If you’re staying with us, discovery begins the minute you step through our doors. Since we opened in 1835, nearly two centuries of artists, writers and thinkers have stayed with us, and many have left their mark within our walls.

Glittering chandeliers and trompe l’oeil ceilings recall the luminous beauty of Versailles. One of the paintings still bears a mark from a champagne cork popped during Picasso’s wedding celebrations. Salvador Dalí made us his Paris home for over 30 years, and his creative, playful spirit lives on in the artworks and craftsmanship that surround you. In the lobby, look out for ‘The Kiss’ – the two white Greek-style pillars that intertwine gracefully before you – and the frosted mirror, which invites you to leave a mark of your own on its ever-changing surface. Created by Philippe Starck during his redesign of our public spaces, it’s a tribute to Dalí and his love of very well-chilled mineral water.

What to do while you’re here? Perhaps you’ll step into Restaurant Le Dalí for Cedric Grolet’s famous Tea Time, where the pastries are as artful as the hand-painted ceiling above you. Maybe you’ll savour fine French cuisine at Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse, one of the most distinguished Michelin star restaurants in Paris. Or perhaps you’ll sink into a deep leather chair in Bar 228, as jazz music plays and the city’s best conversations begin.

Cross Rue de Rivoli, and you’re in the Tuileries. André Le Nôtre’s 17th-century composition of tree-lined avenues, fountains and open-air sculpture is Paris at its most considered, and well worth spending time in.

At the garden’s western edge, the Musée de l’Orangerie holds Monet’s Water Lilies in two oval rooms, designed specifically for this purpose by the artist himself. Monet wanted curved walls and natural daylight from the ceiling skylights, so that visitors could experience his water lily paintings uninterrupted. Despite housing some of the world’s best-known works, it’s one of Paris’s most intimate museums. (9 minutes’ walk)

In the other direction, the Louvre is impossible to miss. The grand royal palace, the instantly recognisable glass-and-steel pyramid, thousands of years of art and civilisation under one roof. This is where you’ll find Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. But return again and again, and you’ll find the quieter galleries reward exploration just as much. (11 minutes’ walk)

Just beyond is the Palais-Royal, just far enough away from the city’s busiest streets to feel like a secret kept in plain sight. Built for Cardinal Richelieu in the 17^th century, it soon became a royal residence: today, it’s home to contemporary art installations and the Comédie-Française, France’s oldest active national theatre. (12 minutes’ walk)

Or perhaps you’d prefer to turn west from the hotel, heading along Rue Saint-Honoré towards Place Vendôme. This octagonal square has seen many things. It began as Louis XIV’s monument to French military glories. Its imposing column was originally erected by Napoleon, using bronze taken from defeated rival armies (destroyed during the Paris Commune of 1871 – the column you’ll see today is an 1874 replica). It’s been home to residents ranging from Chopin to Coco Chanel. And today, it remains the heart of French fine jewellery and haute horlogerie. It’s worth visiting for the architecture alone: harmonious, symmetrical, and quietly powerful. (5 minutes’ walk)

Walk south towards the Seine, and Paris opens before you. From Pont Neuf – despite its name, the oldest (and handsomest) bridge in the city – you’ll see wide views stretching up and down the river. Once you’ve crossed, explore the Île de la Cité. This natural island, shaped like a ship, has been important to Paris since the Roman era, and has the monuments to prove it. Notre-Dame Cathedral is the most famous, but there are many other jewels to discover here – including Sainte-Chapelle, Louis IX’s 13th-century Gothic chapel where stained glass transforms stone into rippling colour. (30 minutes’ walk)

Back on the north side of the river, La Samaritaine has reopened as one of the city’s most architecturally compelling destinations. This magnificent department store is worth visiting for the Art Nouveau architecture alone – though the shopping makes a strong case too. (20 minutes’ walk)

On the opposite bank, the Musée d’Orsay is a former Beaux-Arts railway station that now houses the world’s greatest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings: think Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin and more. Most of the collection is by French artists, but you’ll also find some Van Gogh gems here, including the emotion-filled Self-Portrait, painted during his 1889 stay in an asylum, and the luminous Starry Night Over the Rhône.  (10 minutes’ walk)

Sooner or later, every walk through Paris leads back the same way. The Tuileries reappear through the trees, the familiar pavement of Rue de Rivoli steadies beneath your feet, and the doors of Le Meurice are there to welcome you in.

The city is all around you. The house is right here.

 A luxury hotel in Paris's city centre since 1835, Le Meurice is where the city begins. Book your stay to discover it for yourself.