Hôtel Madame Rêve

Worth getting out of bed for

You only need to head to the roof garden and eye up the view to understand how fabulously central the hotel is. From here you can see how the City of Lights quite literally radiates out from the Arc de Triomphe – after dark the cityscape rivals the sky for sparkle. The major sights crowd around the Madame like worthy suitors: the Louvre, the Tuileries, Centre Pompidou, Palais Garnier, the Île de la Cité, the Left Bank… Anything further out (the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Sacre Coeur are all around an hour’s walk away) can be easily reached via the Metro. As the hotel’s founder says, ‘there’s 1,000 years of history within a 15 minute walk’, including grand-dame galleries and museums. The lavishly domed Bourse de Commerce is just around the corner, worth visiting for the classical mural that rings the ceiling and the modern galleries furnished by works from the Pinault collection. The Musée National Picasso-Paris has an impressive collection of the Spanish artist’s discombobulated masterpieces and works by his contemporaries. While the Musée des Arts et Métiers takes a look at the evolution of Paris’s industrial design – if you appreciate the aesthetic, note the hotel roof, which was removed and replaced with Eiffel-style metalwork to accommodate the roof garden. More modern is 59 Rivoli, which has a face painted on it, so you can’t miss it – within it’s a riot of street art and working studios; and, a little further along the Seine, restaurant Maxim’s has its collection of vintage Art Nouveau pieces on display, many of which feel like they’d be at home in the hotel. Across the water, you’ll find Deyrolle, one of the world’s most famous taxidermy emporiums, with its fantastical winged creatures and huge mounted predators; and the famous Shakespeare & Co bookstore, where you could try your luck at becoming a ‘tumbleweed’ where you stay in a book-surrounded bunk for the night in exchange for two hours of work a day. Bring a Louis Vuitton steamer’s worth of Euros too, because the surroundings are littered with indie boutiques, antique stores and all-you could want department stores, such as La Samaritaine, a wedding cake of a Haussmanian carrying designer labels and other desires. For antiques and curios, skip along the Quai Voltaire, and for an assortment of souvenirs and trinkets, try the decorative covered arcades: Galerie Vivienne and Galerie Colbert. And, for some surprises, if you’re prepared to rummage, Marché aux Puces is at the top end of the city at Porte de Clignancourt, but worth the Metro ride for its fascinating finds. 

Local restaurants

Ah, Paris, the city of tight waistlines after gorging on cheesy, buttery, meaty meals and a basket load of pastries. In this part of the city, you need only choose a direction before the waft of something enticing or the sight of something wantonly crème-filled lures you in. Au Pied de Cochon, just around the corner, has been running since 1947 and retains its old-school look, with red-and-white plastic chairs lined up out front, and mirrored walls painted with flowers. Its menu follows suit and as the name suggests, it takes a turn for the porky. Try the ribs, Andouillette sausage or charcuterie board – or for the brave, the stuffed trotters, or platter of breaded tail, ear and muzzle. Pharamond is also a blast in the past, with equally intricate decoration, although it has a few more years on the clock, having been founded in 1832. Its menu has resisted editing, so there’s plenty to choose from – try the green crab soup, smoked codfish parmentier and follow with the Normandy cheese board. Also close by is the more modern, Michelin-recognised Kei, where chef Kei Kobayashi creates art in edible form, say a ‘garden’ of leaves and edible flowers with a smoked salmon base tied together with lemon emulsion; or oysters laden with trout roe, crème-fraiche and apple granita. And another much-lauded French-Asian eatery is Yam’Tcha, which serves mash-ups such as comté baos and the Lion’s Head casserole with foie gras.

Local cafés

When the hotel staff go on lunch, they head to Rue Mandar, a street heavy with cafés and laden with choice. Say, Miss Bánh Mi for heaving baguettes, Filakia Petit Café d'Athènes for gyros and small plates, or Sarra Deli for health food that doesn’t feel too healthy. 

Local bars

First, grab a drink on the Madame’s roof terrace – go at sunset hour to see the city transform into its nickname. Then head out for cocktails – first stop, Liquorium, where leopard print carpets, tree-trunk tables, green-leather banquettes, palm-print feature walls and an upside-down garden make for a characterful night out. It’s very much a ‘cocktails as mad science’ sort of place, so expect test tubes, steaming libations, flowers in ice cubes and other unusual garnishes. Close to the hotel is the original Experimental Cocktail Bar – the group might have an empire of hotels and restaurants now, but they stay strong to their roots, shaking up those drinks that shook up Paris’s drinking scene. If you’re looking for a quieter drink – the sort you sip while flipping languidly through a novel – head to laidback Le Fumoir with its Mad Men-esque feel for considered vins or a French 75.