PARIS - The city of lovers.

Remember Bertolucci’s controversial movie, Last Tango in Paris (1972)? The door to the apartment that Jeanne - a young Parisian woman (Maria Schneider) stands in front and rings the bell because she saw a small apartment-for-rent sign, and where she begins wonderfully wild, fierce and anonymous sexual relationship with Paul (Marlon Brando) is located at 1 Rue de l’Alboni, Passy, in 16th arrondissment in Paris.

France has an unbeatable reputation when it comes to l’amour. French love has a free spirit. Sexual desires are to be unleashed and unlocked, not to be tamed and stifled. Only tourists make attempts to lock their love on Parisian bridges. The French always treated love, sex and eroticism very lightly, as a sort of game. “If something physical is happening, just enjoy it” and in France the “Things can happen very quickly”. Do not get mistaken. You do not need to be fluent in French. You only need to know two words “Oui” and “Encore”, and let’s leave the rest to the universal “language of love”.

Liberté, Egalité, infidélité - love french style.

We call Paris, the city of love and unarguably the love is in the air, not the purest and sweetest of its form though. When you look beneath its surface, it is kinky, smelly and full of grit. There are approximately 500 libertine (swinger) clubs in France, 60 out of which are located in Paris. Somewhere between the Louvre Museum and Place de l’Opera you can find “the subtle yet magic erotism” and enjoy the french glamour and elegance in its kinky version. It makes me wonder, perhaps there is much more behind the enigmatic Mona Lisa’s smile than we might all think … ?

Even though the time passed and the gilded walls of the Palace of Versailles cannot talk, we can still hear whispers of the scandalous, juicy rumours of Marie Antoinette’s joie de vivre (made history due to “Let them eat cake”). Sexual promiscuity is not new. The French culture has always celebrated seduction and broadly defined “pleasures” and even nowadays the French are very lenient towards (politician) affairs…There is nothing shocking about having an affair or two.

In France nearly 96% of high schools have condom vending machines. In fact, the condom vending machines are spread around France as densely as boulangeries (price: 2 EUR). Something got wrong and you need an emergency contraception? A morning after pill “la pilule du lendemain” does not require prescription and can be obtained directly in the pharmacy (price: 4-18 EUR). The taboo is rather “no sex”than “sex”.

IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH A FRENCHie?

The Frenchmen have reputation of being hot-blooded lovers. But it is the Frenchwomen (sophisticated and glamorous?) that became uninhibited in recent years. They maintain a strong independence in a relationship: “ We (French women) fulfil ourselves and then we find a man to come along and be part of our journey”.

Pss. Lingerie is an integral part of a successful relationship in France. In France women let their husbands come and see and choose it for them and then ... of course let them pay for it.

MOULIN ROUGE - THE TOPLESS FRATERNITY.

Even walking very late night (or rather especially walking late night) through the Pigalle area of Paris, it would not go unnoticed that you are in the city’s red light/ naughty district. Every possible square meter is filled with sex shops, porn shops, toys palaces, peep shows-banners. You can even spot a very realistic Eiffel Tower - shaped vibrator and suddenly for some reason you feel like shouting: “Viva la France!”

The glowing red windmill and the home of can-can - the Moulin Rouge - a French Cabaret that opened in Paris in 1889 is nowadays a major tourist attraction.

The show that is offered at the Moulin Rouge - Féerie (Fairly) is a musical/dance extravaganza featuring lavish 1000 costumes of feathers, sequins and rhinestones, a giant aquarium with pythons, pirates, jugglers, horses, princesses, just to name a few.

The theatre lights goes down, the curtain raises and suddenly you found yourself sitting at the candle-lit table sipping the bottle of Delamotte Brut and where for the approximately 1 h 40 min you can witness a spectacle that is filled with glitzy kitsch-and countless nudity (in a bad taste) lines (once in a while interrupted by spectacular performance (acrobatic choreography - roller-skating scene) and excruciating ear torture (by the cheesy pre-recorded music). If you decide to visit the Moulin Rouge, book a ticket: show + a bottle of Champagne (only extra 10 EUR). A bottle of Champagne really helps here…

Pss. At the Moulin Rouge, there’s a great honour to be a topless dancer. It is only the principal dancers who have “this privilege”.

Prices vary from approximately 102 EUR (only show) to 420 EUR (show + dinner VIP). You could watch the cheaper version of Moulin Rouge style show at Lido.

There are two shows each night at 9pm & 11pm. You can buy tickets online directly on Moulin Rouge website. Children are accepted at Moulin Rouge if they are older than 6 years old but do you really want to bring them in?

the most romantic spots in paris.

So is there any chance for a real romance in Paris? There is a lot of cliché associated with the french capital but you can still find a few spots where you can feel fluttery sensation in your stomach. Just dangle your legs off the bank of the river Seine (do not forget to take a bottle of champagne/wine with you). Stroll the cobbled, narrow streets of Montmarte, step in to a random sidewalk café/ restaurant and enjoy the taste of exquiste french cusine. Or simply stop for a moment in Tuileries gardens and then head to Bois de Vincenness (rent a boat) and have a perfect day. Paris has always allured thousands of people who flock here seeking a bit of la vie en rose so come and fall in love with Paris too.