Timeless workshops to harvest saffron from the rooftops of Paris

Want to get some fresh air and enjoy an unusual activity in Paris? Until November 6, 2021, the Bien Elevées team is offering workshops to pick and trim saffron, on the rooftops of Paris! Who would imagine that this red gold grows better on the high points of the capital than in the native Auvergne of the four sisters who have been running this unique start-up, since 2018.

Unlike other crocuses, saffron grows in autumn, when the temperatures between day and night start to diverge too widely. It's difficult to know when the flowers will start to grow and open, so Bérengère and her sisters visit the rooftops every day to check on the saffron's progress. Seven safranières have been opened in Paris, including one on the roof of theOpéra Bastille! We were on Tuesday morning on the terrace above the Lycée Guillaume Tirel, overlooking the Tour Montparnasse, in the fog. As the morning progressed and the sun made its way through the clouds, the superb violet flowers opened up and revealed their red pistils, the holders of the famous saffron.

This spice, the most expensive in the world, yet the most highly dosed, reveals all its secrets during educational workshops and reveals its bewitching scent, so much so that bees fall asleep in the flower at night! Did you know that in the Middle Ages, saffron was far from rare? In France, it was used in dyes, food and skincare, but its cultivation gradually disappeared because it was impossible to mechanize.

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You can then delicately pick the flowers yourself, learn how to carefully trim the precious pistils from the saffron flowers, taste the products and leave with a dose of the delicious saffron, after an enchanting, timeless interlude.

There are still many places available for this week, the last of the 2021 harvest, until November 6 on the rooftops of Créteil and the Opéra Bastille. Outside the workshops, Bien Elevées saffron is sold to individuals and Parisian chefs alike, for its high quality and intensity, and the boutique offers eco-responsible and local products to discover around saffron and honey, also harvested on the urban saffron fields.