Sentier · Stay in Paris
Grands Boulevards Experimental
The planted entrance at Grands Boulevards Experimental.
The Atlas take
About Grands Boulevards Experimental
Behind a passage off boulevard Poissonnière, this 50-room hotel brings canopy beds, a glass-roofed restaurant and two cocktail bars to a building dating from before the French Revolution.
Best for
- Couples who enjoy design and cocktail bars
- Solo travellers who value a central location over a large room
- Theatre and restaurant weekends
Know before you book
The smallest categories are compact, and a balcony does not always mean a bigger room. Baths are not standard in every category, so request one specifically. The hotel does not provide parking and does not allow pets. Bar opening patterns vary by season.
- Rooms
- 50 roomsEight categories, from a 13 m² single to a 32 m² suite.
- Food and drink
- Restaurant + two barsGlass-roofed dining, The Shell cocktail bar and The Shed rooftop.
- Setting
- Set back from the boulevardA passage leads from boulevard Poissonnière to the hotel entrance.
Grands Boulevards Experimental suits a stay built around restaurants, theatre and exploring central Paris on foot. Its entrance is set back from the boulevard, with Grands Boulevards Métro at the street. Inside, designer Dorothée Meilichzon uses draped beds, soft greens and pinks, worn wood and textured walls to give the rooms a distinctive character.
The room category makes a real difference here. The smallest solo room measures 13 m², while the Grand Boulevard suite reaches 32 m². Courtyard-facing rooms and boulevard-facing rooms offer different outlooks; the Petit Boulevard Balcony is actually slightly smaller indoors than the ordinary Petit Boulevard. Choose the balcony for outdoor space, rather than assuming it buys a larger bedroom.
The restaurant sits beneath a retractable glass roof and serves French-Italian cooking from a menu conceived by Giovanni Passerini. The Shell is the intimate indoor cocktail bar, while The Shed adds a rooftop setting. This is an appealing combination for couples and friends who want somewhere to eat and drink at the hotel; confirm seasonal bar hours when making plans.
Choose the right fit
Rooms at a glance
Compare the hotel’s room categories, then check your preferred configuration and dates when booking.
01 / ROOM CATEGORY
Petit Boulevard Single
13 m² for one guest.
Room details
Queen bed, courtyard outlook and shower; the most compact category.
02 / ROOM CATEGORY
Petit Boulevard
15 m² for two guests.
Room details
Queen four-poster bed, courtyard outlook and shower.
03 / ROOM CATEGORY
Petit Boulevard Balcony
14 m² with a courtyard balcony.
Room details
Queen bed and shower for two guests; smaller indoors than the standard Petit Boulevard.
04 / ROOM CATEGORY
Saint Fiacre
18 m² with courtyard or boulevard outlook.
Room details
Queen or king bed and shower; specify an outlook preference when booking.
05 / ROOM CATEGORY
Saint Fiacre Balcony
18 m² with a balcony or courtyard terrace.
Room details
King bed and shower; the outlook varies between the courtyard and boulevard.
06 / ROOM CATEGORY
Uzes
21 m² with a boulevard outlook.
Room details
King bed and either a bath or shower. The hotel identifies an adapted Uzes room; confirm that specific room directly if needed.
07 / ROOM CATEGORY
Parisian Eaves
23 m² beneath the roof.
Room details
King bed, sloping-roof setting and either a bath or large shower. Ask the hotel to confirm the arrangement for a third guest.
08 / ROOM CATEGORY
Grand Boulevard
32 m² with a seating area.
Room details
King bed, sofa bed and either a bath or shower; the largest published category, with a boulevard outlook.
The practical details
Amenities & guest services
- Free Wi-Fi
- Air conditioning
- Restaurant
- The Shell cocktail bar
- The Shed rooftop bar
- In-room coffee machine and minibar
- Lift
- Connecting rooms subject to availability
Restaurant and breakfast
The courtyard restaurant serves French-Italian cooking beneath a glass roof that opens in warmer weather. Breakfast inclusion depends on the rate selected.
Concierge and arrivals
Reception is staffed around the clock, with concierge assistance and luggage storage. Transfers can be arranged on request.
During your stay
Room service, laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services are available.
The Paris Atlas · Beyond the booking
History & cultural connections
The history of Grands Boulevards Experimental
The building stands behind boulevard Poissonnière rather than directly on its busy pavement. Experimental Group dates it to the years immediately before the French Revolution, when it was built on the site of an older garden. The long entrance passage and sheltered position still shape the arrival: the hotel is discovered gradually from the street.[1]
Before becoming a hotel, the property accommodated offices and bourgeois apartments. The owner’s account then records a conversion to a cinema in the 1920s, when the patio was created. That courtyard is an important link between the building’s earlier uses and the social spaces of the present hotel.[1]
The hotel opened in 2018 with 50 rooms designed by Dorothée Meilichzon. Her interiors draw on eighteenth-century grandeur and a simpler rural vocabulary: canopy beds and velvet sit alongside lime-plastered walls, aged bronze fittings, old linen and worn wooden furniture. The contrasts give the rooms their character without turning them into replicas of a single historical period.[1][2]
Marie Antoinette is one of the design references named by the hotel. Garden colours and handmade linen from Brittany carry that romantic theme into the bedrooms, while The Shell bar develops it through shells, copper and velvet. These references shaped the hotel’s modern interiors.[1][3]
Literary inspiration
Dorothée Meilichzon
Meilichzon designed the hotel’s interiors, pairing eighteenth-century references with textured, rustic materials.[2]
See where you’ll be
Paris, just outside the door
Grands Boulevards Experimental
17 boulevard Poissonnière, 75002 Paris
Sentier
The neighborhood: Sentier
Grands Boulevards Experimental is in Sentier, near Les Halles.
Places to discover nearby
office · Faubourg-Montmartre (9th)
Hôtel Drouot
The Paris auction house where Gustave Caillebotte bid on his friends' unsellable pictures to keep prices up and money flowing — and where Paul Gauguin sold thirty of his own paintings to pay for Tahiti.
Explore this place
landmark · Bourse (2nd)
Palais Brongniart (the Paris Bourse)
The neoclassical temple of the Paris stock exchange, where Paul Gauguin worked as a broker's agent from 1871 until the crash of 1882 turned him into a full-time painter.
Explore this placeBefore you go
Useful questions, clear answers
Where is Grands Boulevards Experimental?
At 17 boulevard Poissonnière in the 2nd arrondissement. Grands Boulevards Métro station is at the street entrance.
Which rooms have balconies?
The Petit Boulevard Balcony and Saint Fiacre Balcony categories include outdoor space. Confirm the exact courtyard or boulevard outlook before booking.
Can families book connecting rooms?
The hotel lists connecting options among Petit Boulevard, Petit Boulevard Balcony and Saint Fiacre Balcony rooms, subject to availability. Confirm the full arrangement and child occupancy directly.
Is breakfast included?
Only selected breakfast-inclusive rates include it. Check the conditions of the room rate you choose.
Does the hotel offer an accessible room?
The official FAQ identifies an adapted Uzes room and lift access to every room. Contact the hotel before booking to confirm availability and the features required for your stay.
The details behind this page
Sources & image credits
Hotel information reviewed .
Hotel information & sources
Image credits
Illustrations and reconstructions are labelled throughout this page.
- The planted entrance at Grands Boulevards Experimental.The Paris AtlasSource & reference
Your next Paris chapter
Find your room. Discover the story.
Plan your stay at Grands Boulevards Experimental.