Place Vendôme

No. 26 (since 1893) is home to the jeweler Boucheron and No. 28 to designer Charvet.

So how would you like to live, for a while, in one of these stunning mansions? I’m talking about the 18th-century hotel at One Place Vendôme. After passing through the hands of King Louis’ secretary Pierre Perrin, it was owned by various French notables and from 1842 to 1843, housed the Embassy of the Republic of Texas. President Bush, now so aggrieved with France, most likely doesn’t know that it was first to recognize the independence of the Lone Star State, which didn’t join the American union until 1845.

Number One became a real hotel in 1858 and five years ago was bought and refurbished by Lebanese jeweler Robert Mouawad. The House of Mouawad, with a collection that includes eight of the fourteen most valuable diamonds in the world, was the main sponsor of the 'Diamants' Exhibition at the Paris National Natural History Museum a few years ago. Monsieur Mouawad also owns the famous Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat in that exquisite spot on the Côte d’Azur.