Paris in a glas

The bar Les Ambassadeurs in the Hôtel de Crillon invites you to go on a cocktail hunt through the city - and Mademoiselle Lili will warm your heart.

It's winter again in Paris and my real favorite places, the café terraces, are becoming a challenge: when the patio heaters over the tables boom to full capacity and your heads roast while your feet freeze to ice lumps on the floor.

In any case, it's the season for me to change my habits and go to warmer places that promise a more comfortable feeling from head to toe: the bars of the city's legendary grand hotels. I love their classic elegance, the thick carpets, the comfortable sofas and armchairs, the candles, the crackle in the fireplace and the discreet play of the pianists. You immediately feel like a movie star incognito who doesn't yet know what's in the evening's script. Nowhere is it easier to get into conversation with your table neighbors: You meet business travelers from all over the world who don't want to feel alone after work, and also locals who, like me, appreciate the special flair of these places.

In the bar Les Ambassadeurs in the Hôtel de Crillon on the Place de la Concorde, you can sit inside in the warm and still be able to travel around the city in your mind with the new cocktail menu. On a lovingly drawn city map, the mixologists on the bar team were inspired by unusual Parisian squares that world-famous street artists have ennobled with their art. How does the Belleville district, home of Edith Piaf, taste? After “Padam”: tequila, apricot, grilled sesame and citrus fruits.

Or the Place de la Contrescarpe, which insiders rightly consider to be one of the most romantic places in the city? Shepard Fairey, better known by his stage name Obey, immortalized himself here with the wall fresco “Love won't tear us apart”. “Besame Mucho” is a matching hot and passionate cocktail in red, with Mezcal La Escondida, Agua de Jamaica, SloeGinMonkey47 and sugar syrup, garnished with an apple.

How does the Rue de Verneuil, where Serge Gainbsbourg lived, taste? The outside wall of his city palace is adorned with the stencil technique of the street artist Spray Yarps and inspired the mixologists to create the “Couleur Café” cocktail. The great chansonnier's love for bourbon is reflected in the coffee-colored tones of a cocktail with a strong association with wood. The ingredients: Woodford Reserve coffee, Montenegro, Madeira Barbeito 10, maple syrup, The Bitter Truth Drops & Dashes Wood Absinthe.

My tip: don't visit more than two of the places, otherwise you won't know where the taxi driver should take you after!

Bar Les Ambassadeurs im Hôtel de Crillon, 6 Place de la Concorde, www.rosewoodhotels.com