia Rocha. Try the Blind For Love drink with grappa, amaro, aperol, black cherry liqueur and fresh lemon juice.

Want more haute cuisine? The Peninsula Paris, with luxury status, also hosts the two-star Michelin gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, on the roof of the hotel; a signature Cantonese restaurant, Lili; the ground floor La Terrasse Kléber on Avenue Kléber; and Le Rooftop for drinks and al fresco dining. Every Sunday, a brunch worthy of Marie-Antoinette is served in the Lobby with just about every delicacy imaginable.

The Peninsula Paris x Gucci Afternoon Tea is available at the Lobby from Monday to Saturday, until July 11, 2022.

Courtesy of Samantha Lauriello

Le Meurice calls it “the hotel of artists and thinkers” – an ambitious title to claim. However, after my stay, it was clear that the title was never ambitious; it was just factual.

On a rainy Friday morning, our group headed out for one of the hotel’s exclusive walking tours, “Picasso’s Montmartre”, as part of a series in the footsteps of legendary artists in Paris.

The Montmartre district sits atop a considerable hill, offering spectacular views of the city. Today it’s one of Paris’ most iconic neighborhoods, but in the early 1900s when Picasso was staying there, it was a run-down village that attracted artists with its cheap rent and vibrant nightlife . Other household names like Van Gogh, Renoir and Matisse also resided there for some time.

Courtesy of Samantha Lauriello

We saw the studio where Picasso lived and painted some of his best-known works, as well as a bar where he paid for drinks with a painting (the masterpiece sold for $40 million after his death) , while discovering the life events that inspired his different stylistic periods.

I don’t always feel like I get much out of the guided tours, but this one was captivating, despite the rain. But what I didn’t realize while strolling around Montmartre was that my admiration and appreciation for this fascinating history would only grow stronger upon our return to the hotel.

That evening, we dined at Salon Pompadour at Le Meurice, a private dining room and event space that transports you to a 19th-century palace with its opulent decor. The room alone is enough to take your breath away, but its intrigue goes beyond the gold trim and sparkling chandeliers.

The salon hosted Picasso’s wedding banquet when he married Russian dancer Olga Khokhlova in 1918. In fact, a painting that hangs in the room still bears a dent from a champagne cork that was stolen during the celebration.

The story continues

Related: 9 common travel mistakes to avoid in Paris, according to a local

Courtesy of Samantha Lauriello

I felt like I had been immersed in Picasso’s life for a day, and somehow I came to understand him and his work much more than I did. ever done in my many art history classes at school. Moreover, Picasso is not the only famous artist linked to Le Meurice.

For more than 30 years, Salvador Dalí spent a month at the hotel each year. An eccentric character, Dalí was apparently quite demanding with the staff, but my favorite anecdote was that his pet cheetahs left scratches on the carpet in his suite. Still, the hotel named a restaurant after him — Le Dalí serves local, seasonal French cuisine, and the decor mimics the artist’s surrealist style.

The hotel is in the center of Paris, less than a 10-minute walk from the Louvre, making it a natural meeting place for artists and intellectuals for decades. (Coco Chanel, Franklin Roosevelt and Nelson Mandela have all been there.)

Courtesy of Samantha Lauriello

Today, many forms of modern art are on display. Pastry chef Cédric Grolet serves up his signature carved fruit, which looks like a regular apple or pear, but is actually a wonderful dessert. And the chef of Le Meurice Alain Ducasse’s two-star restaurant, Amaury Bouhours, leads a team that performs a kind of ballet while preparing dinner in the kitchen each evening. (You’ll only get a taste of the magic if you’re lucky enough to eat at the Chef’s Table.)

Le Meurice has a fascinating history and enduring relevance, between its artistic connections and its evolution of taste, but it only takes a short stay to realize that the hotel is a work of art in itself.

In March, we were up all hours with MarieClaire.com’s #ReadWithMC choice, The Parisian apartment—Lucy Foley’s twisted latest thriller about a woman who leaves her life in London to go to her brother’s Paris apartment and realize something is seriously wrong.

We created #ReadWithMC to foster a community of book lovers (while holding us all accountable for finishing!) — but also to curate authentic reviews and recommendations for women wondering what to dive into next.

La Crêperie de Paris is a table-service restaurant in the France pavilion of Epcot. This Walt Disney World restaurant review features food photos, menu thoughts, what we recommend ordering, and whether this creperie is worth your time given the wealth of culinary options at World Showcase and nearby Crescent Lake. .

La Crêperie de Paris as an extension of the World Showcase, built behind the existing French pavilion. This area is known as the Rues de Paris (though you won’t see that name on maps or park signage, it’s probably unnecessary information), and is home to Remy’s new Ratatouille Adventure family dark ride. This attraction is currently one of the most popular at Walt Disney World – for strategy see How to Ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a clone of Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy in Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two versions is that the ride at Disneyland Paris ends at the restaurant with table service Bistro Chez Remy, where customers shrink to the size of rats and are served in a larger-than-life environment. Instead, Epcot got La Crêperie de Paris. Let’s see if this is a worthy “replacement” for Chef Remy’s restaurant…

In terms of background information, La Crêperie de Paris is a traditional creperie with a menu inspired by the Brittany region in France. At the crêperie, everything is homemade and to order, with savory galettes and sweet dessert crêpes, as well as some of the famous Breton hard ciders.

This creperie offers the cuisine of the famous chef Jérôme Bocuse, son of Paul Bocuse and operator of the two other restaurants with table service in the pavilion: Chefs de France and Monsieur Paul. We are big fans of the latter, considering it one of the best restaurants in all of Walt Disney World. On the other hand, Chefs de France is extremely popular but arguably overrated.

There are technically two creperies in the Rues de Paris neighborhood: the aforementioned La Crêperie de Paris table-service restaurant and a take-out storefront called Crêpes à Emporter by La Crêperie de Paris. Both are located on the approach to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, when you turn the corner into the new area on the right side of the boardwalk.

Stepping into the table service of the Epcot restaurant, the decor of La Crêperie de Paris consists of stone walls, exposed beams and blue glass windows. It supposedly pays homage to Brittany, while offering some Parisian twists.

In reality, it is exaggerated. La Crêperie de Paris is unremarkable and unambitious in theme, design and décor.

The interior reminds me of a fast casual restaurant in an upscale mall. (The kind with interior walkways, not a strip mall.) That’s hardly high praise, and there’s nothing in the basic design to indicate it’s somehow French. Again, there are shopping malls in France, so this kind of generic modern design also exists there.

On the plus side, at least the interior isn’t yet another “rustic hipsters move into an old barn and find eclectic clearance decor at Anthropologie.” It also has a variety of textures; that plus the lighting keeps it from looking sterile so I guess that’s something.

Otherwise, La Crêperie de Paris is nothing special. A bland, boring and BLA bla look, through and through.

As for the menu, La Crêperie de Paris offers a variety of savory pancakes, buckwheat pancakes and dessert pancakes.

Like all pancakes and pancakes in Brittany, La Crêperie de Paris serves its very fine dishes. The patties are cooked at a high temperature, allowing the outside to become crisp and crunchy, surrounding a range of fillings. The gluten-free savory galettes are made with buckwheat imported exclusively from France and feature classic fillings with unique twists.

La Crêperie de Paris also offers traditional Breton hard ciders that accompany both savory galettes and sweet crêpes. From sweet sweet to less sweet raw and semi-dry, hard ciders are imported from France and made only with apples for which Brittany is known.

The restaurant also offers a fixed price menu which includes a choice of soup or salad, a savory galette, a crepe dessert and a glass of hard cider, soda or juice.

For our meal at La Crêperie de Paris table service, we opted for three savory crepes: Savoyarde, Chèvre and Ratatouille…

Let’s start with a look at the Savoyarde, which consists of raclette cheese, caramelized onions, bacon and imported Bayonne ham.

This galette is heavy on the onions and a bit too light on the cheese. That, coupled with the way the tougher Bayonne ham is spread with the rest of the dish, makes it a little trickier and more tedious to eat. The flavors are great and I suspect they are higher quality ingredients than the Classic. Although delicious, the egg is an excellent masking agent. Given that, whether we order it again or the Classic is probably a toss up.

Next is the ratatouille, filled with tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant.

This will be the default option for vegetarians and inspired by the namesake character from the neighboring attraction. We chose to order it on these bases.

The ratatouille was good, with a hearty medley of vegetables that offered a surprising amount of flavor.

If you are a vegetarian, this is an interesting option. Unsurprisingly, Sarah was a bigger fan of this than me. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who wants to try the whole menu and only order one patty. As a ‘bonus pancake’ for the table, it’s a good choice – and a nice change of pace from the rest.

Finally, Goat Cheese: Goat Cheese, Spinach, Walnuts.

We both agreed that the Chèvre is our favorite galette at La Crêperie de Paris. It had a tangy, earthy flavor thanks to the blend of goat cheese, spinach and nuts, which also offered a range of textures. The light crispiness of the buckwheat pancake also worked really well here. Certainly the star, from our point of view.

Finally, we ordered the Apple: Caramelized Apples, Salted Butter Caramel for dessert.

We were “inspired” to order it by our neighbors at the table next to us (like townhouses in Central Florida, your neighbors are practically above you due to minimal table spacing unless you’re at a booth). They made the wise choice to add ice cream – we should have done the same.

The apple pancake is delicious, but incredibly sweet. The caramelized apples give it a bit of bitter depth, but it’s really sweet, whatever. I liked this more than Sarah, but we both agreed that the quality was not up to par with the savory patties. The ice cream would have helped mask its flaws, but we thought we could stroll to L’Artisan des Glaces for “France Dessert: Part Two” instead. Going there for both “parts” of dessert would have been the best option.

Ultimately, La Creperie de Paris is neither a good nor a bad table service restaurant in World Showcase – it’s decidedly average. Bistrot Chez Remy would certainly have been a better option for a fun, family-friendly meal, but Imagineering might have (understandably) wanted to maintain World Showcase’s thematic integrity as much as possible. It may also be that there was not enough space for the Bistrot Chez Remy.

La Crêperie de Paris is at the height of savory pancakes. The ingredients in these are usually of high quality and the preparations are solid. They’re not incredibly filling, but they’re also priced accordingly. Nothing you order at La Crêperie de Paris will rank among the most interesting or ambitious dishes you eat at Walt Disney World, but you won’t regret eating here either.

In the end, the word that best describes La Crêperie de Paris for me is “forgettable”. From the bland and boring interior to the meal in between, this is a table service restaurant that will quickly fade from your memory. Don’t be surprised if you ask “did we eat again today?” in the evening after dining here for lunch. (I forgot we ate here until we went through pictures – luckily I take notes during our meals!)

While that might sound like a scathing criticism, it’s not necessarily the case — we’ve had plenty of meals at Walt Disney World still stuck in our minds a decade ago about how bad they were. La Crêperie de Paris will not be a favorite or infamous restaurant for Walt Disney World fans. For better or for worse, it’s just not that memorable.

In all honesty, your wallet also won’t “remember” La Creperie de Paris as well as the vast majority of the other table service restaurants in Walt Disney World. Where he Is excel is to offer a relatively inexpensive table-service restaurant option that will surpass most counter-service restaurants at Epcot for only a slight price premium.

Although the patties aren’t the most filling, that can make them a solid option for light eaters. In this specific scenario and in recognition of the poor counter service at Epcot, La Crêperie de Paris becomes a stronger recommendation. It’s also a decent pick for longtime Walt Disney World fans who’ve tried it all and want a change of pace that isn’t festival stalls. Everyone should look elsewhere, because there are better table-service dining options at Epcot than La Crêperie de Paris.

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Learn more about the hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews page. To find out where to eat, read our Walt Disney World restaurant reviews. To save money on tickets or figure out which type to buy, read our tips for saving money on Walt Disney World tickets. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips article takes a unique look at smart on-the-go items. To know what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride guides will help you. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Travel Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Have you dined at La Crêperie de Paris or at the walk-up Crêpes à Emporter by La Crêperie de Paris? Favorite or less favorite pancakes and pancakes? How would you rank/rate this compared to other World Showcase restaurants? Think it’s better considered an alternative to counter service? Do you agree or disagree with any of our thoughts? Questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback – even when you disagree with us – is both interesting for us and helpful for other readers, so share your thoughts below in the comments!

The Hotel Lutetia has been one of the emblematic addresses of the Left Bank and its cultural ideology since its beginnings in 1910. Notably, in its early days, it was a galvanizing point for the nascent and radical Parisian jazz scene – and more later it would become a haunt of Peggy Guggenheim and even Pablo Picasso. In the 80s, designer Sonia Rykiel gave it a very fashionable makeover, and in recent years David Lynch has even designed his own suite here. Impressive, to put it mildly.

In 2018, The Set Collection gave it a contemporary update, under the direction of French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, bringing it firmly in line with 21st-century tastes, but without murdering its essential character at all. And now a new bar has just opened at the hotel that ties it back to its original heritage, completing a sort of creative circle of life for one of Paris’ most legendary properties.

Indeed, the brand new Bar Aristide, very stylish, will focus on jazz in its most modern forms, with evenings like TEMPO! (every Thursday evening at 10 p.m., in collaboration with Tsugi Radio) with drum & bass, acid jazz, abstract hip-hop (yes, it exists) plus electro and downtempo. The latter happens to be the most appreciated by the general manager of the Lutetia, Jean-Pierre Trevisan, who has already been a DJ in the underground electronic music scene of the capital.

“Music follows me everywhere, he explains, and has always been essential to me. This passion will find its place perfectly at Bar Aristide, which will soon become a coveted venue for alternative jazz.

But on any given evening, champagne and specialty cocktails will also be flowing, the latter courtesy of head mixologist Nicola Battafarano. Certainly his singular but simple signature sips include the likes of the Cure (Belvedere Vodka, Turmeric, Ginger, Galliano Liquor), Inception (Hennessy Cognac, Calvados Le Blanche, Wasabi) and surely Mr. Gillespie referencing Dizzy ( Rye whiskey Whistlepig, Beetroot, Barolo chinato) – which will go perfectly with Gillardeau n°3 oysters, Oscietre caviar or a white truffle taramasalata.

The Lutetia, of course, is much more than just a hotel, it is an essential part of Parisian history, which lives on as surely as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. And with just 30 seats, elegant wood-panelled walls, classic Chesterfield-style leather sofas and a carefully curated selection of books (as well as music), Aristide is set to become a bar that will resonate perfectly with this history, while looking resolutely towards the future.

MANILA — Heart Evangelista is happy to reunite with one of her famous friends from the fashion industry, French designer Christian Louboutin.

The actress shared that Louboutin himself visited her at the apartment where she was staying in Paris.

“My friend @louboutinworld visits me in my apartment with chocolates and coffee. Beautiful morning from Paris,” she wrote.

Evangelista is currently in France for Paris Fashion Week.

In 2017, Evangelista got to dance with Louboutin when the famed designer traveled to Manila for the Philippine Tatler Ball.

The two have since become friends, with Louboutin even sending Evangelista a birthday present in 2019.

In an interview in August 2020, Evangelista shared that she was once invited to visit Louboutin’s house.

“I can’t even believe Christian Louboutin invited me to his house. He cooked me pasta with truffles. There are five of us,” the actress said.

“He had a little construction in his house and I have to go to the bathroom. He said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, you’re just going to my room. I went to his room and he’s such a normal person. His toothbrush was there and everything,” she continued.

“It’s so surreal that you’re here, you admire the person. It’s really nice to experience these things and meet people. They are so nice and so down to earth. Nakakatuwa.”