London

Retro lingerie from Fifi Chachnil © Heloise Bergman

For the full guide visit our Paris site

Paris for dirty weekenders
Get in the mood in Europe’s capital of seduction

If you need a little inspiration, get some new ideas at the Musée de l’Erotisme, slap-bang (and tickle) in the middle of the red-light district. Seven titillating floors take in everything from first-century Peruvian phallic pottery to changing contemporary exhibitions, plus an entire floor documenting the history of Paris’ brothels from the nineteenth century until they were closed down in 1946.

Before you retire to your room to re-enact those ‘Last Tango in Paris’ fantasies, stock up on French knickers in the boudoir surroundings of Fifi Chachnil, the queen of retro lingerie. The wares may be a bit tarty, but they certainly aren’t cheap; splash out on a transparent babydoll negligée (€119.99).
Feature continues

‘My very dearest, down on both knees before your beautiful body which I embrace,’ wrote Rodin, somewhat ungrammatically, to Camille Claudel. Not only does it contain that iconic tribute to sensuality, ‘The Kiss’, the Musée National Rodin, in the romantic eighteenth-century Hôtel Biron, with its three-hectare rose-scented sculpture garden, is redolent of the grand amour between the sculptor and his assistant-mistress. A room is devoted to her work.

Frisky Parisians enjoy un sandwich de tongue

Outdoor romps are de rigueur, from sweaty teenagers snogging on the Métro to nocturnal antics in the Bois de Boulogne (as recounted by literary swinger Catherine M, aka art critic Catherine Millet, in her best-selling sexual memoir of 2001). Stroll in the Jardin du Luxembourg to slip behind the plane trees that screen the ornate Fontaine Médicis – a notorious lovers’ trysting spot – from view.

Indulge in some pleasures of the flesh at La Bulle Kenzo – a ‘sensory space’ within the designer’s flagship store. Choose between two pods – the Sparkling Massage Bulle (shimmering walls and floor, disco ball) and the Cocoon Massage Bulle (a calmer, candlelit environment) for a ‘Curled Up Massage’ (€130 for 90 minutes) or ‘Sensitive Caresses from Head to Waist’ (€65 for 30 minutes).

Where to eat
The faded exterior murals and Seine-side location alone would mark it out as one very romantic restaurant, but Lapérouse has a history as a clandestine rendezvous for politicians and their mistresses – the tiny upstairs salles privées used to lock from the inside. Feast on chef Alain Hacquard’s tender saddle of rabbit, flavoured with lavender and rosemary – it’s expensive but, hey, you’re in Paris.

If you want to indulge the cliché, an excellent alternative to the big brasseries, the Huîtrerie Regis offers reasonably priced oysters – around €25 will buy you a dozen of the freshest from the Marenne. Or get to know each other better at Asian-oriented bistro Le Petit Marché with its dim lighting, exposed stone walls, hotch-potch of framed paintings and intimately tiny tables. Stroll back to your hotel via the Place des Vosges and abandon yourselves within its vaulted passageways.

Where to sleep
Get a room at the sexiest address in the city – the Hôtel Amour, in a former brothel near seedy Pigalle. Its 20 rooms are decorated around the theme of love by a coterie of contemporary artists, including Sophie Calle, famous for her photo-documentary work ‘L’Hotel’, inspired by her job as a Venice chambermaid. In the Latin Quarter, new boutique hotel The Five features seductive colour schemes, sensuous fabrics, Chinese lacquer and a choice of five in-room fragrances. The ‘scintillating canopy’ rooms have glittering fibre-optic stars above the bed – the interior deco equivalent of Viagra. We have it on good authority that a lot of locals check in.

Addresses
La Bulle Kenzo 1 rue du Pont-Neuf, 1st (00 33 1 73 04 20 04/www.labullekenzo.com) Métro Pont Neuf. Open Mon-Sat 10am-8pm.

Fifi Chachnil 26 rue Cambon, 1st (00 33 1 42 60 38 86/www.fifichachnil.com) Métro Madeleine. Open Mon-Sat 11am-7pm.

Five Hôtel 3 rue Flatters, 5th (00 33 1 43 31 74 21/www.thefivehotel.com) Métro Les Gobelins or Port Royal. Doubles from €180.

Hôtel Amour 8 rue Navarin, 9th (00 33 1 48 78 31 80/www.hotelamour.com) Métro St Georges. Doubles from €120.

Huîtrerie Régis 3 rue de Montfaucon, 6th (00 33 1 44 41 10 07) Métro Mabillon. Open Tue-Sun 11am-12midnight.

Jardin du Luxembourg pl Auguste-Comte, 6th. Métro Odéon.

Lapérouse 51 quai des Grands-Augustins, 6th (00 33 1 43 26 68 04) Métro St-Michel. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-2.30pm, 7.30-10.30pm, Sat 7.30-10.30pm. Closed Aug.

Musée de l’Erotisme 72 bd de Clichy, 18th (00 33 1 42 58 28 73/www.musee-erotisme.com) Métro Blanche. Open daily 10am-2am. Adm €8.

Musée National Rodin Hôtel Biron, 77 rue de Varenne, 7th (00 33 1 44 18 61 10/www.musee-rodin.fr) Métro Varenne. Open Apr-Sept Tue-Sun 9.30am-5.15pm, Oct-Mar Tue-Sun 9.30am-4.15pm. Adm €6, €4 18-25s (all on Sun), free under-18s (all on first Sun of month).

Le Petit Marché 9 rue de Béarn, 3rd (00 33 1 42 72 06 67) Métro Chemin Vert. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-3pm, 8pm-12midnight, Sat, Sun 12noon-4pm, 8-10pm.

For the full guide visit our Paris site