Le Bar du Plaza Athénée

The Bar du Plaza Athénée is at once a hotel bar tourists seek out for its legend, and a genuinely local institution where the city's fashion, art, and media world gathers as if by reflex.

The bar programme is among the most ambitious in Paris: a Dior-inspired cocktail menu developed in collaboration with the fashion house; a Champagne selection curated with real care; and a team of bartenders who bring unusual seriousness to their craft. The trolley service — for both Champagne and cocktail accompaniments — is a theatrical touch that never grows old.

Arrive at 6pm for the golden hour, when the room is at its most alive and the evening ahead feels entirely unscheduled.