6 grand European inns with legendary cellars—and centuries of historical past

Some of Europe’s most fascinating tales may be present in cellars beneath the flooring of its grandest inns. Concealing secret partitions and carved into primordial rock, these famed vaults comprise coveted vintages and epic histories of intrigue, warfare, and survival.

During World War II, famend inns in Monte Carlo and Paris covertly saved 1000’s of their rarest bottles from occupying forces. In London, a boutique lodge favored by royalty quietly transformed its cellar into an air raid shelter in the course of the warfare. At a classy resort in Tuscany, a labyrinth of historical tunnels stays intact regardless of Blitz bombings. And at a geothermal retreat in Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, an distinctive cellar sits in a cave fashioned by a Thirteenth-century lava circulate from a still-active volcano.

The largest lodge wine cellars on this planet belong to Monaco’s Hôtel de Paris. Built into the rock and debuted with the legendary lodge in 1874, the cellars span 16,000 sq. ft and home 350,000 vintages. During the Second World War, lodge workers stashed friends’ jewels in a hidden cellar cave and stowed treasured vintages behind a faux wall of empty bottles, saving 1000’s from occupying forces. The cellar can also be well-known for royal celebrations, notably for Princess Grace.

When I visited the cellars on a guided tour whereas on the town for the Forbes Travel Guide Summit in Monaco this February, I used to be wowed by the still-intact, authentic vaults stuffed with historic relics that seamlessly blended with a design-forward restoration, which debuted final 12 months for the cellars’ a hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Soft, heat lighting, gentle woods, and native stone improve the reconfigured entrance and tasting rooms. Also new: an immersive movie that brings founders François and Marie Blanc just about to life, sharing the cellars’ historical past with friends. Another spotlight was strolling into the Marie Blanc Reserve, a tribute to the visionary feminine founding father of the cellars.

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“One of our oldest bottles was acquired during the belle époque, when Hôtel de Paris was already the epicenter of European high society,” says chef sommelier Patrice Frank. “Knowing it still rests here, perfectly preserved, is a reminder that great wine is perhaps the most patient form of history.” 

Visitors can reserve non-public tastings and excursions, and collectors could also be invited to hitch its unique member membership, Le Cercle des Caves. 

A major cellar dates again to the seventeenth century at The Stafford in London. Built for Lord Francis Godolphin, its tunnels as soon as linked to St. James’ Palace, and Queen Victoria is alleged to have handed discreetly by means of this underground route. Later, throughout World War II, the cellar secretly served as an air-raid shelter for American and Canadian officers stationed close by. During my go to on a personal tour in May, I noticed troopers’ messages etched into the brickwork, together with different relics like wartime ration notices and fuel masks.

Housing 8,000 bottles and uncommon vintages, the cellar provides curated excursions, non-public tastings, and five-course wine dinners in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines, namesake of the lodge’s flagship restaurant. “This cellar has quietly safeguarded wines across centuries, bearing witness to changing tastes, traditions, and eras, all while continuing to do exactly what it was built for—storing wines patiently until the moment they are meant to be enjoyed,” says head sommelier Nuno Pereira.

In Paris, the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel George V’s famed cellar was based with the lodge in 1928. The cavernous cellar was carved 46 ft into the rock of a quarry whose limestone helped construct the Arc de Triomphe. During the Occupation, the cellar was solely sealed behind a brick wall to guard its treasures. Later, in the course of the Liberation of Paris in 1944, the lodge was headquarters for Dwight Eisenhower. When it closed for renovation in 1997, the cellar narrowly escaped destruction and left with solely 100 bottles. Over the course of greater than 20 years, celebrated sommelier Éric Beaumard meticulously constructed the gathering to 50,000 bottles, which now serves the lodge’s three Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Cinq; two Michelin-starred L’Orangerie; and Michelin-starred Le George. “If I had to choose one bottle that moves me, it would be a Madeira from 1794,” says head sommelier David Piquet. “This very bottle traveled in the hull of the ship that carried Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on the island of Saint Helena. A seemingly small detail in history and yet an extraordinary one.” Today, cellar excursions, tastings, and masterclasses are reserved for lodge friends. 

Luxury resort Il Borro Toscana rests atop a medieval property and village, absolutely restored by its present homeowners, the Ferragamo household. Though bombed and virtually leveled in 1944 in the course of the Blitz, the traditional villa’s cellar tunnels held agency. “These cellars served as a refuge for the village during incredibly difficult times in Italian history,” says Salvatore Ferragamo Jr., named after his iconic dressmaker grandfather and vice chairman of Il Borro and Il Borro Wines. Today, the cellar serves as a bridge between Roman antiquity and the trendy revival of the Valdarno wine area. Considered the bottom zero of viticulture in Tuscany, the cellar held the primary barrel of wine produced on this nook of the area, marking the delivery of a winemaking custom. Eventually, this result in Valdarno’s standing as one of many 4 authentic wine territories protected by the 1716 Bando. “Taking stewardship of the cellar meant I became a guardian of a 1,000-year-old story,” notes Ferragamo. Visitors can ebook cellar wine tastings and excursions, and consider artifacts within the lodge museum, together with authentic barrels and wine-themed works by Rembrant, Picasso, Andy Warhol, and different artists from the Ferragamos’ assortment.

The Apartment at Tour d’Argent is a classy, one-bedroom micro-hotel overlooking the Seine, Notre Dame, and the Paris skyline. It is situated on the fifth flooring of the Haussman-style townhome that has one of many world’s most historic eating places, Tour d’Argent, which opened in 1582 to serve King Henry III’s the Aristocracy. Its 12,000-square-foot cellar debuted in 1914. Known as La Cave, it holds 300,000 uncommon spirits and vintages. During World War II, proprietor Claude Terrail protected most beloved bottles by concealing them behind a false wall within the cellar. “It was a courageous decision that still allows us today to admire mythical bottles such as Clos de Griffier 1788, Château Citran 1858, or the Musigny Tour d’Argent 1904,” says chef sommelier government David González. During its latest renovation, greater than 80 bottles price $1.63 million had been pilfered. Today, guests can ebook cellar tastings, excursions, and masterclasses, in addition to view wine labels and different treasured relics, together with an enormous catalog of the gathering so massive it should be carted to restaurant patrons.

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The geothermal cellar at The Retreat at Blue Lagoon in Iceland is about in a cavern fashioned by a 1226 circulate from a still-active volcano. Discovered throughout development of the lodge, which opened in 2018, the cellar lava cave homes greater than 5,000 bottles that serve the retreat’s Michelin-starred Moss restaurant. Visitors to the cellar for tastings and wine pairings descend right into a chamber of multicolored frozen magma. “What amazes me is how connected the cellar feels to the natural environment around it,” says head sommelier Lorenzo Vecce, sharing that in Iceland’s winters, water usually emerges from the basaltic rock and flows down elements of the cellar partitions. “The sound of the wind combined with the gentle movement of the water creates a multisensory experience that reminds me that this is not just a wine cellar, but a living part of the volcanic landscape.”

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