New openings, a packed cultural agenda, major sports events, 2018 is set to be quite an exciting time for Paris. Here is the lowdown on what to expect.
Hotel openings
Closed for three years, the left bank icon Lutetia will reopen in Spring 2018 as part of the Set Hotels Group. Guests can expect 184 rooms and suites across seven floors and seven one-of-a-kind individually designed signature suites plus a penthouse. There will be a new Akasha Spa, one of the largest in Paris at 700 square metres, with six treatment rooms and a 17-metre swimming pool, a new courtyard, a jazz bar designed by Jean Michel Willmotte, an exclusive Cigar Bar and the popular Lutetia Brasserie will also reopen with an open terrace and a new mezzanine area.
Cheval Blanc Samaritaine, set to open in late 2018, will be located within the iconic building of La Samaritaine Department Store which was designed in the 1920s by Henri Sauvage. The art deco gem is being renovated and redesigned by Edouard François and Peter Marino and will offer 72 bedrooms, a range of restaurants, cultural areas, shops and a garden terrace above the building’s famous glass rooftop offering some of the best views of the French capital.
The glamorous Barriere Fouquet’s, which reopened last summer, is still undergoing a major renovation and expansion programme with rooms and the iconic brasserie being renovated by designer extraordinaire Jacques Garcia. By the end of 2018, the hotel will feature another nineteen rooms and suites with superb views.
Other key hotel openings include Hotel de Berri, A Luxury Collection Hotel in June 2018 with a bar overlooking the garden and a contemporary art collection; Brach Paris by Evok Hotels Collection with rooms boasting Eiffel Tower views, a vegetable garden on the roof and an interior design by Philippe Starck opening in the spring; the first Fauchon Hotel with 60 rooms and a Fauchon Bar and JK Place at 82 rue de Lille.
Culture
2018 will see the unveiling of La Fondation Lafayette Anticipation in the Marais, a space celebrating creativity and contemporary art on 10 March 2018. It will take over all five storeys of an old industrial building and will encompass sculpture, ceramics, fashion, design and performing arts, with a focus on creation, innovation and research. The inaugural exhibition will be with American artist Lutz Bacher.
Atelier des Lumieres will also open its doors in the Spring and will be the first art centre for digital art. Based in an old 11th century foundry, it will offer immersive exhibitions with the help of 120 projectors on 3,300 square metres of space with walls that are up to 10 metres high.
In 2018, the cultural agenda is packed with blockbuster exhibitions. Le Louvre has announced a big Delacroix retrospective in partnership with the Metropolitan Museum in New York pooling over 180 works. The Grand Palais will be host to some major events next year with Joan Miro, The Colour of My Dreams on from October to January and a retrospective on Michael Jackson from November to February 2019. At the Centre Pompidou, visitors can look forward to Cubism which will open on 17 October and run until 4 March 2019 while the Musée D’Orsay will host a major Picasso exhibition from 18 September 2018 to 6 January 2019 celebrating the Blue and Pink periods. Fashion fans can look forward to two Martin Margiela exhibitions, one at the Fashion Museum Palais Galliera from 3rd March to 15 July and one at Les Arts Decoratifs from 22 March to 2 September focusing on his years at Hermes.
Sports
The Paris region hosts a range of high profile events every year from the Roland Garros Tennis Championships to the Arrival of the Tour de France but the highlight of the year will has to be The Ryder Cup and it will take place in France for the first time ever from 25 to 30 September. Held at the recently renovated Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines it is shaped to be a true test of the teams’ abilities. The golf club can host up to 80,000 spectators.
In April 2018, after a long renovation and extension by architect Dominique Perrault, the famous Longchamp racecourse will reopen with new brasseries and seminar spaces, a restaurant with panoramic views, and a hanging garden in time for the summer.
The region is also preparing itself to welcome some of the biggest sports events with The Rugby World Cup set to take place in 2023 while in 2024 Paris will host the Summer Olympic Games.
Eating out
Bistronomie, street food, locavore, cookery schools and workshops, food is very much the new rock n’roll and Paris is at the epicentre. Over the past few months, Ducasse opened Spoon, Pouchkine, of Moscow fame was unveiled on Place de la Madeleine and Christopher Hache’s L’Ecrin finally launched at Hotel de Crillon.
Key openings for 2018 include the Brasserie du Lutetia by Marseilles chef Gérald Passedat and Girafe at the top of the Cité de l’Architecture sporting incredible views of the Eiffel Tower. Museums are also investing in great restaurants with Guy Savoy to open is Metal Café at the brand new Musée National de la Monnaie in 2018. Other openings will include Les Grands Verres at Le Palais de Tokyo, Laurent Frechet and Vincent Sittz with French bistro Baltard au Louvre and Loulou at Les Arts Decoratifs.
Le Printemps is upping its game and opening in January two floors entirely dedicated to gastronomy and produce “made in France” while renowned Italian deli Eataly will open its doors in Le Marais.
Shopping
Could shopping in Paris get any better? Yes is the answer as the twelve international tourist zones will open their shops on Sundays. Areas such as Haussman, Montmartre and Saint Germain des Prés will finally welcome shoppers seven days a week.
Galeries Lafayette is also launching a brand new department store on the Champs-Elysées with 7000 square metres worth of fashion designed by Danish firm BIG.
Le Louvre des Antiquaires will welcome another style of shoppers from 2018 with 30 new luxury boutiques and four major retailers.
For more information on the great city of Paris, visit france.fr/.
