IN ST-DENIS: AN OASIS FOR WOMEN by thinking
Parisian women in the know make the trek out to the end of the Métro Line 13. They head to Hammam Pacha, an authentic women-only Maghrebi bathhouse.Hammam Pacha knows its worth. On a gray Sunday, a steady flow of Parisians and St.-Denis residents gladly handed over 29 euros (about $35 at $1.21 to the euro) for a day pass plus 13 euros for a body exfoliation, or gommage. Other services like épilation (waxing), massage, a "masque de beauty" or body wrap together can run around 120 euros. Visitors shuck their layers and stuff them in metal gym lockers (keys are provided), and slip on white freshly laundered cotton waffle robes, snap together disposable flip-flops, and join the tide of women as they shuffle to the wet rooms through the salle de repos ? the harem-style resting room where visitors can sip tea while lying on straw tatami mats cushioned with embroidered pillows from Arab lands while admiring the Middle Eastern tiled ceilings.
