The Top Five Spas in Paris

Tue 14 Jan 2014

It’s January. The holidays are over, and everyone is exhausted and a bit worse for wear. The low temperatures and gray skies don’t help either. Fortunately, this is Paris, the city that invented luxury. Finding a professional, conveniently located spa with a fantastic staff that offers fantastic treatments is not a problem. The challenge is choosing one. Here are five of my favorite spas in Paris, each with its own special touch.

After the Rain.

The most romantic spa to be found in Paris is After the Rain, located in the basement of the Saint James Albany hotel on the rue de Rivoli. The cozy, vaulted space has exposed stone walls and immediately takes you away to another place and time. A harmonious decor of dark wood furnishings with red accents adds to the serenity of the moment. For a bit of sport before their treatment, guests are welcome to use the gym and the decadent swimming pool, followed by a relaxing sweat in the hammam. Then it’s off to the couple’s care area, where clients can indulge in any one of nine treatments, including La Vie en Rose, which features a rose petal bath, or Je T’Aime, Moi Non Plus, with a chocolate cream massage. You are guaranteed to leave feeling healthy, relaxed and more in love than ever before.

The Belle Juliette spa.

The best spa for a celebration is undoubtedly the Belle Juliette spa in the Belle Juliette hotel. Named after the seductive Juliette Récamier, there isn’t a more scrumptious girlie address in the city. With a beautiful dipping pool, a large hammam and two treatment rooms, the spa has the perfect layout for an afternoon among friends. There is even a group package for four to six guests that includes a treatment for everyone, access to all the facilities and a light buffet with champagne. It’s an ideal afternoon of giggling with the girls while being pampered like a princess. La Belle Juliette uses the exceptional skin-care line by Maria Galland, available exclusively in spas and made in France.

Nuxe.

The most Parisian spa would have to be the Nuxe day spa hidden in a historic courtyard, just steps from the hustle and bustle of the rue Montorgueil. Nuxe was a small pharmaceutical brand that a local girl believed in so much, she bought the brand, bringing its fantastic products to the international market. The spa has two treatment areas in the vaulted limestone cellars of neighboring buildings. The original spa has modern, clean lines, while the newer area is Japanese Zen with a unique yurt structure that changes themes regularly for a truly exotic experience. Nuxe, take me away.

Les Cent Ciels.

The most exotic spa in Paris is not actually in Paris. Les Cent Ciels is just outside the city limits in western Boulogne, at the Porte de Saint-Cloud metro station. Walking past the palm trees in the entrance and up the candlelit staircase, guests feel like they have gone abroad to be pampered in an oriental harem. The hammam is sumptuously decorated in warm shades of red and ocher, with kilims lining polished wood floors. The mosaic-tiled warm room is large, with spacious benches for resting between the hot room and the even hotter domed room, with a large dipping pool.

The Clarins My Blend spa.

Simply the best spa in Paris is the Clarins My Blend spa. Light floods into the bright, modern space designed by Philippe Starck—the perfect remedy to the winter blues. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with water and a selection of dried fruits and nuts. The large, luxurious changing rooms are overflowing with Clarins product samples. There is a hammam and a shower with birdsong, but the real pièce de résistance is the largest swimming pool in a Parisian hotel. The aqua water tempts guests from under an expansive sunroof. In winter, snow-frosted trees can be seen above, creating an otherworldly experience. There are bespoke treatments available, and after the appointment, guests are offered tea and macarons. Once you are there, you will never want to leave.
All this luxury comes with a price, of course, sometimes a rather hefty one. But everyone deserves to be pampered from time to time, and the Mosquée de Paris has the answer with a traditional oriental hammam for only €18. Because in Paris, there truly is something for everyone.

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