The hotel faces the Sorbonne, where the Universities of Paris IV, Paris III, Paris I, and the Ecole des Chartes are based. Along with Bologna, Oxford, and Montpellier, the Sorbonne is one of the oldiest Universities in Europe. It contains the tomb of Richelieu.

The hotel was built on the slopes of the Sainte-Geneviève Mountain, formerly known as the Mount Lucotitius. Its skyline is dominated by one of the most famous Parisian monuments, the Panthéon. Louis XV laid the first stone of this church which was later dedicated to the Great Men of the Republic during the French Revolution in 1791: Voltaire, Mirabeau, Marat, and Rousseau were the first men buried in the Pantheon, who were later joined by Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Jean Jaurès, and Jean Moulin.

On the Panthéon’s square at the end of Rue Cujas, the Church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont is one of the most unique and charming churches of Paris. It was rebuilt between 1492 and 1622 on the site of a 13th century church. The church contains the shrine of Sainte Geneviève, patron saint of Paris, and the ashes of the writers Pascal and Racine.
In front of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont stands the Clovis Tower, the ancient church tower of the Sainte-Geneviève Abbey. Its foundation is Romanesque (XI century) and its two upper floors are Gothic (XV century). It is now part of the Lycée Henry IV, a highly prestigious Secondary School. The name of the tower commemorates the King of the Franks who was buried under what is now Rue Clovis (by the school gate).

Designed as a Florentine Palace, the Luxembourg Palace was built for Marie de Médicis, wife of King Henri IV. Rubens was asked to decorate the walls with paintings today housed in the Louvre. The Palace is now the home to the Senate. The Luxembourg Gardens constitute the biggest garden in Paris (62 acres). They are open to the public all year round.