Paris Birthday Playbook – Why the French Capital Is the Most Festive City to Celebrate in Your 30s with Your Girls

For fifteen years, my birthday meant a plane ticket. Tokyo one year, New York the next, then Mauritius, always somewhere distant and dazzling. I loved the ritual of leaving—shedding the familiar for a new skyline, new rituals, new light.

But this year, something shifted. I wanted something deeper than an escape. I wanted beauty, intimacy, my favourite city’s familiar sparkle. So for the first time in over a decade, I stayed home—in Paris.

And as it turns out, Paris in your 30s is the most festive, sophisticated, emotionally rich place to mark another year of life. It’s where celebration becomes an art form. Where friendship feels cinematic. Where every indulgence is elevated by culture, history, nightlife, and an effortless sense of style. And it all began at the Shangri-La Paris.

STAY: SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, MY PARISIAN PALACE MOMENT

My two best friends arrived from Zurich and Prague—arms full of hugs and little gifts, eyes bright from the thrill of being reunited. Our home for the long weekend was the Prestige Suite at the Shangri-La, with a private terrace facing the Eiffel Tower. A view so iconic it almost feels surreal, even for someone who lives here.

Inside: a chandeliered salon, intricate mouldings, soft carpets, and the unmistakable Shangri-La blend of Asian serenity and French art de vivre. Few hotels manage such harmony. It’s refined without stiffness, grand without shouting—luxury with real soul.

The staff made it feel truly personal. A birthday cake was waiting in the suite along with customised gifts for each of us: candles, aroma diffusers, leather luggage tags embossed with our initials. The kind of thoughtful touch that makes you feel seen, not just hosted.

MORNINGS: TWO BREAKFASTS, ONE PERFECT CITY

On our first morning, instead of the expected croissants, we went downstairs for their traditional Chinese breakfast. Dim sum steamed to perfection, comforting congee, airy youtiao still warm from the kitchen—each bite felt like a tribute to technique, heritage, and the hotel’s deep Asian roots. It’s a rare experience in Paris, and a special one.

The next morning, we ordered breakfast in. Oatmeal porridge, eggs cooked exactly to our liking, French viennoiserie still warm, fresh berries, and the Eiffel Tower glowing in winter light. We ate wrapped in white bathrobes, the chandelier scattering soft reflections around the room. It felt decadent in the most Parisian way.

UNWIND: A WINTER RETREAT IN THE HEART OF PARIS

Cold weather in Paris has its advantages—namely, the hotel’s spa. We spent the afternoon drifting between the steam room and the pool, letting the warmth dissolve the grey outside. Time expanded, softened, and all the conversations we’d postponed for months finally surfaced.

DINE: A CHIC GIRLS’ NIGHT IN

For our first dinner, we stayed inside the hotel at La Bauhinia—refined without being intimidating, elegant without leaning into formality. The flavours were vibrant and balanced: citrus-bright seafood, delicate dim sum, and richly spiced beef infused with ginger, coriander, and just enough chili heat to linger. It was the kind of slow, comforting dinner that pairs perfectly with champagne and months of stories waiting to be told.

DRINK: APÉRO AT LES AMBASSADEURS, LE CRILLON

The next evening we dressed up—velvet, silk, winter perfume—and headed to Les Ambassadeurs at Hôtel de Crillon for apéro. One of Paris’s most glamorous rooms: soaring ceilings, soft gold, live music drifting between conversations.

Signature cocktails, tapas to share, candlelight flickering across marble. There’s something about beginning a festive night here that feels like stepping straight into a film. Paris at its most polished.

EAT: A Festive Dinner at Bœuf sur le Toit

For our second evening, we wanted a livelier scene—so we headed to Bœuf sur le Toit, a place where Paris lets its hair down. Think: Foie gras, beef tartare, sole meunière, classic escargots, and profiteroles drenched in warm chocolate—French classics that feel nostalgic yet celebratory.

Dinner comes with shows, dancing, and a crowd of true Parisians who know all the words to Aznavour, Dalida, and yes, Céline Dion (she counts as local here). Joyful, unpretentious, irresistibly charming.

SHOW: A NIGHT AT CRAZY HORSE

We ended the day at Crazy Horse, the iconic Parisian cabaret. It’s sensual, artistic, hypnotic—more choreography than spectacle, more poetry than show. Under the red lights, you feel the pulse of Paris: audacious, feminine, impossibly confident. There couldn’t have been a more Parisian way to close the celebration.

ART: FONDATION CARTIER

My birthdays always include an art moment, and this year it had to be Fondation Cartier, the newest cultural hotspot in Paris since its relocation to a striking space directly in front of the Louvre. For the art world, it’s the opening of the season.

Contemporary installations unfold inside a historic axis of the city—a dialogue between past and present, heritage and modern expression. It’s the kind of place where you feel both inspired and grounded, a reminder of why Paris remains the cultural heart of Europe.