First Siesta Bar opens in Paris

A French twist on a Japanese concept, a restorative pit stop is now available to tired tourists or stressed locals. The location at the Opera area, where there’s plenty of office buildings and huge shopping emporiums like Galeries Printemps or Lafayette, makes it a chosen spot for people in need of a little shut-eye or a merciful respite from the jostling throngs.

The power nap is said to improve alertness and is used to supplement normal sleep for the time deprived or the existentially fatigued. One of the proponents of this method was Salvador Dalí, the bombastic surrealist artist. He would sit in a chair with his arm on the armrest holding a metal spoon. As soon as he nodded off, his hand would relax and the clanking of the spoon as it fell on the floor woke him up. It seemed to work for him, as he claimed that he would feel refreshed and ready to work after his “spoon”.

Next time you find your ankles buckling under you after a marathon session of Christmas shopping at Lafayette, you could do worse than head to the charming Passage Choiseul and the Zen bar à sieste where you can choose to take your nap “nature” or combined with one of their expert treatments – manicure, pedicure (including the one where the tiny little fishes nibble on your skin), Shiatsu, reflexology and others.

Zen, Bar à Sieste
Open Monday to Saturday, noon to 8pm
29 Passage Choiseul, 2nd arrondissement, Paris
Tel +33 (0)1 71 60 81 55
www.barasieste.com

More things to see and do in Paris.