If you don’t have the street number, you won’t find it. This bona fide “hôtel particulier” in Montmartre, which opened six years ago, is nestled in an alleyway with a rock in the center baptized by “the witch” of local legend, and protected by a heavy gate with nothing but an interphone to hint at what lies within. Buzz and you enter into this Paris secret reserved exclusively for the privileged, including the Dumas-Hermès family, who once owned this attractive townhouse on the avenue Junot. It’s down to the talent of the new owners, a film producer and his wife Morgane Rousseau, a decorator, who have breathed new life into this place with six suites – each with a different atmosphere– and three reception rooms including the “baroque” salon where you’ll find the restaurant they opened 18 months ago and offers a very reasonable menu – main courses start at 20 euros – for those looking for that sense of exclusivity hitherto only available to the upper crust. Sitting in your Napoléon III chair, you wouldn’t be surprised to see the Duchess of Windsor or one of her pugs going by… With a dozen tables, an adjoining room with one large table and another room available for private hire, a garden, which must be a delight in the summer, this is an address you want to share with select friends only. The rooms start at 390 euros a night and offer artistic and tangible decoration thanks to the objects picked out to create an apartment feel. Floral or graphic, a special mention goes to the large suite with a view of the Eiffel Tower – breathtaking. Striped carpet, bathtub in the bedroom, walk-in shower and toy collection – the location, completely calm and quiet, is ideal for dropping your suitcases and discovering Montmartre at a price well below those of the palaces in the center of town. Clearly the A-listers haven’t got it wrong… And neither will you if you head there, even if only for a drink at the top-secret bar…
L’Hôtel Particulier-23 avenue Junot Paris 18th arrondissement