That evening, as we walked past the glow of the famous red lights, I couldn’t have been happier.
For there, shimmering before me, was the entrance to Maison Souquet, a place I had dreamed of visiting for so long. To step inside was to cross a threshold between past and present, between fantasy and reality, where every corner promised beauty, indulgence and history.
It was the perfect stage for my own unforgettable Parisian affair.
Maison Souquet is one of Paris’s best-kept secrets. Once a famed Maison Close — a discreet house of tolerance, or brothel if you will, it was a sanctuary where desire and decadence flourished in the 19th century. Today, reborn by the celebrated French designer Jacques Garcia, it is a perfect romantic place for lovers who want to escape.
Garcia created blood-red interiors spun from the finest silk, gold gilt, Venetian glass, and sculpted wood. Antique Arabesque panels encrusted with precious enamels, polychrome wood, and hand-tooled leather adorn the lavish Salon de 1001 Nuits, where once socialites drank and courtesans seduced.
From there, guests wander into the dimly lit Salon des Petits Bonheurs or the floral Jardin d’Hiver — each space draped in velvet and designed to feel intimate and cosy. Flickering candles of rose, tobacco, and jasmine, crafted by an artisan candle-maker in Lyon, intoxicate the senses, while each of the twenty individually designed rooms is as seductive as the celebrated belle époque courtesans they are named after.
Rich exotic palettes – neoclassical gold and black, operatic turquoise and red, rich navy, sage green – enhance a mesmerising feast of sumptuous silk-lined walls, voluptuous padded bedheads, fringed lampshades and sculpted brass light fittings. Big bold stripes mix with vintage pipe-player motifs or floral prints perhaps, while velvet Napoleon III poufs and cushion-strewn chaises longues encourage in-room lounging belle époque-style. I can go on forever…
We stayed in the most luxurious Chambre Castiglione, devoted to the legendary courtesan Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione. A woman of scandal and unrivalled beauty, she captivated emperors and entranced Paris with her wit, allure, and unapologetic power. Castiglione lived as art — and in this room, surrounded by silk-lined walls, gilded mirrors, and voluptuous textures, I felt her spirit echo through me.
There was a mirror between us, she and I. She, a courtesan of the past, adored and desired in the belle époque and I, a courtesan of the present, admiring her and inspired by her splendour. Though centuries apart, we share the same values: a devotion to beauty, elegance, sensuality and the intoxicating power of intimacy.
It was a surprise weekend date, created by a favourite gentleman who brought this dream to life. As we walked through Montmartre, the red lights glowing against the Parisian night, I couldn’t have been happier. What began as an evening of wonder soon unfolded into nights of passion and delight within the opulent embrace of Maison Souquet. The sultry details I will keep to myself, if you don’t mind what happened there will stay between us. I can only say that romance was in the air and it was truly a date to remember!
My weekend in Maison Souquet was a decadent escape into la belle époque, where history, desire and fantasy entwined with my own story.
This Parisian weekend will forever remain in my heart a memory of beauty and the irresistible power of romance.
Thank you for making my dreams come true. But I know one thing I long to go back there again…
