Terrass'' Hotel Rooftop

The Terrass'' Hotel sits high on the Montmartre hill at 12-14 rue Joseph de Maistre in the 18th, and its seventh-floor rooftop is the reason to come. Because the building already starts well above the rest of Paris, the panorama is one of the best in the city: the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, the Grand Palais, and the sea of zinc roofs running south, with Montmartre Cemetery directly below.

This is a view-first rooftop for a sunset drink, not a hidden cocktail den. Anyone after low-lit craft mixing should book a Paris cocktail bar instead. Anyone who wants the Eiffel Tower in their sightline with a glass in hand should put this near the top of the Montmartre list.

The rooftop bar and its panoramic restaurant, Edmond, share the top floor and both welcome outside guests, not just hotel residents. The terrace has been redesigned with a warm, arid-leaning look, dark wood, golden lighting, and desert planting tied to a Sir Davis whiskey theme, which plays off the open-sky panorama rather than competing with it, per the hotel and VisitParisRegion.

The hotel's own guidance is useful: access to the rooftop is without reservation, but to avoid queuing you should aim for a time outside the 7 to 8:30pm rush, exactly when everyone arrives for sunset. Go a little earlier or later and the same view comes without the wait.

The crowd is a mix of hotel guests, Parisians showing off the city to visitors, and travellers who tracked down a non-touristy rooftop. The peak is the sunset window, roughly 7 to 8:30pm, when the queue forms and the terrace is busiest. Arrive before or after that band for the same panorama with room to breathe. Warm evenings are the sweet spot; this is an open terrace, so weather sets the tone.

Stay on the rooftop trail at Le Perchoir rooftop in Paris and its sibling Le Perchoir Ménilmontant in Paris, or drop back down for a hidden Montmartre cocktail at Le Très Particulier in Paris. The full picture is in our guide to Paris rooftop bars and the wider Paris bar guide.