Tree-lined boulevards, stately mansions, geometric gardens, harmonious palaces. And silhouetted against the mist, the unmistakable silhouette of a tower that, paradoxically, was originally called “monstrous.” Such was the rejection that it aroused that writers, artists and intellectuals signed a manifesto protesting what they considered “an attack on good French taste.”
Today, more than 130 years later, the great iron lady draws the image of modern Paris. Because the French capital, everyone knows, is the city of light, the epitome of romanticism, the paradigm of art and bohemianism. But above all it is the Eiffel Tower standing proudly towards the sky to confirm the triumph of technical and industrial progress.
At 330 meters high, the most Instagrammed monument in the world (there is a study that confirms this) is visible from anywhere in the city. But it is in the Trocadero gardens where you get the best panoramic view. This set of parks, sculptures and ponds that spread like a green carpet in front of the undisputed icon is the great pride of the so-called 16th district.
It is not, however, the only attraction of this neighborhood on the right bank of the Seine, which for many is the most elite in Paris. A network away from the most touristic spots, which allows you to discover new corners, delight in old museums or simply sit in a typical café to watch the street painters portraying, of course, the Eiffel Tower.
Elegant and opulent, the 16ème arrondissement (which includes the residential neighborhoods of Auteuil and Passy) is designed to be devoured in the spirit of a flâneur, as Horacio Oliveira did in Cortázar's novel Hopscotch. Here we find most of the embassies and consulates, a famous cemetery and beautiful bridges over the Seine. But also to rest in a hotel that lives up to its character, that is, with that mix of avant-garde and sophistication so typical of art de vivre.
For this there is Brach Hotel, the whim that Philippe Starck devised for this Parisian neighborhood. A five-star boutique in which this visionary designer, an exponent of industrial minimalism, has managed to fuse such charismatic styles as modernism and Bauhaus, Dadaism and surrealism, all with African and Asian influences.
With a glass façade in which the sky is reflected and from which a sort of vertical garden hangs, Brach Paris is a ground-breaking hotel in all its rooms: from the rooms full of books and works of art and decorated with warm tones and materials such as wood, leather or metal, to the magnificent gym inspired by the boxing clubs of the 1930s. From the spa with a Himalayan salt cave and fabulous treatments to the always lively restaurant where you can enjoy delicious contemporary cuisine.
But if there is one place why this hotel from the Evok group (which in 2024, by the way, will open another branch in Madrid) has become the fashionable place in the 16th district, it is its rooftop with views of the Eiffel Tower. A happy and carefree rooftop that even has an organic garden and a chicken coop. It's the ideal place to enjoy a hot chocolate with one of the creations of award-winning pastry chef Yann Brys, known for his iconic spiral cakes.
Such is the concentration of museums and cultural spaces in this neighborhood that it is necessary to organize a little. Essential is the new Louis Vuitton Foundation in a spectacular glass building, signed by Frank Gehry. It is the appropriate place to discover the artistic movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. There is also the Museum of Fashion and Costume of the City of Paris, one of the largest in the world of its kind, and in this same vein the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum, where you can marvel at the couture house and the work of the great French designer.
At the foot of the Chaillot hill (where the best views of the tower are) it is possible to take a bath in contemporary art. For this there is the imposing Chaillot palace, with its two neoclassical pavilions, which houses such interesting institutions as the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, the Tokyo Palace, the City of Architecture and Heritage, the National Museum of the Navy, the Museum of Man and even a space dedicated to modern dance.
Beyond the majestic gardens of the Trocadero, the 16th arrondissement has the green lung of western Paris: the Boulogne forest, once reserved for royal hunting and converted by Napoleon III into a public park for the enjoyment of the population. This is where people come to relax, walk and cycle, since it has more than 15 kilometers of bike paths.
And sport is another of the great assets of this corner of the city, as evidenced by the Parc des Princes, where the Paris Saint-Germain football team plays, and especially Roland-Garros, a mythical stadium for the world tennis lovers.
