Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Élysées will shelve its reputation for designer shopping to prioritise sport these coming weeks, as the Paris Olympics sprint into action. The Victorian Grand Palais venue will house the taekwondo and fencing Olympic and Paralympics and swimmers will brave the Seine river – which runs close to the Champs-Élysées – for the triathlon and swimming marathon. And it wouldn’t be the fashion district without shopping: the Paris 2024 Olympics megastore is on the beloved boulevard for the duration of the games.
All of which is to say, the Champs-Élysées is a great place to stay during the Olympics, which runs from 26 July – 11 August, to catch the action as well as iconic Parisian sights like the Eiffel Tower a short walk away. Here are two hotels that still have availability for the Olympics.
Hotel Lancaster
Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly are two of the Hollywood Golden Age celebrities who adored the Hotel Lancaster, a boutique property a short walk from the Champs-Élysées. (The suite Dietrich stayed in is rentable, inclusive of a grand piano; photos of the star in this very room are on the shelves.)
All rooms are contemporary luxe, many with balconies overlooking the shopping district with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Make time to explore the building, from lavish private dining rooms with the feel of a private home (this 1889 building was converted from a private home in 1925) to the genteel rooftop spa and newly refurbished Copper Bay cocktail bar and restaurant, which serves impressively innovative cocktails.
In this, the third outpost of the Copper Bay Parisian bar concept, drinks are inspired by Mediterranean cuisine. Order the Tapenade, with Gin, Noilly Prat Ambré and caper brine or Pan con Tomate with Shochu d’orge 3S, passata, lemon juice, white balsamic, roasted garlic and olive bitters or the Tiramisu with 10cl Cocktail clarifié au mascarpone, Metaxa 7 au grué de cacao, Amaretto, liqueur de café cold brew and cream. Drinks impersonating food sounds like a terrible idea, but trust us, these are real talking points.
It could have been a flaky concept, but Copper Bay, a Top 100 of the Top 500 Bars 2022, is too smart to waste your time. Each is a real mind-contorter, to look at – they’re dressed like dishes too – and to taste. London could learn a thing or two from a visit to these folks.
Try three cocktails from the menu: one for starter, main and dessert. For the Paris Olympics there’s a special menu of five sour cocktails, each dedicated to a different sport.
• Rooms start from around £480 per night
Fraser Suites Le Claridge
There are plenty of grand 19th century buildings along the Champs-Élysées — that’s kind of the whole point — but Fraser Suites stands out for being the only one emblazoned with gargoyles.
The ghoulish characters pulling faces at you from the hotel’s arcade, designed by the architect Henri Tauzin, look ever so handsome right now given the building’s frontage has just had a renovation. Inside it’s an oasis of calm metres away from the chaos of the shopping thoroughfare: an atrium in the hotel’s centre is pindrop silent, with its handsome original tiled flooring, and is perfect for a lazy breakfast (and a mid-morning snooze in the rocking chair sunloungers).
It’s also a rare find in the area given every room has its own kitchen, perfect for making a quick meal after a long day watching the Games. Book a room with Eiffel Tower views to throw open the shutters over the Champs-Élysées in the mornings like Elvis and The Beatles once did, just a few of the prolific stars to have stayed here in the past.