IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LANDROVER DEFENDER
A Rugby World Cup experience with a difference …
Few cities in the world capture the imagination quite like Paris. On three warm weekends in October, streets across Paris were filled with thousands of Irish rugby fans, delirious with joy, as the country celebrated victories over South Africa and Scotland, and witnessed a monumental battle with New Zealand in the Stade de France. While a place in the semi-final was not to be, the display of collective joy would ensure memories of the city would be held in Irish hearts for generations.
Defender does Paris in Style
Each time Paris erupted in these joyous moments, Irish guests of Defender, a worldwide partner of Rugby World Cup France 2023, also savoured these special rugby occasions – on the pitch, and off. On successive match days, before the action got underway in Saint Denis, Defender rolled out the red carpet at L’Hippodrome de Paris Longchamp, usually the home of horse-racing, which was transformed into smart Defender House for the day. The glass-fronted grandstand, designed by Dominique Perrault, delivered exceptional prematch hospitality and the ultimate rooftop viewing experience, immersed in the world of Defender. For curious visitors in search of a new experience – this was it!
A Rare Driving Experience
The itinerary was designed to show off Defender’s capability-with-superior-comfort credentials. Guests tested the mettle of four new models, including Defender’s impressive plug-in electric line-up, on an adventure course devised to highlight the Defender’s formidable off-road driving experience.
First designed 70 years ago, Defender’s rich heritage, reimagined in its contemporary design, technology and luxury, was reflected in the design aesthetic of the superbly appointed grandstand. Those watching the driving action from this vantage point were treated to exquisite gourmet breakfast and lunch, cocktails and champagne. Guests got a preview of the limited-edition Defender created to celebrate Defender’s Worldwide Partnership of Rugby World Cup France 2023 (only 23 are available and only in France), inspired by the specially designed Defender Trophy car.
Paris at our Own Speed
Rugby wonders aside, in Paris there are museums, shops and markets that visitors must always make time for. The Buly shops are beautiful. If you purchase a gift, they calligraphy the recipient’s initial on the box – so special. Stop by Alain Ducasse’s chocolate emporium next to Café de Flore – the chocolates come in the slimmest packages and are easy to pack and Benneton Graveur, a stationery store whose history dates back to the 1880s and is still owned by the same family. Make time for the Galerie Dior on the Avenue Montaigne: it’s like stepping into a house you wish you lived in. The café is beyond chic, order the croque-monsieur, which comes in nine tiny pieces each pierced with a pretty cocktail stick. Elegant. A few doors up, at No 28, the Dior Maison bookshop beckons. It’s worth buying something here – even a set of postcards merits pretty toile packaging, a precious gift in itself.
Luxury Time Out
As the guests of Defender discovered, a rugby weekend is demanding. So many changes of wardrobe. A luxuriously appointed hotel is a must. Defender’s guests were treated to the quietest bedrooms in Paris at the newly refurbished five-star Molitor, where the open-air swimming pool starred in Netflix’s Emily in Paris. In the book, Life of Pi, the protagonist and narrator Piscine Molitor Patel got his name from this very pool at the Molitor, in its previous incarnation as a public pool. Whether you stay here, or in one of the palatial grandes dames in the 1st arrondissement, or at one of the cult-favourite boutique properties springing up in further-flung neighbourhoods, whatever luxury experience it is you’re looking for, you’re sure to find it in the City of Lights. www.landrover.ie
