The Grande Bretagne has overlooked Syntagma Square and the Greek Parliament since 1874, and its rooftop restaurant — with its floodlit view of the Acropolis — serves what is widely considered the most iconic dinner setting in Greece. Through coups, occupations, and the occasional revolution, it has remained the centre of Athenian political and social life. During the German Occupation, the Nazis used it as their headquarters. 320 rooms.

The intimate neighbour to the Grande Bretagne — the two hotels share Syntagma Square and a Luxury Collection affiliation — but the King George trades the Grande Bretagne's scale for a more personal atmosphere. The Tudor Hall restaurant on the seventh floor has Acropolis views that rival its larger neighbour's. Opened in 1936 and recently renovated. 102 rooms including a penthouse suite with a private terrace overlooking the Parthenon.

The Hermitage's winter garden was designed by Gustave Eiffel — the man behind the Tower — and its stained-glass dome remains one of the most beautiful enclosed spaces on the Riviera. Opened in 1900 and connected by private passage to the Monte-Carlo Casino and the Thermes Marins spa, the Hermitage offers a slightly quieter, more refined alternative to the Hotel de Paris across the square. 278 rooms, the Vistamar restaurant, and a terrace overlooking the harbour that during the Grand Prix becomes one of the most exclusive vantage points in motorsport.

The Hotel de Paris has overlooked the Casino Square in Monte-Carlo since 1864, and the two institutions have been feeding off each other's glamour ever since. A €280 million renovation completed in 2019 added a rooftop villa with a private pool, but the essential character — the marble lobby, the wine cellar with 350,000 bottles, the bronze equestrian statue whose knee has been rubbed smooth by superstitious guests hoping for luck at the casino — remains intact. 209 rooms, the three-Michelin-starred Louis XV restaurant by Alain Ducasse, and the most concentrated square kilometre of wealth in Europe.

Modelled on the Côte d'Azur grand hotels and opened in 1914 on the island of Spetses — a car-free island reached by hydrofoil from Piraeus — the Poseidonion has the Belle Époque architecture, the palm-lined gardens, and the seafront terrace of its French inspiration, transplanted to a Greek island setting. 52 rooms, and a pace of life so different from Athens that arriving feels like entering a different century.