We know that Paris defies definition; it’s at once grand and gritty, timeless and new. In this evocative dispatch, Alex Larman captures the city’s intoxicating contrasts, from modern stays to storied brasseries and its ever-enduring past…
The best way to understand Paris – that maddening, brilliant place – is not to think of it as a great European city in the vein of Barcelona or Rome, but as entirely its own creation. The same place that plays host to the haughtiest fashionistas in Europe is also somewhere with a gritty, edgy side, some of which will delight aspirant hipsters and trend-seekers, and some of which very much will not. But the major interest that comes in a visit to Paris lies in its synthesis of old and new. The two exist symbiotically; if you went there searching for the contemporary, you’ll find it, but the historic and traditional sits just behind, watching carefully over.
If you want cutting-edge, then head to the H4 Wyndham Paris Pleyel hotel, situated in the northern side of the city, close to St-Denis stadium. This is certainly not one of the grand palaces that you might find in the centre, a Le Meurice or George V, but what it lacks in historic antecedents it makes up for with staggering views.
We were staying on the 33rd floor, which offered sweeping, panoramic aspects of everything from the Eiffel Tower to Montmartre, but none of this would have counted for much if it wasn’t for the warm, friendly service throughout and the little touches that really make for a more pleasant stay, whether it’s the bottles of Evian in the room or the selection of excellent patisserie that appear, unexpectedly, with turndown service; the macaroon was an especial delight.
The hotel also boasts a restaurant on the ground floor, in the form of Le Pleyel, which might be largely geared towards a business-focused clientele, but nonetheless manages to offer some really delicious dishes, whether it’s a fillet steak au poivre, a superb selection of charcuterie and cheese or some particularly fine desserts, clearly something of a speciality of the house: the combination of L’Arabica coffee and chocolate, in particular, tastes like something that you might find in a Michelin-starred establishment. Admittedly, the incredibly bright room and 00s music might not be to all tastes, but this is stylish accommodation at an affordable price and something of a hidden gem.
There is, on the other hand, nothing hidden or obscure about La Coupole, one of Paris’s most famous and beloved grand brasseries. Situated a stone’s throw from Montparnasse station, it has a justified reputation for the excellence of its seafood, and a half-dozen Normandy oysters, accompanied by a couple of glasses of Jacquart champagne, did nothing to dispel this reputation.
What remains most impressive is that this is a room conceived on the grandest scale, complete with hundreds of covers and table-turning, and yet the food, wine and service remain of the highest calibre, as they have done since the restaurant first opened in 1927.
You are not coming here expecting the wheel to be changed, but instead to enjoy the great Parisian brasserie experience, at prices that feel considerably kinder and more accessible than they might do in London. Highlights might include snails and bone marrow to start, or a particularly fine prawn cocktail, followed by that must-have of these establishments, steak frites with bearnaise sauce – with the best frites I can remember trying just about anywhere – or salmon, in a nod to the restaurant’s pescetarian bent.
The wine is impeccable, the cocktails even better – the espresso martini comes unreservedly recommended – and by the time that I’m having as good a rum baba as I can remember anywhere, it’s an unreserved and enthusiastic two thumbs up for La Coupole.
So this is Paris in microcosm, then. Invigorating, intoxicating, delicious, absurd, frustrating and brilliant, as it always has been. I walked around the recently renovated Notre Dame, escaping from the pouring February rain, and the great cathedral seemed to represent everything about the city that it had watched over for centuries.
It has the bones of its medieval construction, but inside the painstaking reconstruction makes it feel once again as it must have done when the first visitors ventured inside. It is a great experience – another marriage between ancient and modern – and it sums up the whole of the fine place perfectly. I cannot wait to return.
For more information about H4 Wyndham Paris Pleyel, please visit www.h-hotels.com. And for more information about La Coupole, please visit www.lacoupole-paris.com.
Header photo Photo by Behzad Ghaffarian (courtesy of Unsplash)
