Travel Paying homage to its pretty courtyard garden, La Fantaisie is a breath of fresh, floral air, with haut-horticultural interiors, wildly imaginative seafood menus and a rooftop buzz in Paris’ bohemian quartier This is Martin Budinski’s playful maximalism at its botanical best – a feast of florals creeping up walls, carpets, down corridors infusing cocktails and lifting moods. Situated on one of Paris’ most film set worthy streets, Rue Cadet, this fantastical, richly dressed, sun-doused hotel is a colourful oasis amid the city’s Haussmann grey. Ultimately, it’s a bit of whimsy, high end flamboyant fun in a city that often takes itself far too seriously.
Where? Of all Faubourg-Montmartre’s picturesque, pedestrianised streets, Rue Cadet is up there – with its bunting, market stalls (which spring to life during the week and on Sunday morning), and glorious absence of rowdy Parisian traffic. It’s in plum position for the quartier’s main acts – The Sacré Coeur, The Moulin Rouge, Musée de la Vie Romantique with its mint-green shutters and sunny orangerie café – the village-like streets here feel more lived in than those in the Golden Triangle, with Parisians walking their dogs and everything swaying to market-boulangerie-brasserie rhythms. It’s also a quick taxi ride away from Gare de Nord, for those whizzing in on the Eurostar.
Style There’s little understated about this hotel, peacocking along Rue Cadet with its bright, brazen sunflower yello.