Planning a week or just a weekend with the gals? Gratefully this is something that is happening more and more and because of these trips we girls, women and ladies come back refreshed and ready to tackle anything our men, children and jobs can throw at us. Basically I think it’s nearly as effective as a week at a spa or months at the shrink’s office.
For my money, you can’t find a more perfect location than Paris for a gal’s getaway. Men like Paris, most sane men like it a lot and 99% of the women I know LOVE Paris as in love, adore, cherish and don’t want to leave. Why? Because Paris is all about beauty, with a little history thrown in just for fun. If you’ve got just a few days to capture all that is Paris, here are a few tips to make your planning that much easier.
First of all, don’t try to do everything but do combine a dose of history, with a lot of walking, some culture, beaucoup de shopping, and plenty of wine, French food & laughs. Booking an afternoon at a Hammam can be an absolute gas as my friends and I found out several years ago. It was the Mosquee de Paris that we tried and for only 38 euros per person we spent the better part of 3 hours there going from steam room to even hotter steam room, then cooling off in a cold water pool. A very businesslike woman scrubbed us down with a powerful loofah and black soap until our skin shined. It might have been when we were all sitting around drinking mint tea waiting for our massages, in our birthday suits with a bunch of other ladies when the giggles started.
Later we drowned our embarrassment with some wonderful wine from Cahors and a hefty steak from the Auvergne region at a darling bistro specializing in the Lozere region not far from the Mosquee. It’s these kind of out of the ordinary experiences that can make a trip to Paris with the girls so special.
My advice:
- Book one cultural experience in advance, such as seeing a ballet at the Opera Garnier with its Marc Chagall ceiling
- Go to lots of wine bars and gastro pubs such as Les Papilles or Le Chapeau Melon. Be sure to book ahead.
- Shop the Haute Marais (upper Marais) and spend time lingering on rue Charlot stopping into its many unique designer shops many of which can only be found in Paris.
- Eat in one historic bistro such as the Art Nouveau influenced Julien
- Be dangerous and get naked at the Hammam
- Take a cooking class, a walking tour or a photography class with your group
- Stroll along the seine and picnic on the pont des arts
- Pick just one museum such as the Rodin museum or L’Orangerie, buy tickets ahead of time and make your afternoon there leisurely.
But most of all get yourself to Paris….soon.
By Doni Belau is the owner and editor of the Girls' Guide to Paris, a travel website and blog written by Parisian residents and insiders covering everything from fashion to culture to foodie faves in the city of light.
