The day the newly renovated Le Royal Monceau opened its doors was the day we had to stop saying most of the things we’ve been saying about Parisian grand hotels all these years. No longer is it sensible to say that Paris, when it comes to luxury hotels, is entirely a conservative town — not after Le Royal Monceau was redesigned from top to bottom in maximalist, hallucinogenic fashion by none other than Philippe Starck.

Yes, the Clarence is owned by Bono and the Edge, of U2 fame. And yes, the Clarence is more or less the official stopover for actors, musicians and the like. But we’d argue that this has little to do with the owners’ marquee value, and everything to do with the fact that it’s simply a well-designed and thoughtfully conceived hotel borne out of a characterful 1852 Regency building in the heart of Dublin’s lively Temple Bar district.

We’re as fond as anyone is of the small hotel, the quirky hotel, the independently owned, off-the-beaten-path hotel — but there’s something to be said for seeing a city from the vantage point of one of its classic grand hotels. San Sebastian’s most luxurious hotel is the Hotel Maria Cristina, on the banks of the Urumea river, a massive Belle Époque mansion in the heart of the city, lovingly maintained and painstakingly restored.

The Principe is the Milanese hotel against which all other Milanese hotels are measured. Though the amenities are modern, there’s a sense in which the atmosphere of the place has stayed the same for the last hundred years — crystal chandeliers, ornate antiques, and bathrooms with many bidets. The hotel is not stuck in the past, though, a fact made clear by the fashionistas at the bar and the jetsetters getting laps in at the indoor pool.

The century-old Dolder Grand was impressive enough as it was, but it entered a new league following a massive renovation by the British architect Norman Foster. This isn’t just a refreshed interior for an old hotel, but a complete re-design, with a bold contemporary addition wrapping around the original turreted hilltop château. Inside, it’s almost unrecognizable.

Taormina is nothing if not spectacular, with the Ionian Sea at its feet and Mount Etna at its back. No less spectacular is San Domenico Palace — first a 14th-century convent, later a 19th-century grand hotel, playing host to everyone from Oscar Wilde to Audrey Hepburn. Now, as a member of the Four Seasons family, it’s simply a top-flight luxury resort, made newly famous as the setting for the second season of The White Lotus.

The Duke of Santo Mauro’s 1895 French-style neolassical mansion is now one of Madrid’s most elegant and luxurious hotels. At just 51 rooms, and located in a largely residential district off the Paseo de Castellana, it’s intimate — a feeling magnified by the discreet nature of the service. Any number of foreign dignitaries and stars of the stage and screen prefer the Santo Mauro.

This monument of a hotel stands high on Lausanne’s terraced hillside streets, with the financial district city-center just out the front door and spectacular views of Lake Geneva and the mountains out the back. The Lausanne Palace and Spa is a classic, but it’s managed to keep itself up to date as well. It’s neither a museum piece nor a pale modern recreation — much of the 19th-century grandeur remains.

An early 20th-century palace with an elevated view of Lake Geneva, the Hôtel Royal stands above the lakeside spa resort of Évian-les-Bains, home of the famous mineral water. It retains its Belle Époque grandeur even as it’s kept pace with the times; in its present incarnation it’s a tasteful mix of classic and contemporary elements, aiming to deliver the elegance of a bygone era without disappearing into nostalgia.

Though the Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg is perhaps not the most conveniently located hotel for doing business in Köln, there’s more to life than convenience alone. This three-hundred-year-old Baroque castle, on a hilltop in Bensberg, is close enough that traveling downtown is no great trial, yet just remote enough that its old-world elegance and immersive luxury make for something of a resort experience that’s hard to come by in a city hotel.