Art treasure trail at Le Meurice

As soon as you enter Le Meurice, the eagle-eyed amongst you will spot our frosted mirror. Dalí’s playful spirit and his love of cold mineral water was the inspiration for this interactive piece. The mirror has a unique refrigeration system that enables us to create a freshly-frozen canvas each day, on which our guests are invited in leave their mark. This is just one of the ways we encourage our guests to interact with us and embrace their creativity.

Next to the frosted mirror is our reworking of a classic Louis XVI inspired conversational chair. This chair has been updated into a far more comfortable double-seated style, making it much better suited to hosting a relaxed chat. Dalí created many ‘conversational pieces’ as he liked to call them, so this is very much his kind of style and is crafted from wood, cane and silver leaf.  We invite you to time a moment to try it yourself.

When we greet our guests at reception, it’s great to see their reaction when they look up to discover a work of art right above their head. A perfect illustration of our playful sense of creativity at Le Meurice. The painting you’ll discover here is by Baron François Girard and represents the hand of Madame Regnaud, a 19th‑century Parisian socialite.

The hand-painted ceiling canvas in Restaurant Le Dalí was created for us by artist Ara Starck, daughter of Philippe Starck. The 145m²/476ft² canvas consists of four intricately stitched triangular panels and shows a series of dancers. It gives a wonderfully theatrical effect to the restaurant and acts as a striking reminder of the room’s surrealist past.

If you look carefully, you’ll realise you’re being watched by none other than Dalí’s eye as you enter the cosy confines of Bar 228, named after its prestigious location on 228 rue de Rivoli. Originally designed as a reading room, inside the bar you’ll find fresco panels by Alexandre Claude Louis Lavalley. These frescos depict a charming garden party at the famous Château de Fontainebleau and date back to 1907.

When Salvador Dalí was a boy, the grand piano was an instrument only found in homes of the bourgeois. Growing up as an artist, he wished to imitate the distinguished lifestyle of the aristocracy. It was this inventive mix of ideas and genres that made him one of the most prolific Surrealist artists of the 20th century. Our piano is a tribute to him and sits half in the bar and half in the restaurant – something we believe would appeal to his unique way of looking at life.

Instead of a classic fireplace, you’ll discover in the lobby that our centrepiece is a composition of candles and hand mirrors, made more beautiful with age. The flame, a highly symbolic element, reminds us of Dalí’s passion for light and his famous Madonna of Port Lligat painting.

Also in the lobby, right by the fireplace, is our Iberius cube. Created by Italian artist Fausto Salvi, this piece was inspired by the legend of Narcissus. Cubes are also reminiscent of the Dalí oil painting of Christ levitating in front of a crucifix of cubes.

As soon as you enter Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse, which was inspired by the spectacular Salon de la Paix at the Château de Versailles, you’ll be dazzled by impressive art wherever you look. From the wonderfully ornate ceiling to the detailed fresco wall panels by painter Théophile Poilpot in the spirit of Commedia dell’Arte. Breakfast will never be the same again.