Iconic Piscine Molitor: drinking it in from the rooftop

When it's hot in the city, you find a rooftop restaurant! Hence on a warm summer evening in Paris, I headed with friends to the rooftop restaurant at Piscine Molitor — one of the city’s most legendary pools. Right near the Bois de Boulogne, Molitor first opened in 1929 as an art deco aquatic palace, famous for its bold design and for being the place where the very first bikini was unveiled.(*)

From the rooftop, the views are twofold: the Paris skyline at sunset, awash in gold, and the vintage turquoise pool below, glowing like a cinematic set. For someone like me, with a passion for pools — especially this glamorous art deco style — it felt like being inside a dream.

Molitor has also found its way onto screens, appearing in Emily in Paris, where its art deco curves and sparkling water served as the backdrop to some of the show’s most glamorous scenes — proof that its allure translates just as well to film as it does in real life.

Dinner here is relaxed but chic: Mediterranean-inspired plates to share, cocktails that catch the last rays of sun, and a vibe that feels effortlessly Parisian. Between the laughter of friends, the shimmer of water below, and the city stretching out around us, Molitor’s rooftop offered one of those rare Paris moments where history, design, and summer joy meet.

And when your night crosses with anything to do with Emily in Paris - it deserves a little style note: I wore a buttery yellow dress by Whistles, paired with gold-strapped sandals from Sézane, and carried a Vanessa Bruno handbag — the perfect trio for an evening that felt golden in every way.

(*) The first modern bikini was unveiled at the Piscine Molitor swimming pool in Paris on July 5, 1946, by French engineer Louis Réard. His design, modeled by Micheline Bernardini, was a daring, revealing two-piece swimsuit that was named after the Bikini Atoll where atomic bomb tests were occurring

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