Perfume-making workshop at Le Secret du Marais

You smell, choose and blend until you find a scent that nobody else wears. Le Secret du Marais's perfume-making workshop begins with a talk on the history of perfume, its raw materials and how a fragrance is structured; then you move to the essences table and, guided by the shop team, compose your own. The bottle goes home with you, and so does the formula, which you should keep.

Two hours in a signature perfumery

The workshop costs €118 per person and the perfume you create is included. The Spanish listing says two hours; the English one stretches the session to two and a half, so do not rush off. It is a session for one to four people, which makes it good for a couple or friends. There is no public calendar: you buy your place on the website and receive an email with the upcoming dates, always Monday to Friday, to choose from. The place is valid for three months from purchase. To cancel you must give 48 hours' notice by email; otherwise it is lost.

On Calle de Hortaleza, between Chueca and Alonso Martínez

The shop is at Calle de Hortaleza, 75, on the stretch that climbs towards Alonso Martínez. The nearest station is Alonso Martínez, on lines 4, 5 and 10, about five minutes away; Chueca, on line 5, is a similar distance. If one day you want to repeat the perfume, the shop refills it in 30 ml bottles on presentation of your formula: they do not keep it on file.