Inaugurated in 1910 by the Boucicaut family (the pioneering founders of Le Bon Marché, the world’s first department store), Hôtel Lutetia was built as a luxurious haven for high-society shoppers and celebrated intellectuals on the bohemian Left Bank (Rive Gauche).
Over more than a century, Lutetia became the legendary Parisian crossroads for the 20th century’s most brilliant creative minds. James Joyce famously wrote portions of Ulysses in its salons; Ernest Hemingway and Samuel Beckett debated literature here; while Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, André Gide, and the iconic chanteuse Joséphine Baker made Lutetia their artistic sanctuary.
Following a monumental four-year restoration led by internationally renowned architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the hotel seamlessly unifies its original Belle Époque and Art Deco facade with clean contemporary lines, solid Calacatta marble, and custom bronze accents. Awarded official "Palace" distinction, Lutetia stands proud as the only Palace hotel on Paris’s Left Bank, now elevated under the revered global standards of Mandarin Oriental.
From the bustling tables of Brasserie Lutetia on Boulevard Raspail to the restored 1910 Art Nouveau ceiling frescoes of Bar Joséphine and the subterranean serenity of the 700 sqm Akasha Holistic Spa, Lutetia is an unmatched immersion into authentic Parisian culture.