Ritz Hotel Paris
The Ritz Paris is a palatial luxury hotel overlooking the Place Vendôme in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, widely regarded as one of the finest hotels in the world since its opening in 1898. Founded by Swiss hotelier César Ritz and designed within the framework of a seventeenth-century hôtel particulier, it set new international standards for comfort, service, and gastronomy that defined the concept of the grand hotel for the twentieth century.
- Type
- Grand luxury hotel
- Period
- Opened 1 June 1898; original building 17th century
- Style
- Classical French, Second Empire interiors
- Location
- 15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
- Coordinates
- 48.8680° N, 2.3292° E
- Current use
- Luxury hotel; member of The Leading Hotels of the World
At a glance
- Type
- Grand luxury hotel
- Period
- Opened 1 June 1898; original building 17th century
- Style
- Classical French, Second Empire interiors
- Location
- 15 Place Vendôme, 1st arrondissement, Paris, France
Overview
The Ritz Paris occupies one of the elegant classical townhouses that frame the octagonal Place Vendôme, a royal square laid out under Louis XIV in the late seventeenth century. César Ritz, in partnership with chef Auguste Escoffier, transformed the property into a global benchmark of hospitality, coining the very word ritzy in popular usage. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World and continues to rank among the most prestigious addresses in Europe.
History
César Ritz opened the hotel on 1 June 1898, having leased the former Hôtel de Gramont on the Place Vendôme and fitted it with then-revolutionary amenities including private bathrooms for every room and bedside telephones. The collaboration with Auguste Escoffier established the hotel’s culinary reputation, and the Ritz quickly became the gathering place of European royalty, American industrialists, and cultural figures including Marcel Proust, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. The hotel was acquired by Mohamed Al Fayed in 1979 and underwent a major four-year renovation between 2012 and 2016, reopening with fully restored historic interiors and updated services while preserving its Belle Époque character.
What you see
The street façade mirrors the uniform classical stone architecture of the Place Vendôme, understated in its exterior and lavish within. The interiors feature gilded mouldings, silk wall coverings, Louis XVI furniture, marble bathrooms, and a succession of salons in the grand French tradition. The Hemingway Bar — named after the writer who allegedly liberated it at the end of World War II — remains one of Paris’s most celebrated cocktail destinations. The hotel’s formal French garden, the Jardin Vendôme, offers a quiet green retreat from the city.
Cultural significance
The Ritz Paris is a foundational institution in the history of modern luxury hospitality: its model of private bathrooms, attentive personal service, and gastronomic excellence at a grand hotel became the template emulated worldwide throughout the twentieth century. The hotel’s guest list reads as a Who’s Who of European and American high culture, making it a genuine site of modern social and cultural history as much as an architectural landmark on the Place Vendôme.
Practical information
- Address
- 15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
- Access
- Hotel guests and restaurant/bar reservations; Bar Vendôme open to non-residents
- Hours
- Check official website for current dining and bar access
Getting there
The nearest Métro station is Opéra (lines 3, 7, 8) or Tuileries (line 1), both within a five-minute walk of the Place Vendôme. RER A stops at Auber/Opéra for connections from Charles de Gaulle Airport. The hotel is situated in the heart of the 1st arrondissement, walkable from the Louvre and the Palais Royal.