Glass visits Paris – Literature and Language at Le Pavillon Des Lettres

VISITING Paris years ago, when both my French and cycling skills were far better, I (now nostalgically) remember riding to the local boulangerie in the morning ordering my coffee and croissant in French without a spec of hesitance. Since then the former has faded rapidly into severe disrepair, so taking a step back to go forward I attempted to brighten my skills in the language of love over a literary weekend in Paris with Le Pavillon Des Lettres.

Pavillon des Lettres - FacadePavillon des Lettres – Facade

Starting the weekend by hopping on the Eurostar on an after-work train bound for Paris, on board champagne and dinner ensured the Friday spirit was propped up. By the time dinner was cleared we were reminded of the ease of this journey, void of airport travel and check-in time warps and so in just over two hours we were pulling into Charles de Gaulle station. Le Pavillon Des Lettres, our home for the weekend, sits centrally just off Rue Faubourg St Honoré – to you and me a short hop from to the Champs-Élysées – so as we were checked in by 10PM it allowed a nighttime stroll to get our bearings before Saturday rolled in.

Pavillon des Lettres - Andersen RoomPavillon des Lettres – the Andersen Room

With 26 rooms, Le Pavillon Des Lettres retains the service of a four-star hotel with the intimacy of a much smaller boutique hotel. Rather than numbers, letters that are dedicated to writers distinguishes rooms; thrilled we were then to stay with Franz Kafka – Room K. Sitting just off one of Paris’ many popular luxury shopping streets – the usual suspects Hermes, Gucci and Saint Laurent are all within a block – means getting around to Paris’ various landmarks is often easier on foot than using the Métro.

Before staring our Saturday morning with the (admittedly) intimidating prospect of a French lesson, indulging in breakfast in bed and taking full advantage of the literary room service was a must. On both mornings we paired breakfast with Slim Aaron’s timeless poolside photography and the morning’s papers.

Pavillon des Lettres - LoungePavillon des Lettres – the Lounge

Speaking the language gleams with advantage in the French capital so to polish our skills and send us on our way, Le Pavillon Des Lettres, has thoughtfully teamed up with the language tutoring company, French a la Carte, offering guests tailor made French lessons. A private lesson for an hour in the hotel’s library refreshed our rusty skills, before testing (with severe trepidation) them with a meander through Saint Germain and ordering lunch in the well-known literary café Les Deux Magots. Lessons can be conducted in the hotel or on the hoof around the city when students are ready to put their skills to the test or simply enjoy learning on the go.

Pavillon des Lettres - BedroomA bedroom at Pavillon des Lettres

After exploring Paris on foot in the day, the evening demanded we dined in close quarters to our hotel at the popular and more importantly, local Asian-French restaurant, Market. The black plate of mixed sushi for two to share is a must for delicious crab rolls and salmon sushi, which I followed by the main of roasted cod with marinated vegetables, that didn’t disappoint in both texture and depth of flavour. It would have been rude to leave without tasting the white plate – a desert equivalent of the black starter – an indulgent miniature compilation of their desserts; the warm collocate cake was especially special leaving us full and over satisfied.

Pavillon des Lettres - Fireplace A cosy fire place at Pavillon des Lettres

Before leaving on the Sunday afternoon train back to London, missing the recently renovated Rodin Museum would have been nothing but a crime. This self-supporting museum that was once home to many notable artists and writers such as Jean Cocteau, Matisse and Rodin to name just a few, attracts visitors in droves – over 700,000 last year. Pick a fine day as the sculpture gardens are a pleasure in the sunshine – luckily we managed to get around the well-manicured lawns and dozen or so sculptures before the rain chased us into inside for the remainder of the exhibition.

To say we learned French in a weekend would be a stretch of the imagination, my language skills were certainly bolstered but that coupled with the luxurious focus of literature for an entire weekend left me with culturally smug.

By Stephanie Clair

Learn the language of love at Le Pavillon Des Lettres. from €330 based on two sharing a one-night stay in a Superior Room on a B&B basis. Price includes a private two hour lesson with a trained French a la Carte tutor. Subject to availability. Must be booked at least a week in advance. Bookings can be made online here or via phone 00 33 1 49 24 26 26.

Eurostar operates 21 services between London St Pancras International to Paris Gare Du Nord daily with one-way fares starting from £29 one way based on a return journey. Fastest London-Paris journey time is 2hr 15 minutes. Tickets are available from eurostar.com or 03448 224 777

Bookings and menus for Market restaurant are available here.

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