Pampered, arty, gourmet or quirky – there are a thousand ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Paris!
Here are our suggestions for unusual ways to experience and celebrate Valentine’s Day in Paris.
Paris is, and always will be, the capital of love and romance ! And all the more so on 14 February. However you choose to celebrate this rather atypical Valentine’s Day – a special hotel overnight, a stroll through the city’s beautiful gardens, a romantic tour, or a flight through the clouds – keep those stars in your eyes!
© The Peninsula Paris
Most of the hotels in Paris are open. Give yourselves a ‘get away from it all’ treat with an overnight stay – especially if you can find a room with a view!
At the Terrass’’ Hôtel in Montmartre, you can enjoy a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower from the rooftop and a special offer combining some delightful surprises.
On the Champs Elysées, the Plaza Athénée offers a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe while the Hôtel Brighton features a unparalleled view of the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens.
The [palaces]](https://parisjetaime.com/eng/practical-paris/where-to-sleep-in-paris/parisian-palaces-i068) are an excellent choice if you’re looking for quality relaxation time and luxury without having to leave the city. Therefore, the Lutetia has put together the Mon amour offer for couples with a bottle of champagne, welcome flowers in guests’ room, as well as many other surprises. Access to the spa - a way to awaken all your senses - is also available on request.
At La Réserve, you will step into a magnificent private mansion and spend an unforgettable night with your beloved in the heart of the 8th arrondissement.
A hammam, a sauna, a swimming pool or a massage are all good ways to relax on this special day. Many spas have tempting offers for couples wanting to pamper themselves. There is a range of offers to choose from, at luxury hotels like the Cheval Blanc at the Samaritaine, the Bristol, the Nolinski and the Peninsula Paris , affordable spas such as Ban Sabaï, La Sultane de Saba and The Vendôme Spa by Asian Lounge Spa, and offbeat options like Spa Dans le noir and the Lush spa.
Want to innovate and spend your day in a hotel? SoRoom offers a whole range of hotels open for the day, all over the capital. Standard double room or suite with jacuzzi or private spa... All you have to do is choose!
© Joe DeSousa
See Paris in a new light as you drift along the Seine during a sightseeing tour or a gourmet meal on the water, or while moored along the quay. You’ll see the loveliest monuments in the city decked out in different colours and beautifully illuminated.
Fine food and sophistication are the hallmarks of the dinner cruises organized by La Marina, Ducasse sur Seine and the Bateaux Parisiens, as well as Bateaux-Mouches and VIP Paris Yacht Hôtel.
For this special day, Ducasse sur Seine sets out a five-course dinner, for a 2hr cruise departing at 8.30pm. Also departing at 8:30pm, a Bateaux Parisiens 2hr30 cruise with a special option to be seated at the front of the boat.
The Bateaux-Mouches offers two sittings for a Valentine’s Day dinner, one at 6pm and the other at 9pm (embarkation 30 minutes beforehand).
Two dinner cruises are available from La Marina (6.45pm and 9.15pm). A special evening is also planned on the VIP Paris Yacht Hôtel with a live singer for musical entertainment during dinner, on 14 February.
The Vedettes du pont-Neuf also have a magical experience in store - a cocktail buffet during a romantic candelight cruise with champagne on offer. The Bateaux Mouches too have a champagne cruise, as do Vedettes de Paris - a cruise followed by dinner at Chez Francette.
© Alain Longeaud
Valentine’s Day is a good opportunity to play sport as a couple. Whether it’s a rollerblading or cycling tour, a hike, a run, a swimming lesson, dancing with a partner or a tennis match, there is plenty of choice in Paris if you want to work out with your sweetheart and spend some quality time together. The sportier ones among you can set off on the 5-km “Cupidon” loop, part of the Valentine’s Day run at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont.
Those eagerly awaiting the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games can meanwhile discover the programme of “Cultural Olympiad” events connecting culture and sport. A visit with your sweetheart to two exhibitions, Fashion and sport, from one podium to another, currently on at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, and Fashion on the move at the Palais Galliera, will provide a foretaste of the major sports event that awaits you this summer.
© agence photographique du musée Rodin, Pauline Hisbacq
On 14 February 2024, the Musée Rodin is organizing a LOVE evening event with Camille Claudel’s work ‘La Valse’ (The Waltz) as the inspiration. The programme includes a dance lesson to learn to waltz, a guided tour of the works in the collections and a workshop for two to try your hand at drawing and awaken your sense of touch with works hidden in tactile boxes.
So, if you fancy an arty romantic walk, stroll through the sculpture gardens of the Rodin museum then continue on to Jean-Michel Othoniel ‘Kiosque des Noctambules’, which frames the entrance to the Palais Royal metro station, just opposite the Comédie-Française. A few metres away, admire the famous installation Les Deux Plateaux, better known as the Colonnes de Buren in the Domaine national du Palais Royal.
The streets of Paris are an art gallery in themselves. There are the magnificent fountains created by major artists, such as the Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde in the Great Explorers’ garden, the Igor Stravinsky fountain opposite the Pompidou Centre featuring sculptures by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle, and the Warsaw Fountains at the Trocadéro Gardens opposite the Eiffel Tower. And you don’t have to go into the museums or art galleries to admire numerous masterpieces.
© Pierre Hermé
The finest restaurants go all out to enchant lovers by serving up an exquisite Valentine’s Day dinner. Why not go to that Michelin-starred restaurant you’ve been wanting to try? The chefs concoct mouth-watering tasting menus. For a more relaxed experience, opt for a signature cuisine restaurant such as Fleur de Sel or Septime, a traditional brasserie such as the Bistro Parisien or Madame Brasserie, your favourite neighbourhood restaurant or a fine cellar such as Dilettantes or the Caves du Louvre.
The LE Drugstore restaurant very near to the Arc de Triomphe is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a Sweet Kiss cocktail and a menu by the chef Eric Frechon.
As for desserts, pastry chefs and chocolate makers come up with luscious creations. There is plenty of choice to delight your taste buds – pastries by great chefs like Pierre Hermé, Philippe Conticini and Christophe Michalak, new desserts to try from talented young chefs likeJeffrey Cagnes and Yann Couvreur, and creations by palace hotel chefs such as Cédric Grolet and François Perret. At Ladurée, you can sample a collection of special Mon cœur macarons and a selection of romance-inspiring pastries, desserts and macarons. Lenôtre has created love messages, while the Maison du Chocolat has come up with heart-shaped “bouquets” of bite-size treats made of almond and hazelnut praline and crunchy rice flakes. There is a rose and red berry Saint-Honoré to try at the Maison Mulot, and a “Prali-Cœurs” box of chocolates at the Maison Fouquet.
Even in these challenging times, Paris offers some unique and unusual experiences.
The Kube Hotel, with its green lobby and suspended beds, certainly fits this bill. Another surprising hotel is the 1K with its Mexican ambience and pool suite. In the 14th arrondissement, the Hôtel Cabane offers a getaway in its cosy wooden cabin nestling in a corner of the courtyard.
Would a helicopter flight be your dream come true? Let Hélipass fly you over part of the city, giving you a bird’s eye view of the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées and Les Invalides, before swooping off in the direction of Versailles.
The love of your life will be bowled over by this amazing trip for two! If you’d like to see things from on high, you can enjoy magnificent views of the city from the Paris Generali hot air balloon, the Montparnasse Tower observation deck and the Eiffel Tower.
Paris can also by explored by bicycle with Paris à vélo – who rent tandem bikes – or by car. Go for a drive in a chauffeur-driven authentic 2CV, an iconic French car, through the most beautiful and romantic streets of the capital. Paris Authentic takes you on a two-hour tour from Montmartre to the Champs-Elysées in this legendary car. Throughout February, to mark Valentine’s Day, you get a free bottle of champagne when you book a ride – perfect for raising a toast at the foot of all the most beautiful monuments. 4 roues sous un parapluie also have a romantic offer for a ride with your sweetheart through the heart of Paris.
From Paris’s vineyards to its typical picturesque streets – discover the city from a novel angle with Retro Tour. With you and your other half on board the side-car, the driver will show you some of the most emblematic and romantic corners of Paris. A unique experience !
For something even more unusual, climb aboard one of the gastronomic bus Bus Toqué, from which you can see all the wonderful sights of Paris go by as you tuck into a delicious meal. Tootbus is offering a special Valentine's Day offer: visitors taking part in the Tootbus night tour are offered a glass of Saint-Amour wine on board, on 14 February.
Step out of your daily routine by signing up for a workshop that appeals to you to create something as a couple. The specialist firm Wecandoo has plenty of activities to try with your other half, like making jewellery or flower arranging. The cookery school Le Cordon Bleu holds cooking and pastry-making classes while Greets offers experiences in fields ranging from gastronomy and sport to the arts and culture. For a truly unique experience, Dans le Noir? offers olfactory and oenological workshops in the dark, with a collection of Valentine's Day gift cards.
© Chateau de Fontainebleau
Make the most of the opportunity to appreciate nature in some of Paris’s most beautiful parks and gardens.
The Bagatelle garden, created after a wager between Marie-Antoinette and her brother-in-law, is a haven of tranquillity and romanticism with its Chinese pagoda, pretty glades, majestic old trees, secrets grottoes, ornamental ponds and waterfalls. For a private guided tour on the theme of the French monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries (Marie-Antoinette, Versailles...) Paris To Versailles Private tours offers excursions departing from Paris in high quality transport.
The Luxembourg Gardens and Tuileries gardens, Monceau Park and Bercy Park are also home to some intriguing curiosities. Why not organize a private treasure hunt so that your other half can discover them?
If you’d like to explore a chateau then there are some marvels of French heritage to be discovered only a few kilometres from Paris – the gardens and fountains of the Château de Versailles, the magnificent estate and horse stables of the Château de Chantilly and the sprawling parkland of the Château de Fontainebleau. They have excellent restaurants where you can enjoy a romantic dinner and get a taste of the chateau lifestyle.
If you’d like to go further afield, Le Tour de Vigne organizes private day trips to the Champagne region with a walk through the vineyards, an excellent bistro lunch and a meeting with a grower.
© Michel Vespasien
Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to plan a special outing that will fill the two of you with wonder. Paris’s famous cabarets are a must-do. The Moulin Rouge has a 14 February programme of a gastronomic menu, champagne and a surprise for lovebirds. At the Paradis Latin, you can enjoy a colourful show titled ‘L’Oiseau Paradis’ while savouring a Prestige dinner in a beautiful theatre built by Gustave Eiffel. As for the Crazy Horse, it too is offering a special Crazy Saint Valentin evening show evening on 14 February. You are sure to have an unforgettable evening.
For 14 February, the Eiffel Tower is dimming its ambience with an enchantment of candles, a floral decoration and an exceptional Candlelight concert. A baritone accompanied by a pianist will perform famous opera arias. An unforgettable experience at a height of 57 metres.
The Aquarium de Paris also opens its doors for an evening surrounded by the waltzing of the fish, and a glass of champagne in hand. As a surprise, Claire the Mermaid will surprise you with her diving show. The tropical aquarium at the Palais de la Porte Dorée offers an exploration of underwater life on the evening of Valentine’s Day. This unusual immersive journey in softly lit surroundings provides fascinating insights into the way that fish and corals reproduce.
Concert venues and theatres also have an enticing Valentine’s Day programme – the magnificent Roi Lion (Lion King) at the Théâtre Mogador, jazz concerts and special evenings at the Sunset-Sunside at the Duc des Lombards, with its Chocolate kiss offer where a glass of champagne and delicious chocolates are offered to you for the occasion...
For example, after exploring the hidden residential areas in the 20th arrondissement, climb up to a viewpoint between the Chaumont and Bergeyre hills at dusk and watch the sun set over the city. Or, if you’re in the centre of Paris, enjoy the quaint charm of the covered passages – a stroll here is the perfect remedy when the metro is playing up again.
Don’t hesitate to take one of the tours organized by L’Échappée Belle or Cultival, with themes like ‘Paris love stories’ and ‘Romantic Paris’. With Les Potins de Paris, you will discover Paris’s naughty secrets and hear juicy gossip about the way people have lived their lives in Paris over the centuries. You can also book a private tour with guides such as ParisVisites for a more personalized experience.
© VIP Paris Yacht Hotel
In the heart of the 18th arrondissement, a former ‘pleasure house’ is now the very elegant five-star hotel La Maison Souquet. With its sensuous rococo decor, secret spa and intimate yesteryear ambience, it’s an ideal hideaway for lovers. The Molitor Paris by MGallery offers a choice between a relaxing romantic evening and a naughty evening to spice up your night. For an unusual romantic tryst, book a room by the hour or night at the Love Hôtel on Rue Saint-Denis. Each room has a different theme – the Arabian Nights, Japanese-inspired, a safari theme etc.
And to spend the night on the Seine, the VIP Paris Yacht Hôtel offers a set of suite cabins with private Jacuzzi and Sauna on board its ship.
The sensually-minded will enjoy browsing in the gallery Le Bonheur du Jour and the bookshop Les Larmes d’Éros, both specializing in erotic works, or watching a sensual and immersive show at Theatre Chochotte, an erotic theatre on Rue Saint-André des Arts.
