Paris is not just a city; it is an open-air studio. Walking through its streets feels like déjà-vu. And for good reason: the blue-grey light of the rooftops, the reflections of the Seine, and the liveliness of the terraces have been captured thousands of times by the greatest masters. But do you know exactly where to cast your gaze to see what they saw? Far from clichés, we take you to the precise spots where Monet, Renoir, and Utrillo set up their easels. A cultural stroll that will lead you straight to your place of rest, in the heart of art.
1. Renoir’s Effervescence: Le Moulin de la Galette
Address: 76 rue Lepic, 75018 Paris
Climb to the top of Montmartre. Forget the Place du Tertre and head to rue Lepic. Stop in front of the Moulin de la Galette. It is exactly here, in 1876, that Auguste Renoir painted his masterpiece Bal du moulin de la Galette. At the time, it was an open-air guinguette where people danced on Sunday afternoons. Looking at the entrance today, close your eyes: you can almost hear the laughter, the rustle of dresses, and the festive music that Renoir managed to freeze in his touches of dappled light.
To go further: Visit the Montmartre Museum, located right next door, to understand the soul of this neighborhood.
2. Utrillo’s Melancholy: La Maison Rose
Address: 2 rue de l'Abreuvoir, 75018 Paris
A few steps away, at the intersection of rue des Saules and rue de l'Abreuvoir, stands a small building with green shutters and a candy-pink façade. It is undoubtedly one of the most "instagrammable" places in Paris today, but it is above all a place of memory. Maurice Utrillo, the cursed painter of Montmartre, immortalized this Maison Rose (the "Little Pink House") in the early 20th century. He painted this perspective under the snow, under the rain, capturing the poetic solitude of the old village before it was invaded by the crowd.
To go further: If the façade is photographed, the interior is experienced. La Maison Rose is still a restaurant: book a table to have lunch there and observe, from the inside, the passersby walking up rue de l'Abreuvoir, exactly as the artists of the past did.
3. The Seine as a mirror: Le Pont Neuf
Address: Square du Vert-Galant / Pont Neuf, 75001
Paris Go back down towards the Seine, the true studio of the Impressionists. Stand on the Pont Neuf. It is no coincidence if it is the most painted bridge in Paris. Camille Pissarro painted it from his window on Place Dauphine, capturing the urban agitation under the rain. Renoir focused on the crowd and the golden light on the white stone. Leaning on the parapet, you contemplate the same water, the same perspectives towards the Louvre, those that obsessed Monet when he tried to paint the air and the water.
To go further: Go down the steps located in the middle of the bridge to reach the Square du Vert-Galant, at the tip of the Île de la Cité. It is the ideal place for a picnic by the water, at the exact level where the painters placed their easel to capture the reflections of the Seine.
Le Walt: When the hotel becomes your studio
After walking in the paintings of the masters, it would be a shame to break the magic by returning to a standardized room. Your artistic journey finds its natural conclusion on the Left Bank, in the 7th arrondissement. If La Bourdonnais is the explorer, Le Walt by Inwood Hotels is the Artist. Located on Avenue de la Motte-Picquet, Le Walt was designed to extend this immersion. Here, art does not stop at the doorstep. The entire hotel is designed as a gallery to be lived in. In the lobby, master canvases rub shoulders with designer furniture, inviting contemplation or the sketching of a draft. But it is in the intimacy of the rooms that the experience makes complete sense. Above your headboard, a masterful reproduction (Leonardo da Vinci, classic painters, or mythological scenes) watches over your dreams. You do not simply sleep at the hotel, you sleep inside the artwork. Le Walt is the last step of your walk: the place where the spectator becomes an actor of his own Art de Vivre.
