cigalechanta

Big Ben is the bar at Train Bleu but not attractive, like the restaurant and it's on another level. (IMHO!)

cigalechanta

Another suggestion:
I dined the Closerie des Lilas, a famous Hemingway spot. The people at the bar looked like they were having alot of fun.
171 bd. du Montparnasse, 6e

tekwriter

My own experience at the Ritz was late November and they couldn't have been nicer! My mother is a huge Paris Ritz fan and actually gave my husband and me $100 to go have a drink (we needed most of it!) before dinner on our last night, around 7:00 pm. We used the Place Vendome entrance (is this not the front entrance of the hotel?) and did not try to enter the lounge directly inside the door because it seemed like a private party was going on - many large men in suits and earphones keeping guard made it a bit intimidating. We just kept strolling along down the corridor that has many displays from the high-end boutiques. We eventually found the Hemingway Bar in a very quiet end of the building. The sign said "Jackets required, no photographs." My husband did not have a jacket, just a button-down shirt and nice slacks. We were not turned away, but warmly welcomed and offered a table. There were just two other occupied tables anyway. It's a much smaller space than I imagined. I chose a champagne cocktail and my husband had scotch, which ran up the bill, but hell, we were at the Ritz! We enjoyed looking at all the memorabilia on the walls and went through our drinks fairly quickly. Our waiter was right out of Central Casting and was charming and spoke many languages perfectly, from what I overheard. I asked if I might have a small souvenir for my mother; he returned in a few moments with a Ritz BAG filled with coasters, stationary, even little jars of jam

tekwriter

My own experience at the Ritz was late November and they couldn't have been nicer! My mother is a huge Paris Ritz fan and actually gave my husband and me $100 to go have a drink (we needed most of it!) before dinner on our last night, around 7:00 pm. We used the Place Vendome entrance (is this not the front entrance of the hotel?) and did not try to enter the lounge directly inside the door because it seemed like a private party was going on - many large men in suits and earphones keeping guard made it a bit intimidating. We just kept strolling along down the corridor that has many displays from the high-end boutiques. We eventually found the Hemingway Bar in a very quiet end of the building. The sign said "Jackets required, no photographs." My husband did not have a jacket, just a button-down shirt and nice slacks. We were not turned away, but warmly welcomed and offered a table. There were just two other occupied tables anyway. It's a much smaller space than I imagined. I chose a champagne cocktail and my husband had scotch, which ran up the bill, but hell, we were at the Ritz! We enjoyed looking at all the memorabilia on the walls and went through our drinks fairly quickly. Our waiter was right out of Central Casting and was charming and spoke many languages perfectly, from what I overheard. I asked if I might have a small souvenir for my mother; he returned in a few moments with a Ritz BAG filled with coasters, stationary, even little jars of jam! How could that have been nicer? We wandered around the empty corridors a bit before we left, marveling at the exquisite furniture and decor! It's an experience that everyone should have, even if it's just a coffee! Marvelous place, and maybe someday we can afford to stay there!

_jinx_

Did you know??---that Ernest Hemingway walked into the Ritz bar during the liberation of Paris in Ausgust, 1944, and ordered seventy (70) martinis--for himself and his company of Free French liberators.

Cheers,

Jinx Hoover