With each passing year, airports around the world have become increasingly overcrowded, overwhelming in the mindless crush of harried passengers jammed into corridors and spaces that were never designed to accommodate such numbers.
In our experience, the best antidote is a stiff pre-boarding drink. For passengers fortunate enough to be blessed with upper-tier miles and lounge access, the options don’t come any swankier than the newly minted Le Balcon. Located in Air France’s Business Class Lounge at Charles de Gaulle, the 160 sqm bar is the work of French designer Mathieu Lehanneur who literally draws in the exterior spectacle of planes landing and taking off by lining the ceiling edges with gilt mirrors that are stippled like the keys of a giant piano to create what he describes as a space ‘suspended between heaven and earth’.
Hyperbole aside, the effect is one of cloistered exclusivity, an experience that Lehanneur reinforces with capsule banquettes which encircle both the room and the central white marble-topped bar. Lined with plush blue velvet – and accessorised with a pedestal side table and connectivity – these were apparently inspired by theatre box-seats and offer a sense of quiet privacy we imagine passengers continue to cling to as they trudge to the boarding gate.
Located in Air France’s Business Class Lounge at Charles de Gaulle, the 160 sqm bar is the work of Mathieu Lehanneur
The designer literally draws in the exterior spectacle of planes landing and taking off by lining the ceiling edges with gilt mirrors that are stippled like the keys of a giant piano
The effect is one of cloistered exclusivity, an experience that Lehanneur reinforces with capsule banquettes which encircle both the room and the central white marble-topped bar
The plush blue velvet banquettes offer a sense of quiet privacy we imagine passengers continue to cling to as they trudge to the boarding gate
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Hall L Terminal 2E
Charles de Gaulle International Airport
Paris
-
Join our tour of Taikaka House, a slice of New Zealand in SeoulTaikaka House, meaning ‘heart-wood’ in Māori, is a fin-clad, art-filled sanctuary, designed by Nicholas Burns
-
Why radical Swedish designer Ann-Sofie Back was way ahead of her timeA new book and exhibition, ‘Go As You Please’, celebrates 20 years of Ann-Sofie Back’s subversive, Swedish design. Nicole DeMarco speaks to the designer about her distinct (and much-referenced) brand of ‘failed glamour’
-
Duyi Han’s immersive psychedelic installation in Shanghai is like ‘seeing the world from a higher dimension’Chinese artist Duyi Han on ‘Visions of Bloom’ in Shanghai, his reimagination of a secret Chinese garden through a psychedelic video and furniture installations
-
Dine at Paris’s historic Maison Baccarat, reimagined by chef Alain DucasseThe newly opened Ducasse Baccarat restaurant – at the crystal house’s Paris mansion – offers not just a culinary experience but a cultural encounter
-
Stylish Paris ice cream parlours for melting momentsCool off with the best ice cream in Paris: Wallpaper’s favourite scoops span from classics at chef Alain Ducasse's ‘glacerie’ to ice cream sandwiches at JJ Hings
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture loversAuberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
-
Contemporary coastal design rejuvenates Hôtel de la Plage in BiarritzHôtel de la Plage in Biarritz resurfaces with fresh interiors by Olivier Granet and architecture studio Gardera & Pastre
-
Paris’ Hôtel de Crillon celebrates the art of skateboarding with a new exhibitionHôtel de Crillon and The Skateroom anticipate skateboarding’s return at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a special collaboration
-
Ridley Scott turns three French farmhouses into artful holiday villasRidley Scott and family transform French farmhouses into holiday lets, the latest addition to the filmmaker’s Provençal wine estate, Mas des Infermières
-
Experience Paris like a local at Hôtel BalzacHôtel Balzac reopens its doors following a 1930s-inspired renovation by Festen Architecture
-
Hôtel Lilou in France welcomes guests into an unspoilt natural settingThe opening of Hôtel Lilou is set to revive the tourism scene of the historic French seaside town of Hyères
