Le Discret at Le Lutetia

The Vik Muniz suite at Le Lutetia
There has been a spate of luxury palace hotel openings in Paris over the last year or so, each one bigger, better, shinier and sparklier than the last. But Paris has been the capital of tourism for a long time, and lest we forget there are some very interesting - and historical - hotels that may not be new, but what they lack in bling they make up for in true Parisian heritage.

The Left Bank stalwart Le Lutetia is one such example. Founded in 1910, the hotel has a history of welcoming artists and writers such as Matisse, Picasso and Françoise Sagan into its original Art Deco surroundings. Whilst the new luxury hotels could be personified as label-loving, big-diamond-and-watch-wearing extroverts, the Lutetia is more of a stealth-wealth, heritage connoisseur - someone with inherent taste and discretion. 

Hence the hotel's new initiative, Le Discret, an erudite left bank character who shares his discoveries -  be they shops, restaurants, exhibitions - with the initiated public via a blog which launches today: Hotel Lutetia Le Discret. His curiosity leads him to wonder the streets of the Left Bank, finding hidden and unusual gems and sharing interesting tips with his readers. For example, Pain Poilâne is often cited as one of the best bakeries in the capital, but did you know that it's the apple tart, not the bread, that is really their pièce de résistance? Le Discret's judicious selection isn't necessarily about the newest or flashiest places, but rather about the best and most interesting finds in his area of expertise, Paris' Rive Gauche. He's a character after our own heart and we look forward to reading about his new finds every Friday on the blog. 


Le Discret has sniffed out the best perfumes on the Left Bank from boutique Sur Mesure

Le Discret recommends Poilane for the best apple tart in Paris

P.S. Apologies for the shoddy iPhone photos, but - somewhat in keeping with the theme - we only managed to snap a couple of surreptitious shots whilst Le Discret had his back turned. 

2 comments:

  1. i wondered why i saw "résistance" in the same sentence as "lutetia" but then i saw you talked about food! aha!

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