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If you find yourself staying in one of the luxury hotels in Paris this spring, consider spending an evening in a piano bar during your city break. You can always rely on a hotel piano bar to offer a sophisticated atmosphere and is the perfect end to a day of sightseeing with a cocktail and some relaxing live music tinkling in the background.

The Saint-Germain-des-Prés arrondissement is a good place to find nightlife and the Hotel Bel-Ami has an excellent piano bar with live music from 6pm. Still in the 6th arrondissement, the Bar de Lutetia at the hotel of the same name offers piano music and “lute-jazz” on other evenings. This Art Deco luxury hotel on Blvd Raspail is well known as a landmark building on the Left Bank.

The Hotel de Crillon on Place de la Concorde, one of Luxique’s top luxury hotels in Paris, has a lively bar where pianists Joel and Bernard play until 1am. It is the ideal place to hang out before or after dining in the Michelin star restaurant, Les Ambassadeurs.

For a more British influence, try the Dukes Bar at Hotel Westminster on rue de la Paix. Throughout the week there is a pianist for the cocktail hour from 6.30 to 9.30pm and at weekends there’s a jazz singer until late.

Those looking for a luxury hotel bar with cultural connections will find just what they’re looking for at the piano bar at Hotel de Banville. Named after the poet Theodore de Banville the lobby bar has superb entertainment with pianist Franck Monbaylet, guitarist Frederic Kakon and vocalist Marianne Moreau.

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

The Palace of Versailles outside Paris is to transform one of its satellite buildings into a luxury hotel.

L’hôtel du Grand Contrôle, the traditional home of the chateau’s treasurers, is to be converted into a luxury hotel with 23 bedrooms. Some will look out over The Orangerie, the palace’s elaborate greenhouse, and others will have a view of the Swiss ornamental lake. The hotel could be ready as early as the end of next year.

A concession has been granted to the Belgian company Ivy International SA to renovate and develop the building, which dates back to the 17th century but is currently in a dilapidated state. The work is expected to cost 5.5 million euros (£4.6 million/$7.3 million).

Versailles, a UNESCO World Heritage site deemed one of the crowning achievements of 18th-century French art, is one of Europe’s most popular tourist attractions.

The development paves the way for a series of French projects aimed at exploiting the economic potential of listed buildings while securing their renovation.

Another royal palace, the Chateau of Fontainbleau, south of Paris, is preparing to appeal for bids to develop its listed Heronniere barracks next year. “We have to find a purpose for these buildings to avoid them falling into ruin,” said Jean-Francois Hebert, President of Fontainbleau. “One of the ways will be to set up an upmarket hotel complex.”

by Andy Moreton/AFP

Luxique offers you a choice of accommodation at some 70 luxury hotels in Paris,including the Trianon Palace in Versailles.

As surveys go, this one is pretty gross. Our friends at Tripadvisor.com have come up with a top five tourist attractions that could be bad for your health as they’re so germ-ridden. Here they are in reverse order:

At number 5 is the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where celebrities leave their hand- and footprints for posterity. Apparently, it’s covered in grime from the countless visitors who see if their hands and feet match those of the stars.

St Mark’s is a beautiful square in Venice, but it’s always suffered from a surfeit of hungry pigeons and the mess they leave behind. That brings it in at number 4.

At number 3 is Oscar Wilde’s tomb in Paris. People clearly like to kiss it, because it’s covered with lipstick prints. Yuk!

A wall outside Market Theatre in Seattle was placed runner-up in the survey. Since 1990, tens of thousands of people have stuck their unwanted chewing gum to the wall, turning it into a tourist attraction. The display was started by people waiting in line to visit the theatre. The wall has been scraped clean twice but is still covered with gum, some moulded into shapes and faces.

But the ‘favourite’ tourist attraction for picking up germs is the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle near Cork in the Irish Republic. More than 400,000 tourists a year literally bend over backwards to kiss the Stone, as legend has it that it will give you the gift of eloquent speech.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can promise you ultra-hygienic facilities at top-class hotels close to all the tourist attractions mentioned above: browse our selection of luxury hotels in Los Angeles, Venice, Paris, Seattle and Cork.

The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has outlined his blueprint for a bigger, greener Paris.

As I reported earlier in the year, ten leading international architects were asked to look ahead to the future and design a plan for the French capital that would please both the eye and the environment.

Last week, President Sarkozy unveiled those ideas and declared it a priority to reshape the city and its suburbs into a single ‘Greater Paris’, a 21st-century metropolis able to compete as an economic hub with London, New York and Tokyo. He said the government would draw up a Bill by October to release 35 billion euros (£31 billion / $46 billion) of new funds.

What seems certain to be developed is an 80-mile automatic metro line looping around the city, bringing the alienated outlying districts – the banlieues – into the picture. There would also be more flexible planning laws that would allow as many as 70,000 new housing units a year.

One of the most ambitious of the plans was by the French architect, Antoine Grumbach, who foresaw the city extending to the Channel port of Le Havre via Rouen along the Seine, maximising the green possibilities of the river and with a fast rail link.

Mr Sarkozy liked that idea and also said that he’d favour lifting the ban on building skyscrapers in Paris. “Why ban building towers if they are beautiful, if they fit harmoniously into the urban landscape?” he said. “The only reproachable thing is ugliness.”

by Andy Moreton

Luxique has a super selection of luxury Paris hotels – both classic and modern.

The beret was once the headgear of choice for any self-respecting Frenchman. It became almost a cartoon cliché.

Now, after years in decline, the beret is making a comeback, with manufacturers reporting a doubling in sales. One, Blancq-Olibet, based in south-west France, faced closure less than a decade ago, but is now making 300,000 berets a year.

And it’s the young who seem to be embracing them as a ‘new’ fashion trend. Bernard Fargues, the chairman of another company, Béatex, said the buyers were mostly those dubbed bobos or the bourgeois-bohème (yuppies). “They’re buying berets as a sign of authenticity and a link to rural France, where their grandparents probably lived and worked,” he said.

French style commentator Patricia Jourdain thought that as well as French pride, it might also be a backlash against an increasingly Americanised world: “The beret is as far removed as the baseball cap and other manifestations of US culture as you can get,” she said.

Ms Jourdain said that rather than being worn solely by country people or intellectuals as in the past, the beret was now an extremely chic fashion item. Many models had worn them at Paris Fashion Week.

by Andy Moreton

Check out Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in Paris and throughout France. C’est magnifique!

Some of the world’s leading architects have spent the past nine months creating their vision for the Paris of the future and have now have presented their ideas to the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The President had asked them to project 20 years ahead and dream up the world’s most sustainable metropolis.

One crucial aim is to end the isolation of central Paris, with its two million inhabitants, which is cut off from the six million living in suburbs just outside its ring road, le périphérique. As one of the eminent architects, Lord Rogers, observed: “I know of no other big city where the heart is so detached from its arms and legs.”

The ideas are many and varied. One scheme, proposed by architect Roland Castro, envisages new cultural landmarks in a capital shaped like a huge eight-petal flower and with a New York-style Central Park.

Yves Liot would like to create 20 sustainable ‘towns’ of 500,000 within the Paris area. He would double the number of forests and bring fields to the outskirts so that urban dwellers could cultivate their own fruit and vegetables.

Christophe de Portzamparc proposes building four economic ‘buds’ in an archipelago around the capital and transferring a huge European railway station to Aubervilliers, north of Paris, modelled on London’s Euro terminal, St Pancras.

An exhibition of scale models will be shown to the public from April to November and there will be a public debate.

by Andy Moreton

The city of today is pretty special too – use Luxique to reserve a room at a spectacular luxury Paris hotel.

It’s depressing to have to report that the enterprising Vélib bicycle rental scheme in Paris that I wrote about last year has become a victim of theft and vandalism.

Half of the original fleet of 15,000 distinctive grey bikes have disappeared, presumed stolen; several have been spotted in Romania. In addition, more than 11,000 have been vandalised – tyre-slashing is the most common problem, although some bikes have been found hanging from trees or dumped in rivers.

JCDecaux, the advertising company that supplies them to the city, has been repairing or replacing most of the original cycles. This led to it complaining that the city was making all the money from the rentals while the operating firm was bearing all the costs. The Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, has now agreed to pay for a proportion of the stolen and damaged stock.

Vélib - a contraction of the French words for bicycle and freedom - remains popular with the city’s residents and tourists – in its first year of operation, it made €20 million (£17.5 million / $26 million).
But as well as theft and vandalism, the cycles have fallen victim to a craze called ‘Vélib extreme.’

Young riders use them for daredevil stunts that they film and post on the internet, set to rock music. They include jumps and fast descents down the long stairs of the Montmartre hill.

by Andy Moreton

If you’re planning a visit to France’s romantic capital city, browse through Luxique’s unrivalled selection of luxury hotels in Paris.

If there’s one upside to a downturn, it’s that the consumer suddenly has new power: it’s a buyer’s market.

Paradoxically, the eve of a recession might be just the time to consider that long-promised long weekend away because now, more than ever, those hard-pressed hotels want your business. So, in this season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and monetary meltdown, hunt around for a bargain.

Luxury hotels may not slash their rates by half, but there will be special seasonal offers and they’ll often reduce their guests’ bills in other ways such as free room upgrades, free meals or free spa treatments. The mantra is: Don’t Hesitate to Negotiate.

Many of Luxique’s selection of 60-odd luxury hotels in Paris, for instance, have special offers and packages. Le Meurice, which has a fine location on the fashionable rue de Rivoli, has a range of special offers including honeymoon and family deals as well as a Da Vinci Code package. This includes a private visit to the Louvre Museum with expert guide, a gift book about the Da Vinci Code and free access to the hotel’s sauna and fitness centre.

At another of the luxury hotels in Paris, the Plaza Athenee - located between the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower - there’s a string of special offers. They include a festive winter trip that features ice skating and a tour in a horse and carriage. Fans of Sex And The City will know that part of the last TV episode was shot at the hotel, so it’s no surprise there’s an SATC package, promising a Carrie cocktail, a chocolate shoe made by the hotel’s renowned pastry chef and a ‘must have’ shopping booklet.

Even the smaller luxury Paris hotels are urging you to enter their elegant portals. The Hotel de Vigny, part of the Relais & Chateaux group, just wants you to wallow in the romance of it all. Its special offer is for a one-night stay with champagne, flowers, buffet breakfast, gourmet dinner for two and ‘a prestigious jewel.’

By the way, one of the great attractions of Paris is a visit to the magnificent Palace of Versailles, about ten miles from the city centre. It’s been undergoing a refurbishment and the latest section to be restored is the Petit Trianon, the mini-chateau where Marie Antoinette escaped for some rest and relaxation.

The neo-classical building has been renovated to recreate its intimate atmosphere. Curators said their intention was to avoid a stuffy museum feel, making it seem instead as though the 18th century queen and her entourage had ‘just stepped away for a moment.’

by Andy Moreton

Final preparations are being made for one of the events in the social calendar of the world’s rich and powerful.

The Debutante Ball in Paris is a ‘coming-out’ party for 24 women aged between 16 and 19, whose families are all members of the international elite. The ‘New Debs’ all wear gowns from leading international fashion houses - from Vivienne Westwood to Christian Lacroix.

The guest list is dominated by the international aristocracy, but also includes celebrities from the world of art and sport - an attempt, perhaps, to bring the ball into the 21st century. Proceeds go to Aids and cancer charities.

Admission is strictly by invitation, but for those unlucky enough to be left off the guest list, there’s bound to be extensive coverage in upmarket magazines such as Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar.

The venue for this exclusive bash is the Crillon, one of the finest of the luxury Paris hotels – a traditional haunt for film stars, kings and Presidents.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can offer the best rates for a stay in the opulent five-star surroundings of the Hotel de Crillon.

Paris is to follow London’s lead and increase considerably the number of closed-circuit TV cameras on the streets in an effort to combat crime and terrorism.

A new plan aims to have 1,200 cameras in use in public areas by the end of next year, compared with the 330 at present.
The figure is still small compared with London, where each citizen is caught on average many times a day. Britain has about four million closed-circuit security cameras compared with France’s 340,000.

President Nicolas Sarkozy was apparently impressed by the advantage gained by the London police through the network of cameras. And he dismissed fears about invasion of privacy by saying: “In my mind, there’s no contradiction between respecting individual freedoms and the installation of cameras to protect everyone’s security.”

Paris is considered quite a safe city for tourists, particularly the centre. However, some areas are safer than others. Les Halles, for instance can be a bit scary at night as it’s a known spot for drug-dealers. And the police are keen to beef up surveillance outside the Gare du Nord, where the London-Paris Eurostar terminates. It’s been the scene of several gang battles in recent months.

To help you get around Paris, Luxique has a Paris city guide as well as an unrivalled selection of luxury Paris hotels.

by Andy Moreton