Your cart
There are no more items in your cartWith a typical squeal of brakes, the train comes to a halt. Hordes of scurrying passengers make for the exit and the escalators. I stop for a moment to observe this station designed by the architect Marius Toudoire for the Exposition Universelle in 1900. It symbolises the architectural opulence and cultural richness of the Belle Époque.
Then my eyes are drawn to a well-known sign on the first floor - le Train Bleu. Coffee and delicacies come to mind and soon make me open the doors of this legendary place, renamed in 1963 in homage to the mythical luxury train from Paris to Ventimiglia, which served the Côte d'Azur. Seated at a central table, sipping my café crème, I admire the gilded rooms, the carved woodwork, grand chandeliers and the 41 great murals. It’s a really wonderful way to start my journey round France’s capital city.
I leave the station but not without admiring the majestic Clock Tower, inspired by London’s Big Ben. Its four dials tell me it’s 9.30. So I make my way to the Seine, crossing it on the Pont d’Austerlitz and heading for the Jardin des Plantes..
The weather is fair but cloudy in Paris, and I secretly hope that the morning clouds will disperse and allow the sun’s rays to warm this April day. After walking around the Jardin des Plantes, I return to the banks of the Seine and head for the Quai de la Tournelle. It’s an ideal observation point for admiring the barges, bateaux-mouches riverboats and river activity.
I’m already in the old part of Paris when I learn that the word Tournelle comes from la Tournelle, an ancient watchtower that was part of the wall built by King Philippe Auguste. This tower, rising close to the present-day bridge of La Tournelle, protected the entrance to the city and was destroyed in the 17th century. This quay is one of the iconic places where you find the famous bouquinistes (or booksellers) of Paris. Along the Seine, their characteristic green stalls open to reveal a treasure trove of antiquarian and second-hand books, prints, posters and magazines. Still shut at this time, I cross over and arrive at my first port of call: the Treca shop at the Quai de la Tournelle.
I meet Eva who, after a warm greeting, talks to me enthusiastically about her district, then about her profession, and the know-how the brand has perpetuated for almost 90 years. Eva enquires about my bedding needs and tells me about the pocket springs that form the mattress and provide optimal support during the night. She shows me two mattresses, each with a patented Treca suspension: the Impérial Air Spring and the Impérial Pullman.
I’m already feeling that one of these mattresses could be my companion for years to come, but my journey has only just started.
I allow myself a little detour round the Ile de la Cité and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris where, just for a few minutes, I admire the sculpted façades, the flying buttresses, gargoyles and rose windows. How wonderful it is to see it in all its glory again! I continue my walk and cross back over the Seine at the Pont Neuf, then dive into the Saint-Germain des Prés area.
Its narrow little paved streets encourage me to roam, and I pass art galleries in luxury outlets, and delicatessens in typical bistros. I’m amazed by the Deux-Magots and the Café de Flore – institutions that have hosted the most important intellectuals, writers and artists of the 20th century, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert.
After walking for over half an hour, I reach the famous Avenue de la Bourdonnais, situated in the district of Gros-Caillou, halfway between Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower gardens.
Here, the atmosphere is very different: it’s a chic residential district, with elegant buildings designed by Haussmann standing side-by-side with 1930s buildings, often very up-market ones, with spacious apartments and balconies. Number 103 is the Treca Bourdonnais Shop with its white façade and through its magnificent window l espy luxury colourful beds. I’m welcomed with a big smile by Khellaf, who offers me a cool bottle of water, which is much appreciated after my morning walk.
After asking me about my sleep habits and what kind of bedding I’m interested in, Khellaf describes the many Treca collections: Impérial, Couture, Paris, Impérial Prestige, Platinum. I discover that the mattresses in these collections are all made in France, either in the historic workshops at Reichshoffen, or at Mer, not far from the Chateau of Chambord. So you can find the mattress that works for you, or you can choose our ideal firmness for each mattress. Yes, I definitely like this brand more and more each time I visit.
I say goodbye to Khellaf and thank him for his time, before heading to the Champ de Mars to admire the iconic symbol of the Iron Lady made of wrought iron, who proudly rises up 312 metres before me. It’s already lunchtime, so I opt for the restaurant Francette, set on a barge, then I continue to admire The Eiffel Tower through the window.
After this excellent lunch on the Seine, I set off on foot across the Pont d’Iéna to the Trocadéro through its gardens. Climbing the hill at Chaillot I am now higher up, and I can admire The Eiffel Tower one last time. Then I take Avenue Paul Doumer and reach the very popular district of La Muette, renowned for its elegant lifestyle, residential ambiance and many green spaces.
The district is named after an ancient royal palace, "the Château de la Muette". Avenue Paul Doumer used to be called "avenue de la Muette" until 1932. It was renamed in memory of French President Paul Doumer, assassinated the same year. The district is famous for its beautiful Haussmann-designed buildings, its elegant mansions and numerous foreign embassies. At number 93, after the green façade of the Grande Épicerie de Paris, I discover the charming Treca Passy La Muette Shop.
I open the door and Ivan comes to meet me. Over a coffee, I tell him about my quest for the ideal mattress and the lure of the Treca brand. He shows me round the shop and the bedding, decorated with several pictures by the artist Alain Chevrette.
Ivan highlights the way the mattresses are made, with natural materials assembled by manual padding, securing several layers of material with a needle rather than using adhesive. Here I also discover original headboards, in a variety of fabrics.
I had already noted this detail in the previous shops I visited, and Ivan confirms it is one of the features of the Art of the Bedroom promoted by Treca. These days, interior decorators can use virtually any kind of fabric or leather on the bed bases and headboards to match the aesthetic quality of the bedding with the bedroom. He says that the bed becomes the stand-out piece and beyond the rest and comfort it provides each night, it attracts the gaze just like a work of art.
The Art of the Room. Now I understand this phrase much better.
My next port of call is just an hour’s walk away, in the 8th arrondissement.
I head north-east along the Rue de la Pompe – which owes its name to the pump that supplied water to the Château de La Muette – and reach Avenue Victor which I follow to the Place de l’Étoile. There’s so much hustle and bustle around the Arc de Triomphe with twelve avenues running off it, one of which is the famous Champs-Élysées. So I walk due east and reach Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the epitome of luxury, haute couture, diplomacy and history.
The word "faubourg" means "‘outside the town"’. In fact, the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré was originally a path that extended beyond the former Church of Saint-Honoré and the wall that encircled Paris (called the enclosure of the Fossés Jaunes). What’s not to like here: from the imposing 18th century Élysée Palace as far as Parisian mansions like the Bristol, this is the posh part of Paris I am discovering: buildings with elegant façades, often with magnificent internal gardens and fine interior decoration, combining classical luxury with contemporary touches.
Faubourg Saint-Honoré is one of the best luxury shopping streets in the world. The windows of the great fashion houses (Chanel, Hermès, Lanvin, etc.), jewellery and accessories are veritable works of art, reflecting the French aesthetic appeal of luxury. Number 182 proudly showcases the window of the Treca Faubourg Saint-Honoré Shop.
« “The Saint-Honoré district is my favourite. It’s full of history. Here you’ll find Robespierre’s house, the old barber’s shop that served Napoleon and many others”. »
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
French couturier and designer
Alexis, the shop manager, welcomes me at the door to this luxury shop on two floors. My eyes open wide when I notice the bed with several mattresses that looms behind the window. It’s called Auguste, illustrious like the first Roman emperor. Alexis explains that it’s part of Treca’s prestige range. The shop also has Airelles mattresses, which guests at Le Grand Contrôle at the Château of Versailles can sleep on, or the Balzac, named after the grand hotel not far from here.
Apart from these exclusive products, I discover the other signature collections, in particular, the Paris collection. Alexis tells me that the mattress has a winter side and a summer side, each side of the mattress using specific natural materials (linen on one side, camel wool on the other) to suit different seasons. Blown away by so much beauty and luxury, I leave the shop on Cloud 9.
A few steps away, around 5pm, a traditional pâtisserie catches my eye: although I love the famous and local Saint-Honoré, I prefer the no less famous Paris-Brest, in homage to the cycle race.
Further on, driven by my passion for Ancient Egypt, I turn right towards Place de la Concorde and admire the Luxor Obelisk, a block of pink granite 23 metres tall covered in hieroglyphs. Then I go down Boulevard des Capucines to the Palais Garnier Opera, whose eclectic style is a perfect example of Second Empire architecture.
A few minutes later, I finally reach Place des Victoires, with the equestrian statue of Louis XIV in the centre, a symbol of the power and influence of the Sun King. This magnificent circular space in the 2nd arrondissement is surrounded by identical buildings with elegant façades, designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. The entire district is one of the top fashion and luxury locations in Paris. For example, the Rue du Mail hosts many high-end soft furnishing houses.
It is here, in this sophisticated environment, that the Treca Place des Victoires Shop can be found.
More intimate, this setting is a no less worthy representative of the family of five Treca shops in Paris and it completes my journey. Marie, the shop’s adviser, shows me the mattress that has increasingly captivated me on my travels: the Paris-Vienna-Venice, a name that evokes the route of the legendary Orient Express. It’s a high point for a traveller like myself.
Marie tells me I can also choose the fabric to cover the bed base and headboard. As well as items on display in the shops, there are dozens of packs supplied by numerous local makers which I can use to decide what I want. I finally opt for a magnificent green fabric by Pierre Frey to cover my future bedding.
In Paris, each Treca shop has its own identity. Each one blends perfectly with its location and offers customers a total immersion in the brand’s craftsmanship.
On the Quai de la Tournelle I went in search of a Treasure, I was blown away at Bourdonnais by the incredible Refinement, experiencing at La Muette, faced with such beauty, an indescribable Emotion, then continuing along this route of luxury bedding to find at Faubourg Saint Honoré the ultimate Comfort, and finally discovering at Place des Victoires a myriad fabrics, the very soul of French Artistry.
T
for
Treasure
R
for
Refinement
E
for
Emotion
C
for
Comfort
A
for
Artistry
Treasure, Refinement, Emotion, Comfort, Artistry - these are the words that define Treca. A journey to the edge of dreams and reality, immersion in the purest luxury where each moment is simply delight and wonder, ending in a night of total satisfaction and serenity in an exceptional Parisian château-hotel, naturally rendered sublime by the comfort of a Treca mattress.
Text: Julien Gavenc
Images: Studios Érick Saillet, Treca, Freepik, Pixabay
Videos: Vincent Vareilles
The brands mentioned in this article belong to their respective owners.
Categories :
Treca Summer Sales
From June 16, 2025 to July 19, 2025, visit our London Treca Stores in Chelsea and Marylebone, where you can try out our iconic models on exhibition, offered at incredible prices.
Discover our offers