The hammam at la Mosquée de Paris
Wednesday, 17 December 2008

I wanted to visit a Turkish bath while in Istanbul, but ultimately ran out of time and wasn't up for it after my migraine.  After searching a little on the web I figured I could find something comparable in Paris, and sure enough -- the Mosque has a hammam open seven days a week.  It's just a few stops away on the metro and a short walk.  Léti, her sister, and I decided to give it a go, and I loved it.  For all you men and ladies who are curious and don't know what to expect at a public bath, here are some facts and observations.

• The hammam at the mosque separates the sexes by day.  It's open to women Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and to men on Tuesdays and Sundays.  You can see a list of hours on the mosque's site (French and English available).
• The mosque also has a restaurant and a tea room.  Before we went into the hammam we had some mint tea.  Though the case of sweets and pastries tempted me at the door, I didn't try any.  The tea room was beautiful, with hand painted tiles, gold table tops, and intricate designs on the ceiling.  It reminded me of a lot of things we saw in Istanbul.  Even if the hammam isn't your style, I recommend a cup of tea and a quick visit to the mosque, if only to see the decor and experience a little of the culture.
• There's a sign on the door of the hammam that says bath robes are required.  Women seen wearing, carrying, or touching bath robes while at the hammam: 0.  It's a good idea to bring your own towel, shampoo, sugar scrubs, or whatever other bathing goodies you think you might use.  The hammam has a lot of these things on hand, but they will cost you.  Towel: 4€.  The hammam supplies flip flops, but you can certainly bring your own.
• Entry in the hammam is 15€.  After that, you pay for what you want.  They have packages, or you can choose services individually.  The list of prices can be seen here.  The English page for prices doesn't work, but here are some rough translations.  Gommage = you lie on a table and a lady rubs you down with a scratchy glove after you've been in the steam rooms a while.  Savon noir = literally, "black soap," or a mud skin treatment.  Didn't try it, but it looked fun.  Épilation = wax/hair removal.  
• When you enter the hammam you pay for everything you want upfront.  The lady working the register will give you tickets, which you then hand to whomever performs the service.  The caisse is inside the main room of the hammam, which is where a lot of massages take place.  Probably the most awkward I felt while in the hammam was walking fully dressed with scarf, hat, coat, and gloves through the room of mostly-naked women to get to the locker room. 
  
• Each successive room in the hammam gets hotter and hotter.  They're all steam rooms with marble floors and elevated areas where you can lie on the hot stone.  There are squeegees and buckets everywhere for cleaning the stone if you're squeamish, but the buckets also make for good ways to cool off.  The final room is almost unbearably hot with steam visibly hanging in the air.  There's a very cold blue pool of water there, which makes for interesting temperature contrast.
• There are shower heads where you can lather up if you bring shampoo and all your shower goods.
  
• Léti's sister had a massage that she said was incredible.  We went at night when almost everyone was arriving after work, and there was a long wait for massages.  I suspect that in the mornings and afternoons that's not the case.
  
• Everyone in the hammam wears bottoms, whether it's underwear or a bikini bottom.  Most everyone was topless, save a few who were in bathing suits, but they were the odd ones out.  No one ogles, and it's not awkward or weird as most Americans might assume.

All in all, I enjoyed it and intend to go back.  Perhaps next time I'll grab something to eat and take a few photos of the tea room.  As for potential tourists, the hammam is a great relatively inexpensive way to relax after a long day of sight-seeing.

UPDATE:  Looks like I won't have time to get back to the mosque before heading State-side for the holidays, but I found some photos of the mosque, the tea room, and the hammam here.

11:51 PM          Tags: hammam, mosque, Paris, tourism           filed under: tourism