Friday – Organic spa & couples date, rooftop views of Paris @MaisonAlaena
Tucked into a non-assuming concrete building, high up on the 8th floor (7th floor, France), you’ll find Maison Alaena. To break up all of our museum tours, my husband asked for a quiet organic spa and hammam day, a slower-paced, healthy, and relaxing way to connect.
Three sisters from the Basque country founded this space about a year ago. It’s a treasure, a tranquil, minimalist Parisian jewel with direct views of Sacré Couer and the Eiffel Tower.
Alaia, Hélène, and Anne started their first spa in Biarritz in 2015. Since then, they have expanded into skincare and micro nutrition. But today, we were there for an excellent couples massage, a hammam experience, and a healthy lunch while soaking in those stunning Paris rooftops.
Réservations can be made online, and the entire team is kind, generous, and accommodating. I highly recommend this space if you are looking for a respite in the city.
On our way home, we swung through @pavillionarsenal to see an exhibit and proposal on the redevelopment of the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris forecourt.
“Concurrently to the restoration of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, the municipality has turned its eye towards the exterior, aiming to reimagine the surroundings of the cathedral. There is a twofold challenge: to reconnect the monument to the city, as well as the Seine, and to properly accommodate its 12 million annual visitors by offering a fitting setting to the monument, which should be proportionate to the passion it arouses, recently laid bare by the fire and the wave of emotions it unleashed. To achieve the best possible outcome, an international competition was launched in the form of a “competitive dialogue.”
I recorded an extended 3D video of the proposed concept and will upload that to YouTube so you can see the new spaces. It’s so exciting to think this might happen!
Bisous, darlings, and happy weekend!
#thisfrenchlife #paristips #travelfrance #parisstyle #parismood