Fragrant Adventures in Paris, the Land of Love

Paris is known for her visually stunning parks. Parc Floral occupies over 31 hectares of fragrant green lands, just east of Paris; the perfect spot to take a stroll with your honey. This park was created within the Bois de Vincennes during 1969 to host a flower show, but was too precious to tear down after the event. Today the annual dahlia contest is hosted there. The park has the unique feature of allowing people to sit or meander within the floral gardens, rather than merely circumnavigating a pathway from the exterior like most public gardens.

Couples are welcome to bring a picnic basket to the Pinede (pine

forest) and spend the entire day in romantic splendour, sniffing the flowers or studying the modern sculptures. These two fragrances are perfect to wear to your picnic, neither overpowering, but both giving a subtle but tantalizing whiff of scent. Is it the garden, or is it you? Keep him guessing! Phaedon Paris: Rue des Lilas is a delicate lilac fragrance with minty and spicy/woodsy notes that aren't too overpowering for strolling in the park. Montale Paris: Crystal Flowers is the perfect choice for a fresh spring morning walk through the woods with its sour citrus notes intermingling with Lily of the Valley, roses and musk tones.

No trip to Paris would be complete without a shopping trip to the Avenues des Champs-Élyssés! The guys may want to stay at home, but perhaps they will find enough to entertain themselves while you shop.

A shopping trip to the fine boutique shops calls for something a bit more exotic. There's Nicolai: Eau d'Ete. A scent that smells like a fruity bubbly soda drink in the summer time! Notes of jasmine, lime, grapefruit, blood orange and cinnamon will make you smell so divine that the holder of your heart won't deny you "one last purchase". If this fragrance isn't enough to get your heart's desire, try a few dabs of Nicolai: Maharanih. This spicy delectable fragrance will make you hungry for more with complex notes of orange groves, dark chocolate, herbs, spices, and much more. Now you are ready to stroll down the fashionably famous street, delighting in the window displays, browsing shops for that perfect gift, and visiting monuments such as Arc de Triomphe, the Obelisk of Luxor, and Place de la Concorde. When people think Paris, they think fashion, fragrance, and sparkling crystal decanters. People of all ages and walks of life will find something to love in Paris.

At the end of the day you want to take a break from the tourist activities. Buy tickets for two and take in a fine performance at the opera house. The Palais Garnier took several years to build to house the Paris Opera, from 1861 to 1875. If your partner isn't fond of opera, no worries, the Opera has moved to another building, the Place de la Bastille and Palais Garnier is home to the local ballet group.

It's time to glamourize yourself, wear your fine suit, coif up the hair, polish the shoes, don your jewels and add a fine fragrance such as Montale: Aoud Queen Roses. A fine rose scent fit for a queen, with hibiscus, oud (agarwood), and leather. Very special fragrances are called for during this special occasion. Robert Piguet: Mademoiselle Piguet with its tangy top notes enveloped in spicy cinnamon and tonka bean, with a light base note of eucalyptus is a great second choice.

You may wish to return for a tour of the backstage of the theatre at another date. The Palais Garnier was the famous setting for Gaston Leroux's novel, the Phantom of the Opera, a classic in our time, as well as many successful adaptations of this romantic fairy tale.

By Mel Dawn February 2013