What to expect: Modern sliding glass doors in the original 19th-century façade open onto the gallery decorated with gilt-framed oil paintings of the Marquis de Sers’ family. To the left is the modern wood-panelled reception with soft lighting, deep red carpet, chandelier and ambient music. Clientele ranges from holiday-makers from Europe and the States, to local business people meeting for lunch.

Amenity highlights: The hotel offers a marble steam room, pine sauna, and a fitness room with cardio machines, cable television and refreshments; the concierge can book in-room massages for guests (surcharge). In spring and summer, guests can enjoy a champagne cocktail from the ‘S’ Bar on the patio, with its wooden tables and orange-fabric chairs and parasols.

Insider tip: Just a block from the hotel, on the same street, is the late 19th-century Palais Galliera (partly built by Gustave Eiffel), which houses the city’s Fashion and Costume Museum, a collection of 100 000 exhibits, from the 18th century to creations by modern fashion designers’. Opposite is the Palais de Tokyo, home to the municipal Modern Art Museum with some 8000 works, as well as a café and bookshop.

What to expect: This sumptuous Parisian hotel has a prestigious history and appeals to a fashionable clientele, but is neither flashy nor stuffy. The lobby affords a view of the glass ceiling of the winter garden solarium and the hotel's vast reception rooms. The well-trained, friendly staff provides discreet service that ensures each guest's privacy.

Amenity highlights: The hotel's Espace Bien-Etre, or Well-Being Center, features treatments, products, and specially-trained masseuses from Les Sources de Caudalie, which specializes in “vinotherapy” (grape-seed-extract therapy). There are also exercise machines, a spa, sauna, and steam room. In rooms, younger guests like the kid-sized bathrobes and slippers, games, and children’s room service menu.

Insider tip: The Hotel Meurice is just 1 block from the trendy designer boutiques of the Rue St-Honoré, but the city’s historic covered passageways remain among the most elegant places to window shop. The concierge can map out a half-dozen unique shopping galleries within a few blocks of the hotel, including Galerie Vivienne, Galerie Vero-Dodat, and the galleries of the Jardin du Palais Royal.