Le Magnifique could have settled for a Vincent Darré-designed interior. The address in the 14th arrondissement goes further: it turns the theatrical history of the rue de la Gaîté into a hotel practice, down to its bar’s operating hours, synchronized with the intermissions of the neighboring theaters.
Located at 20 bis rue de la Gaîté, Le Magnifique has sixty-two rooms. The project was launched in 2024 at the initiative of Jacques Blanc, already the owner of, among others, the Bellechasse, a hotel dressed by Christian Lacroix. For this new address, he entrusted the interior world to Vincent Darré, himself born in the 14th arrondissement and devoted to the Left Bank.
The choice of site gives the project a particular texture. The location once housed the Théâtre des Mille Colonnes, built in the early nineteenth century, whose façade still retains its memory. In the lobby, hand-painted columns echo La Coupole and the former drugstore of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. A large fresco, also hand-painted by craftsmen, evokes the circus and the performing arts, while white plaster birds seem to extend the scene above the reception desk.
The staircase banisters evoke musical scores. A glass elevator serves five floors organized around five distinct worlds, from the Garden of Eden to mythology, from the abyss to Art Nouveau and the Milky Way. Each room has its own pieces designed by Vincent Darré: furniture, stretched canvases, light fixtures, ceramics, and carpets.
At the heart of the design, the Picabia bar is undoubtedly the most convincing element. Entirely wood-paneled, lit by exposed bulbs and equipped with a grand piano, it bears the name of Francis Picabia. It follows the rhythm of the surrounding theaters: posted schedules, a bell signaling the opening of the halls and the end of intermissions.
The pool, added to the project at Darré’s initiative, follows the same logic of staging. Mythological mosaics are reflected in the water, surrounded by columns and opening onto a patio with Mediterranean references.
This location gives the project its cultural weight. Le Magnifique has tangible material to draw on: a former theatrical site, a street still structured by neighboring stages, and a decorator whose personal history belongs to the Left Bank. Its challenge will be to preserve this porosity with the neighborhood once the novelty of the opening has passed.
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