Having frequently stayed at the Hotel Lutetia – the Grand Dame of the Left Bank – since the 1980s it was becoming clear to me that it was ready for an extensive make-over to bring it into the twenty-first century. Don’t get me wrong. I always hugely enjoyed staying at the Lutetia even when it was a bit run down. This was definitely to do with its magic, its flamboyant visitors and because, after dinner, it was the perfect place to sit with good friends until the early hours. And fortunately it retains that magical attraction today following an extensive renovation completed in 2018. Immediately after it opened in 1910, the Lutetia, the brainchild of the Boucicaut family, which owned the famous Le Bon Marché department store just opposite the hotel, became a favourite with personalities from the worlds of art, literature, fashion, politics and cinema. Over the years it has welcomed celebrities including Charles de Gaulle, Jean Cocteau, Picasso, Serge Gainsbourg, Catherine Deneuve, Brad Pitt and many others. But the impressively beautiful Bar Josephine, named after Baker, with its rediscovered original Romanesque frescoes, always was and still is the place where lesser known ‘Parisiens’ also meet. The Lutetia with its 184 rooms, including 47 magnificent suites, is the only grand hotel on the Left Bank. And it has something that is very rare in Paris: a 700 square metre spa, swimming pool (where you can actually swim laps) and gym. And, of course, its location is one of my favourite places in Paris, just a two-minute walk to Le Bon Marché and five minutes to Café de Flore, and surrounded by real Parisian restaurants.