6 Sultry Suggestions for How to Spend Valentine’s Day in Paris

Dine in the Dark The experience of being deprived of one sense leads to the heightening of the other senses. Based on this principle, Dans le Noir is a concept restaurant in which guests are served their meal in complete darkness by blind wait staff. This intriguing sensorial experience should, in the absence of your sight, enhance your appreciation of the smells and tastes of your dish and the sound of your partner’s voice. The restaurant is located on Rue Quincanmpoix in the 4th arrondissement and dinner menus are priced between €43 and €89 per person (excluding cover charges). According to the famous French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eyes.” If he is correct, then exchanging a candlelit dinner for a bind date with your partner may be visionary. Life is a Cabaret, old chum… So come to the Cabaret The Moulin Rouge, Le Lido and indeed the more risqué Crazy Horse are perhaps Paris’s most iconic cabarets. These extravagant shows combine music and other entertainment with racy costumes, subdued lighting and velvety décor to provide an exotic experience. For something slightly more authentic, pay the underground untraditional cabaret in Aux Trois Mailletz a visit. This intimate jazz club on Rue Galande is a local’s favorite, showcasing performances by dancers and singers from all over the world, seducing the audience, all night, every night. Aux Trois Mailletz has hosted performances by legends such as Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday and is reasonably inexpensive for dinner when compared to the big productions. Give Each Other Goosebumps  An immersive alternative to the classic horror movie date, Le Manoir de Paris on Rue de Paradis invites you to their annual Valentine’s fright night. The event “The Dark Valentine” is an evening of hair-raising orienteering in total darkness. As you navigate your way through the haunted 1900s manor, macabre mysteries, old legends and creatures of the night are resurrected. If you are unconvinced, science may sway you. When we are frightened, our heart rate and level of arousal shoot up creating the same sort of exhilarating feeling as falling crazy in love. According to research, the arousal from being frightened is then mistaken for the arousal of sexual attraction. Should you want to test the rigor of science, The Dark Valentine takes place on the 14th of February and costs about €25 per person. Get out of Breath Physical activity releases adrenaline, which in turn increases the amount of attraction between two individuals, or so they say. So then what could be more romantic than running 8k on a Sunday afternoon while being bound by the wrist to your other half? With a coached warm-up session before, and a Love festival after-party complete with a DJ, Cocktails, couples goody-bags, and much more, Love Run promises to be a memorable Valentine’s Day. The event will take place in the Bois de Boulogne and costs €60 per couple. Drop that Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates Forget eating it, instead rub each other up the right way with an “All About Chocolate” spa treatment at the Four Seasons Hotel George V. What could be described as a chocolate lover’s fantasy begins with a chocolate body scrub, followed by a smooth chocolate-blend body wrap and then a relaxing massage with warm cocoa shea butter, all topped off with a tasting of chocolates from the in-house patisserie. The whole package lasts approximately 150 minutes and costs €430 per person – a sweet investment. Have a “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” Experience Both an ephemeral installation and a night’s accommodation, La Kiss Room is strictly for lovers… of contemporary art. For one night only, guests can stay in a bedroom, clad entirely with mirrors. Created by French-Hungarian artist Mathias Kiss, La Kiss Room, despite what you may be thinking, is designed to have those who stay consider “perception and deception”, while being soothed by a constantly evolving song developed for the room by the French band Air. Housed in the Marais, in the well-know café La Perle, it’s a pricy affair at €750 per stay. Nevertheless, La Kiss Room is only open for 1,000 nights and has been described as “a room for undressing, not unpacking”. Photo credits: Paris – Cabaret les Trois Mailletz by mathieudreo/ Flickr