Being in the hotel trade has its benefits, like being invited to a private visit of Hôtel de Ville, for example!

Although we had been just last September for Open House, our visit last week – organised by the Paris tourist office – was much calmer, with all the time we needed to take photos that would have been impossible with all the crowds…

This may be our fourth visit to Hôtel de Ville, and it just never gets tiresome. There’s always something spectacular to see again, and having the place to ourselves this time was a rare pleasure, with a guide to give us all the historical details and enough space to take some lovely photos.

If you have read our article from September 2009, you’ll probably have noticed that all the photos were taken over the heads of people. This time we were able to take wide shots of perfectly empty rooms and details like the wonderful wood floors.

Anyone can visit Hôtel de Ville, and it’s free! You just have to book a few months in advance (read the end of our article for the number to call).

Here are some of the photos that we took this time…Taking shots of architectural details was much simpler, and the photos of the painted ceilings – huge and high up – make them look like tiny paintings framed on a wall.Our mayor must certainly appreciate some of the finer details of the décor… 😉To see the complete gallery of this visit to Hôtel de Ville, click the play button on the slideshow below, followed by the button with four little arrows (for fullscreen mode). Bonne visite!