W Paris - Opera How to hit Paris

Traveling to Paris shouldn't mean leaving behind the comforts of NY, but it also shouldn't require visiting Paris, NY, not when Utica is soooo close! Thankfully, NY's W Hotels just christened a boutique spot (W Paris - Opera) in the real City of Lights, converting a Haussmann-era relic into 91 chandeliered rooms sporting space-age touches from light-speckled ceilings resembling futuristic switchboards, to internet connectivity that floats through the air like black magic.

When not utterly freaking out European guests with vein-exploding CrossFit exercises in the Sweat Fitness Center, you can undo your hard work at one of the city's most anticipated new restaurants, Arola, where the dual-Michelin-starred, eponymous, Catalonian chef will be serving "pica pica" (i.e., finger food) like suckling pig terrine, Iberian pork "presa" w/ hot Basque peppers & Idiazabal cheese, and bacalao w/ black olives & farm caviar (so... eggs?).

And when not utterly freaking out European guests with vein-exploding pica consumption, hit the lobby bar for more of Chef Arola's snacks (smoked tuna pizza, potato chips w/ truffle emulsion & quail eggs...) and mix-stronomical delights, from the Blood and Sand Reformula w/ "cherry blood" & "almond sand", to the Mediterranean Mermaid Manhattan: anchovy-washed bourbon, bitters, and sweet vermouth strained into a glass "atomized" with dry vermouth, so yeah, they expect you to have a strong reaction.

Should you ever stumble outside, right nearby's Frenchie (an unfussy, mod-industrial bistro that was one of 2011's most popular debuts thanks to seasonal bites like pork belly & golden chanterelle gnudi) and the Experimental Cocktail Club, where you can preview the upcoming NYC iteration's speakeasy-esque 'tails including the vodka/lemongrass/basil/elderflower Experience 1, approximately one more than they have in Paris, NY.