Edouard Desrousseaux De Vandière is a true creative – and one almost doesn’t want to explain how, because the surprises should be kept for the diner. But do expect that he might arrive to fire up a torch to heat your slate table (directly on the table!), where he literally paints oil directly on the heated table, then proceeds to put down banana leaves and build the most squealingly lovely to-see-and-eat appetizers. Right. Before. Your. Eyes. There’s molecular magic going on in the kitchen with Vietnamese chef Thu-La, who does Asian-French fusion to haute gastronomic perfection.

There’s a reason why we call this a romantic restaurant.

There’s a reason why the French call this a smart address.

And speaking of addresses, this is in the 1st arrondissement—same as the Hotel Britannique:

Mystery Cuisines
37 bis rue de Montpensier
Paris, 75001
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday for dinner.

In fact Châtelet Métro is less than 500 feet away (or 35 seconds)!

Directions from Hotel Britannique’s to Châtelet Métro:

-> walk out of the Hotel Britannique and go left
-> take a left at the corner
-> Châtelet metro is down the block on your left

Where can you go from here?  Everywhere!

First, learn the metro.  You can figure it out in seconds, too (see how convenient this hotel is!).  In fact, Paris is so easy to get around via the metro that once you figure it out, you’ll never turn back.

     Tips for understanding the metro:

1. The lines are color coded.  You look to where you are and to where you want to go.  Follow that colored line to the end.  That is the direction in which you will want to go.  For instance, when you travel Chatelet to most tourist spots, you’ll be traveling Line 1 in the direction of  La Defense.  You disembark along the way (and, yes, there are color coded signs above every metro door to tell you how many stops before you get off).  Remember that when you’re returning to Hotel Britannique, you head back the opposite direction (Chateau de Vincennes).

NOW… for the GOOD PART!  Hotel Britannique is 35 seconds from Chatelet which is on metro line 1.  It’s the major metro line in Paris, as it goes from west to east.  And every major must-do is either directly off this metro line, or off a connecting one!

Metro Line 1 Monuments and Museums:

• The Louvre – Metro: Line 1 (exit at Palais Royal Musee du Louvre) – 2 stops from Chatelet.
  (Unless you want to do the junky souvenir walk along Rue Rivoli, in which case, you only have 1 stop at exit Louvre Rivoli).
• Tuileries Gardens (Jardin de Tuileries – where kids sail little boats in the fountains) – Metro: Line 1 (exit Tuileries) – 3 stops from Chatelet.
• Place de la Concorde - Metro : Line 1 (exit at Concorde) – 4 stops from Chatelet.
• Champs Elysees (beginning)  - Metro : Line 1 (exit at Champs Elysees Clemenceau) – 5 stops from Chatelet.
• Champs Elysees (middle)  - Metro : Line 1 (exit at Franklin D. Roosevelt) – 6 stops from Chatelet.
• Champs Elysees (middle-to-end / technically, the part you care about will it end at Arc de Triomphe, the next exit)  - Metro : Line 1 (exit at George V) – 7 stops from Chatelet.
• Arc de Triomphe – Metro : Line 1  (exit at Charles de Gaulle Etoile) – 8 stops from Chatelet.

Wait!  But how to get to the Eiffel Tower from Chatelet Metro, from Notre Dame, from Hotel DeVille, the Louvre, etc. — Take Chatelet (or anywhere on Line 1 ) to Line 4 (direction – Porte d’Orleans) and exit St-Michel to the RER (don’t worry, it’s still a metro – direction of Versailles-Rive Gauche/ Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) and get off at Champ de Mars, unless you want to get off at Pont de l’Alma to see the Princess Diana tribute.  Unless you are staying near the Eiffel Tower, it might very well be the most difficult spot in Paris to get to unless you go by taxi… and you don’t want to stay near the Eiffel Tower because most of the area is just plain boring!

Read about the Five Hot Paris Must-Do’s Where you can walk to within 5 minutes or less directly from this Paris hotel!

Top 5 Paris Must-Do’s Near The Hotel Britannique:

1. Hotel Britannique is exactly 10 minutes from Notre Dame Cathedral and Point Zero (also known as Kilometre Zero – all highways are measured from this point; all of Paris is measured from this point… this is the very inner point of the « snail-shape » of Paris).
   (Click here to find events,  services, hours for Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris)
2. Hotel Britannique is exactly 5 minutes from Hotel de Ville, which is Paris’ City Hall.
   (Click here to find events and hours at Hôtel de Ville)
3. Hotel Britannique is less than seven blocks (less than a ten minute walk) from the Louvre – actually closer if you take another entrance besides the touristy I.M. Pei Louvre Pyramid.
   (Click here to find events, special exhibits, hours, cost, etc., for the Louvre Museum.)
4.  Hotel Britannique is 3 blocks (less than six minutes) from Pont Neuf – where lovers are seen kissing along the Seine!
5. Hotel Britannique is 3 blocks (less than six minutes) from the major department store, B.H.V., which has a hardware store in the basement (to drop off the husbands who are addicted to Home Depot), and French lingerie, clothing and household goods on the top floors.  In fact, if you love to shop, this is really the perfect hotel-close-to-department-store situation for you.

And an added plus…. the Hotel Britannique is six blocks from the Igor Stravinsky Fountain next to the Centre Pompidou, which houses the Modern Museum of Art in Paris.

If you love horses, you love spring, you love Paris and you love free entries – then look to Sundays at the Les Dimanches Au Galop. (Horse galloping on Sunday!)

Dates still ahead: April 14, April 21, April 28, May 5, and May 12.

This is an around-the-world equestrian trip: horse racing, pony racing, Bajutsu (the Japanese art of riding and mounted sword-fighting, stick handling and javelin throwing, where horses are trained to veer off at a moment’s notice, ignore sudden shocks, and preform technical climbs and downhill dodges, etc.); the Vaulting Cossack (the Russian art of trick riding, executing the Cossack Drag or Death Dragon) and the Hungarian Post (where tricks are performed while standing on two horses at the same time); and then the French thoroughbreds and horse culture come in: including the rugged Breton à l’Ardennais via the French saddle, antiques carriages and more.  You will want to bring a camera! And, again, your kids, teens and lover.  This is an event to be shared!

All events are held outdoors, so don’t forget your hats or umbrellas on the sunny days, and bring a picnic (the staff at Hotel Britannique will be glad to suggest the perfect spot to pick up picnic goodies) – unless you want to bang out some euros at the panoramic gourmet restaurant Hyeres III (go ahead and splurge on the Derby Menu, which consists of the scrumptious plates of shrimp tails in vanilla oil, tomato and mango tartar, followed by veal fillets with polenta fries, a goat cheese and cranberry salad and finished off with exotic sorbets.  Plus, champagne and wine and wine and wine!

You can drive to the Hippodrome, of course, but as you’re right around the corner from the largest underground metro station in the world – Châtelet – go public transport. You can ask the desk or take the directions from here:

-> walk out of the Hotel Britannique and go left
-> take a left at the corner
-> Châtelet metro is down the block on your left
-> take line 4 (direction Porte d’Orleans)
-> the 3rd stop, switch at Odeon to line 10 (direction Boulogne Pont de St.-Cloud)
-> the 12th stop will bring you to Porte d’Auteuil-Hippodrome.
-> disembark! The signs will be everywhere!

Available there:

• Reception and information kiosk
• Rental Binoculars
• Souvenir shop
• a couple of cheap places to eat

Free entry!

Address:
Hippodrome d’Auteuil – Lakes Route – 75016 Paris

Click Here for a Printable Map of the Paris Metro

The concept is Paris perfect.

4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie pick you up at Hotel Britannique

The tour guides will take you on a regularly designed tour or a custom-made tour – and all of the guides are knowledgeable in French history and in multiple languages (always in English).

Consider experiencing Paris for a half-day or a full day with your own personal « Groom » – your own private bellboy (or girl!) – who will come to the Hotel Britannique to pick you up and take you on your very own custom-made walking tour.

Or go by car in a convertible 2CV (an original Citroën)… you can even take day trips to Chantilly, Versailles, Fontainebleau, etc.

If you don’t know what you want to do, have a custom-made tour designed to fit your needs – simply tell them what you want and voila!

So, for those unique customized Paris tours with hotel pickup, click on 4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie.

OR

Head to the front desk and ask the staff to help.  The staff at Hotel Britannique is always here to help you with anything you need!

Take advantage of our very Special Winter Rate to rediscover the Hotel Britannique Paris after renovations (30% off) ! Last Minute Discount 50% on our website
Valid any day of the week for Redemption: Feb 1, 2013 – Mar 31, 2013 dans la limite des disponibilités.

To reserve : Cliquez ici ou téléphonez au 01 42 33 74 59

From 270€ instead of 370€ (Double Room)
Additional night at 150€ instead of 236 (breakfast included)

The package includes:

• Accommodation for two people for one night
• A beautiful bouquet of flowers
• An apetizing fruit basket
• A delicious box of chocolates
• A bottle of Moet & Chandon brut champagne
• A special romantic decoration of the bedroom
• Two Buffet Breakfasts
• Two tickets for the Louvre Meuseum

Valid February 2013 – Upon availability

Book online

Book by phone +33 (0) 1 42 33 74 59

Contact us!

Don’t leave Paris without having visited its splendid permanent collections or its fascinating temporary exhibitions !

Hotel near the Louvre: welcome to the Hotel Britannique

An absolute must if you are staying at the Hotel Britannique :

With almost 9 million people passing through its doors each year, the Louvre Museum is the most visited museum in the world. If it attracts so many art lovers, it is above all because it houses 3500 remarkable works some of which date back to Antiquity.

Every region of the world is represented, with paintings and sculptures created in Europe as well as some exceptional works from the Near East and Asia.

The world-famous paintings on display at the Louvre include the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1503-1506), as well as Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix (1830) and the the Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Géricault (1819).

How to get to the Musée du Louvre?

• By metro: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre station, lines 1 and 7
• By bus: lines no. 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81 and 95
• By bike: Velib’ stations 2 place André Malraux, 165 rue Saint-Honoré, 5 rue de l’Echelle, and 186 rue Saint-Honoré
• By boat: Louvre stop with the Batobus, on Quai François Mitterrand
• Museum opening times: Open every day from 9 am to 6 pm, Wednesdays and Fridays until 9.45 pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Further information : Musée du Louvre

Romantic hotel in Paris: choose the Hotel Britannique

If you are dreaming of a romantic hotel in Paris for Valentine’s Day ? then prepare to fall for the charms of our Special Romantic Package. Thanks to this original offer, you will find a bottle of champagne, roses and chocolates awaiting you in your suite. From the moment you arrive at the Hotel Britannique, the staff will do all they can to make your stay magical!

For Valentine’s Day, your wedding anniversary, or your honeymoon, we will be delighted to create with you the perfect romantic break. Share your ideas with us and we’ll take care of the rest!

During your stay at the Hotel Britannique take time to discover the capital’s nearby emblematic bridges: they are the perfect places for a romantic stroll and some souvenir photos. On the Pont des Arts, over the years lovers have left thousands of padlocks of all shapes and colours as a declaration of their eternal love!

On the Pont de l’Archevêché, you can have your photo taken with the Notre-Dame as a backdrop. Finally, cross the Leopold Sedar Senghor footbridge covered in Brazilian exotic wood and leading directly to the Tuileries Garden, the perfect place for a picturesque walk, hand in hand of course.

Theatre du Chatelet : just a few metres from the Hotel Britannique

Don’t delay in buying your tickets at the Theatre du Chatelet and booking your room at the Hotel Britannique, as these exceptional performances are bound to appeal to large audiences. Indeed, this is the first time this unique adaptation of the Peony Pavilion has been performed in Europe! After having conquered Beijing, where it was staged in 2008, this Chinese classic opera has had rave reviews wherever it has performed, from Shanghai to Tokyo and from Suzhou to Hong Kong. Note: The Peony Pavilion, which tells the love story between Liu Mengmei and Du Liniang, is a huge epic told in 55 acts, composed in 1598 by the Chinese poet Tang Xianzu. It is probably one of the most beautiful examples of the Kunqu opera genre.

Theatre du chatelet – a scene of the Peony Pavilion

The Peony Pavilion : At the Theatre du Chatelet from 10th to 16th February 2013

• Cast: Yu Jiu Lin, Zhu Hui Ying, Lu Fu Hai, Shen Guo Fang…
• Dates & Times: Sunday 10th February at 4 pm, Monday 11th February at 8 pm, Tuesday 12th February at 8 pm, Wednesday 13th February at 8 pm, Thursday 14th February at 8 pm, Friday 15th February at 8 pm, Saturday 16th February at 8 pm
• Ticket prices : from €25.50 to €92.50
• Theatre address: 2 Rue Edouard Colonne – Paris 1^st arrondissement
• Metro station: Châtelet (lines 1, 4, 7, 11, 14)
• Information and booking and reservation on the site of the Theatre du Châtelet