As old as things seem in Paris, they are usually older than that. Everything in Paris has had many lives. The Sephora at the Cour St Emilion was once wine storage for the city of Paris, Place de la Concorde was once Place de la Revolution and the Hotel de l’Abbaye was once a Benedictine convent. The vestiges of its former life can be seen in the stone arches spanning the reception desk and the tranquility in the hotel’s garden.

Sitting in the hotel’s garden café you can recapture the serene life of the monks, but slightly less Spartan. You can have a drink here and you don’t have to take a vow of silence.

In Paris if you scratch the surface, there is always something more to discover.