by Joanne Blain
Nuit blanche provides a guide to shops, restaurants and nightlife.
The last time I saw Paris was on Karen Henrich’s toenails.
On a recent visit to Vancouver, she was sporting tiny little Eiffel Towers on each big toe — one facing outward for the world to see, one facing inward to remind her of her new home.
Henrich, a former Vancouver public relations specialist who pulled up stakes and moved to Paris this spring, has taken to the city like brie to a baguette.
She has started her own business there called Nuit Blanche Tours, aimed primarily at female travellers who want an insider’s guide to the city’s shops, restaurants and nightlife.
“Nuit blanche” translates literally as “white night,” but the French use it to describe an evening of revelry that’s so much fun it stretches all the way to dawn. Henrich experienced more than one with friends on her first trip to Paris, but she realized that many women travelling alone or with female friends may be too intimidated to take a bite of the city’s nightlife.
“They want to go out for dinner and go out to clubs, but they don’t have any idea where to go,” she says. “And it’s more fun with more people.”
That’s when Henrich decided to start a business offering “tours for girls who want to have fun,” as her website describes them.
The week-long tours can be customized to fit a specific group. But the emphasis is on what most women want to do when they visit Paris — eat great food, drink fine wine and shop until they drop, with some sightseeing in between.
As soon as Bob Perry of Carlson Wagonlit Travel heard Henrich’s pitch, he saw its appeal for female travellers.
“We get it all the time — people who want to get away and do something fun and safe with their girlfriends,” says Perry, regional branch manager for the agency. “And that’s exactly what she’s offering — it’s perfect.”
He has booked several clients on Henrich’s inaugural tour, which starts Oct. 8, and he’s eager to get their feedback. He thinks the tours will appeal primarily to professional female travellers in their 30s and 40s, which he describes as “a huge and growing market.”
Since she fits right into that demographic, Henrich is pretty sure she knows what those women are looking for. So she’s kept the daily itineraries loose to allow individuals or small groups to break off and pursue their own interests or just follow their noses.
She has also spent several months ferreting out the kinds of places travellers won’t find in most guidebooks — the intriguing little shops tucked away on side streets, the restaurants with just a handful of tables that only the locals know about.
For shoe hounds, Henrich might guide them to the Rue des Chausseurs in the Republique area, a street lined with shoe stores where she has found great pairs in the 10 to 30 euro range ($14 to $42 Cdn). She could lead night owls down a narrow stairway into one of the city’s cellar bars, which feature everything from live music to poetry readings and often stay open until 5 or 6 a.m.
The week-long trips include shared hotel accommodation, museum and metro passes, a day trip to Versailles and some meals. But for people who want to make their own travel plans and spend most of their time in Paris on their own, Henrich will also conduct personalized day or evening tours — an afternoon of shopping, for example, or a night out on the town.
She hopes to send her visitors home with wonderful memories, as well as “a great jacket for 10 euros or shoes that no one else has for five euros — that’s what people want. And that’s impossible to find on your own.”
For more information on Nuit Blanche tours, visit the website, www.nuitblanchetours.com. To book a tour, you can also contact the Royal Centre or West Vancouver branches of Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Source: Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Page: C1 / FRONT
Section: Arts & Life
Byline: Joanne Blain
Special Note: Joanne Blain’s article on Nuit Blanche Tours was very popular and was picked up across Canada by other major newspapers:
- October 15, 2005: Calgary Herald, Saturday Travel Section
Article Title: Ladies Night in Paris - October 15, 2005: Ottawa Citizen
Article Title: For Women Only: Canadian Starts Insider Tours of City of Light and Shopping - October 15, 2005: Winnipeg Free Press
Article Title: Travel Tours Target Girls Looking for Fun: Biz Offers Insider’s Guide to Paris Shops, Restaurants & Nightlife - October 15, 2005: Canada.com
Article Title: Girls Can Find Fun in Paris - October 15, 2005: Victoria Times Colonist, Front Page, Travel Section
- October 15, 2005: Hamilton Spectator, Travel Section
- October 22, 2005: Edmonton Journal, Travel Section, Weekend Vacation Issue
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