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Home / TRAVEL GUIDES / Paris / Paris's Coolest New Hotels are Found in This Lively Neighborhood

Paris's Coolest New Hotels are Found in This Lively Neighborhood

2022-11-15  Maliyah Mah

shortage of hotel
 

The City of Light has no shortage of hotels, but most are located in downtown districts like Saint-Germain-des-Près and l'Opera, which visitors frequent more frequently than locals. It pays to ascend into a double-digit arrondissement for a more genuine Parisian experience.

The 10eme district of Paris displays a livelier, quirkier side thanks to its vibrant African, Indian, and Kurdish populations. Skateboarders pass by commuters in suits as organic markets, wig shops, and textile workshops coexist next to each other. It captures the spirit of the developing city and is a sincere fusion of ethnicity and artistic talent. It's also a pleasant contrast from the tourist-heavy arrondissements in the city centre as a place to stay for a night or two.


Energy Abundance at Terminus Nord

Terminus Nord
German hotelier 25hours Hotels leaned into its trademark focus on originality and personality when it unveiled Terminus Nord, its first French property, immediately across from Gare du Nord earlier this year. Together with storytelling that reflects the multiethnic town, the design company Dreimeta and Alex Toledano of Visto Images infused the vast yet quiet hotel with an eclectic mix of African and Asian-inspired features. Oversized paintings of "neighbourhood heroes," including fundamental mechanics, musicians, train conductors, and other individuals that give the 10th Arrondissement its vibrant spirit, may be seen, for instance, in the halls.

237 rooms range
 

The 237 rooms range from tiny single-bed accommodations to spacious suites with balconies and soaking baths. Regardless of size, each unit has riotous decor, including batik bedspreads, accent walls covered in patterned wallpaper, and cheeky signs with inscriptions like "Let's spend the night together" scrawled on them. Rain showers painted sink basins, and Stop the Water While Using Me toiletries are all found in bathrooms. While the nearby Sape Bar is a moodier refuge with cosy leather armchairs, bronze-coloured mosaic glass, and cocktails inspired by well-known Parisian bars, Neni, the three-room Mediterranean restaurant, gets its edge from the brilliantly colourful hand-loomed rugs, art, and velvet couches. If your visit has sufficiently inspired you, stop by the ground-level kiosk, which offers products selected from neighbourhood stores as well as periodicals and café crème to go.

There is more to discover: Shirts and dresses from Maison Chateau Rouge with traditional African motifs hang in the hotel kiosk, but you can view the entire selection of modern designs at their shop just across the border in the 18eme (40 rue Myrrha). Visit Kashmir House (36 rue de Chabrol) for some Indo-Pakistani food or Urfa Durum for some sandwiches with Kurdish ingredients (58 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis).

Cosy Charms at Hotel La Planque

La Planque Hotel
 

The retro-chic La Planque also made its debut this past year on the other side of Canal Saint-Martin but is still in the busy 10eme. The 36-room hotel, housed in a former candy store and apartment complex, is also inspired by the neighbourhood, albeit in more subdued, vintage ways. Design company Desjeux Delaye included vintage elements in the apartments and public spaces to pay homage to the neighbourhood's history, such as wall-mounted telephones, old stained mirrors, and faux-cracked walls.

Deluxe rooms
 

Combining subdued greys and feminine tones, including cherry red, chartreuse, and pink, are used to design the cosy, superior, and deluxe rooms. Creative touches like vintage books, art found at local flea markets, and real succulents combine with padded velvet headboards, space-saving drop-leaf tables, and open hanging rails to create veritable cocoons of relaxation. Except for a few brightly coloured tile accents that match the rooms, the bathrooms are bright and white. The hotel's lobby is surrounded by several common areas and nooks that are furnished with books, plants, and mismatched furniture to give them a homey feel. A comfortable place for breakfast and tea is tucked inside a glass-roofed, millennial-pink atrium with wrought-iron café tables.

Continue exploring: For a bao burger, visit the local favourite Siseng (82 Quai de Jemmapes), but go to Café A for a multiethnic lunch on a charming terrace surrounded by bamboo (148 rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin).

At Le Grand Quartier, it's cool and modern.

Le Grand Quartier
 

The Experimental Group, founded more than ten years ago as a cocktail club by three French friends and now including more than a dozen international restaurants and hotels, opened the doors to Le Grand Quartier in October, following closely behind the ultra-hip Hotel des Grands Boulevards (17 Boulevard Poissonnière). The building is situated in the increasingly well-liked Chateau d'Eau district and thematically draws inspiration from the local artisans and creative types.

Design firm Nicemakers
 

By keeping things basic and bright, the design team Nicemakers aimed to infuse life and positivity into the 83 rooms, three suites, and the communal areas. Within a modern minimalist aesthetic, the necessities are organised neatly in each room. One wall is seamlessly occupied by beds draped in soft white comforters, and long dark wood worktops border the other with draught tables for use. Bathrooms maintain the neutral colour scheme, while open closets double as coffee stations with espresso makers and kettles hidden inside the shelves. The shop displaying regional artists, the open, bright café, and the apartments that may be used as coworking spaces by visitors and locals are all part of an effort to foster community.

Continue exploring: Mauritian eatery Ile aux Cerfs in the Passage du Prado offers island classics such as samosas, curries, and puris. After that, watch a foreign film at the 1956-founded independent cinema Le Brady (39 Boulevard de Strasbourg).


2022-11-15  Maliyah Mah