Editor's note: Hotel Balzac is temporarily closed for renovations.
A deluxe boutique hotel on a side street just off the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Hotel Balzac pays tribute to the 19th-century French novelist Honoré de Balzac with neoclassical Parisian style.
Originally built in the early 19th century as an exotic palace on the vast property of the Paris Opera director, it later it became a popular Parisian salon for epicureans and champagne lovers. Balzac purchased the property in 1848 for his longtime lover and future wife, the Countess Ewelina Hanska, and lived his final years in the townhouse.
Nowadays it’s a top-tier boutique hotel with unmistakable French flavor — the décor is comfortable but opulent, the dining superb.
Our Inspector's Highlights
- The carpeted halls leading to the 56 rooms pay tribute to Balzac, with lithographs of the author, pages filled with his handwriting and images from his many stories decorating the walls.
- One of the city’s finest French dining establishments, Pierre Gagnaire’s eponymous restaurant has been housed in the Hotel Balzac since 1996, serving lunch and dinner Monday through Friday.
- Fans of luxury shopping and fine dining will enjoy the location near the Golden Triangle, within steps of the major couture houses and international fashion brands, along with plenty of upscale dining options.
- The lobby sets the mood with marble floors covered in Persian carpets, crystal chandeliers, Louis XIV furnishings upholstered in floral fabrics, thick curtains with tasseled tie-backs, large floral arrangements, and classical music playing softly in the background.
- Whether you’re looking for exclusive concert seats, tickets to a big sporting event, a night at the opera or reservations at an award-winning Parisian restaurant, the Hotel Balzac’s Gold Key concierge team is on hand to help.
Things to Know
- Pierre Gagnaire’s French fusion cuisine is internationally renowned, so reservations are often made more than a month in advance, but guests of the luxury hotel can contact the Gold Key concierge for reservations (there’s also a direct entrance from the hotel lobby).
- The metro George V is one block away, with direct access to the Louvre Museum and other central Paris sights such as Palais Royal, Le Marais, Notre Dame Cathedral and Place de la Bastille.
- Those looking for a sleek and modern Parisian stay should look elsewhere. The atmosphere here is intimate and opulent, and distinctly French.
The Rooms
- There are six room categories, decorated by Marie Sabatier, with plush carpeting, neoclassical furnishings in pale oak and crown bed canopies upholstered in luxurious fabrics.
- Most rooms have king beds, and some have extraordinary views of the Eiffel Tower.
- They are all equipped with a mini-bar, safe, personal climate control, flat-screen TV, CD and DVD players (on request), Wi-Fi access and an iHome docking station.
- The spacious bathrooms are white and gray marble with a tub and separate shower with rainforest showerhead. Luxe toiletries are from The White Company in London.
The Restaurants
- Home to Pierre Gagnaire’s flagship restaurant, the Parisian eatery at the Hotel Balzac specializes in modern French fusion cuisine for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday.
- The menu is highly seasonal, changing often in order to offer the best locally sourced ingredients. Expect dishes like filet of John Dory and duck fois gras poached in fennel consommé, burrata cheese cremeux as well as blue lobster and wagyu beef.
- The hotel’s signature restaurant offers tasting menus for both lunch and dinner as well as optional wine pairings for each from chef sommelier Patrick Borras.
- You also can enjoy drinks or meals throughout the day at the Lounge Bar, a cozy bar and lounge with plum velour sofas and lush greenery under a glass atrium.
Amenities
24-hour room service 
Babysitting services
Bar
Meeting rooms
Restaurants
Getting There
6 Rue Balzac, 75008, Paris, France
TEL33-1443-51800
