64 rooms by Raphaël Navot at 243 rue Saint-Martin, 75003 — opposite the Musée des Arts et Métiers, with the Ristorante Nationale Italian trattoria, the moody L'Herbarium evening bar, and the most considered four-star design statement in the upper Marais.
"Raphaël Navot's textured concrete and terrazzo grammar applied at four-star scale — the only Marais boutique with both a serious Italian kitchen and a serious cocktail bar built into the same lobby."
Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers opened in November 2017 at 243 rue Saint-Martin, 75003 — directly opposite the Musée des Arts et Métiers and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), which gave the property its name. The building is a Haussmannian limestone block restored over four years by Israeli-born Paris-based architect Raphaël Navot, with Algerian-born Paris-based hotelier Jean-Bernard Falco of LCG Hospitality (the Lacle group behind Hôtel des Grands Boulevards' first incarnation, Bel Ami, and several Maisons Particulières) as the operator. The 64 rooms are arranged across the building's six floors, with the better categories on the upper floors looking south to the Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs basilica.
The room palette is the property's signature — textured concrete walls, dusky tones (slate grey, oxide red, mossy green), brushed-brass detailing, and Bianco Carrara-Verde Alpi terrazzo bathrooms in every category. The standard category is the Petite (15-18 sqm) at €290/night, the Classique (18-22 sqm) the typical booking, the Atelier with private balcony in the upper categories, and the Penthouse Suite at 60 sqm on the top floor with a private terrace facing the basilica. Every room includes Nespresso machines, a small library curated by the property's literary programme, and locally-sourced Buly 1803 toiletries. The property is part of the Mr & Mrs Smith collection and the Michelin Guide.
The Ristorante Nationale is the headline kitchen — an Italian trattoria run by local Italian-Paris veteran Julien Cohen in partnership with Jean-Pierre Lopes and Thomas Delafon, in a striking dining room with velvet banquettes and a wall of vertical brass pipes — house-made pastas, Tuscan meats, an Italian-only wine list. Cicchetteria National is the adjacent Venetian small-plate counter (cheese, meats, croquettes, sandwiches) open from breakfast through evening. L'Herbarium is the moody evening bar, opening daily 6 PM to 2 AM under mixologist Oscar Quaglia, with cocktails grouped by olfactory identity — floral, fruity, herbaceous, woody — each garnished with a herb sprig from the bar's preserved-herb wall. The Herbarium has become one of the most reliably booked locals' bars in the Haut-Marais.
The position is the proposition. The 3rd-arrondissement upper Marais is the most museum-dense quarter of Paris after the Louvre block — the Musée des Arts et Métiers across the street, the Centre Pompidou seven minutes south on foot, the Musée Picasso 10 minutes east, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme eight minutes south. République Métro is a four-minute walk; Arts et Métiers Métro is at the door. The hotel is the strongest design-led four-star in the 3rd, and the Italian-trattoria-and-cocktail-bar configuration is the differentiating proposition — most Marais boutiques have neither.
For Paris solo retreats with a museum-and-design orientation, Hôtel National is the precise answer — the Musée des Arts et Métiers across the street, Pompidou seven minutes south, walking-distance Picasso and Cognacq-Jay. The Cicchetteria handles unstructured solo eating better than any palace dining room; L'Herbarium handles the solo evening drink with no awkwardness; the Atelier category with the private balcony is the booking.
For an anniversary that frames Paris as a contemporary creative city rather than a Belle Époque set piece, the Penthouse Suite with the basilica-facing private terrace is the unmatched booking. Ristorante Nationale handles the anniversary dinner reflexively — booking the chef's table at the open kitchen for the milestone version. L'Herbarium for the after-dinner; the lobby breakfast for the next morning.
For Paris business stays in the upper Marais creative-industry corridor (advertising, fashion, gallery), Hôtel National is the precise four-star — Classique room category, the Cicchetteria for working lunch, the Penthouse meeting room for boardroom-format meetings up to 10 guests. République is four minutes; Châtelet is six minutes by Métro; Le Marais creative-industry agencies are five minutes east on foot.
243 rue Saint-Martin
75003 Paris
France
Arts et Métiers Métro 30 sec; République 4 min; Pompidou 7 min on foot; Marais east 5 min
64 rooms (5 categories incl. 1 suite)
Petite Room (15-18 sqm) from €290/night
Classique (18-22 sqm) from €390/night
Atelier with balcony from €530/night
Penthouse Suite (60 sqm + terrace) from €1,400/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened November 2017
Architect/Designer: Raphaël Navot
Ristorante Nationale (Italian trattoria)
Cicchetteria National (small plates)
L'Herbarium evening bar
Buly 1803 toiletries
Mr & Mrs Smith member
Michelin Guide hotel listing
From €290/night. The Penthouse Suite books two months ahead for spring weekends; Ristorante Nationale dinner reservations require booking 2-3 weeks ahead. Fashion Week and Christmas books the property out three months in advance.
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