Million Air Spring 2024

127 elite traveler SPRING 2024

7TH ARRONDISSEMENT APARTMENT Paris, France

Discreetly tucked away inside an 18th-century hôtel particulier — a type of French mansion that once housed a single family — this 9,225-sq-ft, fi ve-bedroom apartment is a rare oasis in the bustling center of one of Europe’s busiest cities. Picking this apartment’s best feature is no easy task, with plenty of worthy contenders. First, the location: It’s found in the 7th arrondissement in the Saint Germain des-Prés neighborhood, mere steps away from some of Paris’s most wondrous sites, including Musée d’Orsay and Carré des Antiquaires; few homes in the city can claim to be so well-placed. Then, there’s the meticulously presented interiors. The apartment bene fi ted from a retouch in 2019 at the hands of an acclaimed designer, but retains its original crown moldings, open fi replaces and hand-painted frescoes. These grand interiors include the fi ve well-proportioned bedrooms — several of which have lofty fl oor-to-ceiling windows — a paneled library, a re fi ned study, a grand main salon, a modern kitchen complete with Gaggenau appliances, a wine cellar (this is France, after all), and an atmospheric lower-level dining room with barrel-vaulted ceilings and stone fl oors. But the thing that has to pique the top spot is the garden. A rarity in the city, the secluded 3,337-sq-ft courtyard feels straight out of a fairy tale, with mystically overgrown greenery and grand stone steps. It’s a space all but crying out for a candlelit dinner party that spills well into the late hours of one of Paris’s famously balmy summer evenings. €45m ($49.13m). Contact Edward de Mallet Morgan, partner, head of international super prime sales, +44 20 7861 1553, knightfrank.co.uk