Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / France / Paris / Le Meurice
Le Meurice
Paris, France · Dorchester Collection · Apex Luxury
Salvador Dalí kept a month-a-year residency for three decades in the old Royal Suite once used by Spain's Alfonso XIII, who ran his government-in-exile from Le Meurice after 1931. Postmaster Charles-Augustin Meurice opened the hotel for English travelers in 1815 and moved it to today's Rue de Rivoli facade opposite the Tuileries in 1835. In August 1944 General Dietrich von Choltitz directed the German defense of Paris from here and refused Hitler's order to burn the city, the drama later filmed partly inside the hotel. France awarded it official Palace status in 2011.
- 160 rooms
- Opened 1815
- Neighborhood: Paris 1er Arrondissement
- Rooms from 323 sq ft (30 m²)
- Architect: Henri Paul Nénot (early 20th-century rebuilding)
- Interiors: Philippe Starck; Cyril Vergniol
About Le Meurice
- Salvador Dalí spent about a month of each year for some 30 years in the former Royal Suite (rooms 106–108) once occupied by King Alfonso XIII.
- Hitler's phone rant "Is Paris burning?" gave its name to the book and 1966 film partly shot on site.
- Architect Henri Paul Nénot, a Grand Prix de Rome winner, substantially rebuilt the hotel in the early 1900s in Louis XVI style, later refreshed by Philippe Starck in 2007.
- Le Meurice received France's official Palace hotel distinction in 2011 on the government's first approved list.
- Entry-level rooms start at 323 sq ft (30 m²).
History
Postmaster Charles-Augustin Meurice opened a hotel for English travellers in Paris in 1815, then moved it in 1835 to the arcaded Rue de Rivoli facade opposite the Tuileries, the house still used today. Henri Paul Nénot, Grand Prix de Rome, substantially rebuilt it in Louis XVI style in the early 1900s, a campaign the atlas ties to that architect.
After 1931 Spain's Alfonso XIII ran a government-in-exile from the old Royal Suite. Salvador Dalí later kept a month-a-year residency there for some three decades. In August 1944 General Dietrich von Choltitz directed the German defence of Paris from Le Meurice and refused Hitler's order to burn the city; Is Paris Burning? (1966) was partly shot inside. Philippe Starck refreshed the rooms in 2007.
France awarded official Palace status in 2011 on the first approved list. Dorchester Collection runs the house. This plate follows Meurice's own Rivoli timeline, not the nearby Grand Hôtel of 1862.
The setting
Le Meurice presides over 228 Rue de Rivoli in the 1st arrondissement, directly opposite the Tuileries Garden — on the arcaded street Percier and Fontaine designed under Napoléon running from Place de la Concorde to the Marais. The hotel moved to this address in 1835, drawn by proximity to the former Tuileries Palace and the ceremonial axis of royal power. The Tuileries Garden is one minute on foot across the street; the Louvre Museum 10 minutes east along Rue de Rivoli, the Musée d'Orsay 10 minutes via the riverfront, and the Palais Garnier 14 minutes north — a configuration of walkable icons that establishes this as one of the most culturally rich hotel addresses in the world.
Restaurants and bars
- Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse — Restaurant · French · Chef Alain Ducasse · Two MICHELIN Stars
Amenities
- Michelin fine dining
- spa
- Sauna
- Fitness center
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star (2026)
- MICHELIN Three Keys (2026)
- Condé Nast Traveler Gold List (2023)
- La Liste World's Best Hotels (2023)
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