66 globaltravelerusa.com MARCH 2019
9–5 | PARIS
Start with transport. Two large international airports
make Paris accessible from anywhere in the world; RER
trains, an easy-to-navigate subway system — the Metro —
and legions of taxis have you in town less than an hour
after clearing immigration.
Lodging proves equally accessible. Hotels abound
within the city’s 20 arrondissements, or boroughs;
choose one near the city center and you’ll be able to get
anywhere quickly on the Metro. If your agenda includes
breakfast meetings, consider a larger property where the
first meal of the day is served in a quiet space where you
won’t have to line up at a buffet or speak over clattering
cups. One option: the Hôtel Ritz Paris, where L’Espadon
serves a full breakfast under a domed skylight seven
days a week. The hotel’s location on the Place Vendome
makes it a convenient location from nearly anywhere as
well. On the Left Bank, where boutique hotels are the
norm, the full-service Hôtel Lutetia, an elegant outlier,
reopened in early 2018 after a full renovation. The
breakfast menu in chic L’Orangerie includes gluten-free
and organic choices.AWASH IN HAUTE-COUTURE FLAIR, world-famous restaurants, revela-
tory museums and iconic sites, Paris is widely regarded as one of the most
magnificent cities in the world. But there’s more to Paris than beauty and
culture: This hard-working French capital generates more than 30 percent
of France’s gross domestic product through businesses representing a wide
range of industry sectors that include pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, aeronautics
and digital systems. Paris also hosts 27 Top 500 corporate headquarters — more
than any other city in Europe — and boasts the fifth-largest urban economy
in the world.
For business travelers, this means everything you need to do your
job — a strong transportation network, a choice of locations for business
entertaining and meetings, loads of lodging options and a workforce
comfortable with international business representatives — is at your
fingertips.UP ON THE
ROOF:
View of the Eiffel
Tower from The
Peninsula Paris
L’Oiseau Blanc
rooftop dining
room.
PHOTO: © THE
PENINSULA PARIS
French Finesse
Add a bit of flair to meetings with clients in Paris. BY KATIE MCELVEEN