Category Archives: Paris

Food, Paris, Restaurants, Wednesday's Blogger Round-up

Wednesday’s Blogger Round-up: New places to shop in Paris – Reserving a restaurant in Paris – Chocolate Tasting

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This Wednesday, we’re staying in Paris. Australian blogger Jo Karnaghan from Frugal First Class Travel, whom I had the great pleasure of meeting up with during a recent trip to Paris, shares her latest find – three new shopping streets in Paris; well-known foodie Wendy Lyn from The Paris Kitchen, which I have just discovered, gives us ten excellent tips for reserving a restaurant in Paris, while published author Tom Reeves from Paris Insights takes us on a chocolate tasting. Enjoy!

THREE GREAT NEW SHOPPING STREETS IN PARIS

by Jo Karnaghan from Frugal First Class Travel, an Australian who loves to travel – especially in Europe – and who has gradually learned how to have a First Class trip on an economy budget, without missing out on anything!

shopping_streetsWhen visiting Paris recently, I was keen to get out and discover some new places and experiences – all about making familiar Paris seem brand new.  Part of that was exploring some new and different shopping experiences.  I found three great shopping streets I’d never visited before that I’d love to share with you.  Whether you are a serious shopper or just love a bit oflecher la vitrine (window shopping), I hope you find my finds as interesting as I did. Read more

Top 10 Restaurant Reservation Tips for Paris

by American “insider” Wendy Lyn from The Paris Kitchen™ , one of the ten top food guides in the world, who gives savvy, globe-trotting foodies local introductions and an off-the-beaten-path experience of Paris’ food scene.

Calling for restaurant reservations can feel intimidating with the language barrier and time difference, but it doesn’t have to be.

While it is do-able to walk into a cute little corner bistro without reservations, if you are headed this way on a mission to eat through your list of Paris’ top spots, reservations are essential – even for a casual dining.

Thank you to all the Facebook fans, restaurant staff & clients who helped me create this top 10 list for making reservations in France.

#1 Supply & Demans

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “Why is it so hard to get a reservation? I don’t want anything fussy or expensive.” Read more

An Evening of Chocolate Tasting with Les Amants du Chocolat de la Couronne Parisienne

by Tom Reeves from Paris Insights, whose love of French language and culture inspired him to create Discover Paris!, a travel planning service that caters to Americans interested in cultural travel to Paris and to write Paris Insights – An Anthology

La-Petite-Fabrique-450wOne of the advantages of blogging about chocolate tastings is that one meets people who invite you to…more chocolate tastings!

It was at the hot chocolate demonstration at Mococha where I met Sabine Malet, secretary of the chocolate appreciation club Les Amants du Chocolat de la Couronne Parisienne. Sabine told me about her club’s tasting that would feature the chocolate of Laurence Dali, who operates O Mille et une Fèves in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Naturally, I wanted to be part of that. Read more

Lifestyle, Paris

A Vide-grenier from the inside

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It’s not the first time Black Cat and I have participated in a vide-grenier. Living in an appartment with no cellar meant we needed to regularly get rid of toys and clothes and the local town hall had a free garage sale for kids once a year. After that, we shared stalls with friends until Black Cat was old enough to branch out on her own.

Our stand
Our stand

With our move to Blois scheduled for 30 September 2014 and Black Cat actively looking for work in New York, we have taken a stall at the yearly vide-grenier in nearby Rue Colonel Driant. We’re up early and at 8.15 am we’re handing in our documents (ID and electricity bill to prove we are locals) and paying 15 euro in exchange for 2 metres of pavement space. I go and get the car which Jean Michel has filled up the day before and park it temporarily in front of stand n°65 while we unload.

Place Karcher
Place Karcher

We set up a trestle table and Black Cat starts putting the clothes rack together. As we unpack, the early scavengers arrive, mainly looking for jewellery. By the time we have everything out of the cartons, it’s 9 am and we’ve already made a couple of sales. We also make the acquaintance of our neighbours.

Checking out the neighbours' stall
Checking out the neighbours’ stall

On the left is a Ukranian girl and her French friend. It’s their first vide-grenier but, apart from the fact that their two clothes racks topple over at regular intervals, they seem to have their act together. They have a mirror which we don’t have but they lend it to us whenever we need one. They seem to be having a whale of a time. Everytime I look over they seem to be dressed differently!

Tidying up the stall
Tidying up the stall

The lady on the left is a regular. She has a small stock of women’s clothes that she has brought in a suitcase, including a rack that regularly falls over with the wind as well. She also has two plastic sheets that she spreads on the ground to display anoraks and jackets. She explains later in the day that she buys summer dresses cheaply on cheaper markets and sells them on the more expensive ones.

Clever use of grating to hang up clothes and shoes
Clever use of grating to hang up clothes and shoes

I’ve brought along two folding chairs because I know I can’t stand up all day. We can’t possibly display everything we have on the clothes rack and table so we work out a new arrangement. We put the table on one side and the rack on the other so that people can enter the stand and also look through our cartons which we’ve divided into tops, skirts, dresses and pants.

The vide-grenier went right down Colonel Driant
The vide-grenier went right down Colonel Driant

Business is steady. Black Cat’s fairly large collection of DVDs, a handful of CDs and my books are the most popular initially. At 2 euro for a DVD and 1 euro for a book, you’d think it was a bargain but there are still people who want to bring the price down. We’re selling the clothes at 2 euro for a top or skirt, 3 euro for a dress and 5 to 10 euro for jackets and coats.

A little visit from the mounted police
A little visit from the mounted police

Late morning, I go back home and make a large thermos of tea which I bring back and share with our neighbours who are delighted. “Oh, but I don’t have anything to offer you”, says the Ukrainian. “That’s OK. We’re using your mirror.” But when I bring the second thermos around 4 pm, she has acquired some biscuits to share.

Our young neighbours
Our young neighbours

During the day, at least three English speakers, hearing me chatting with Black Cat, come up and ask for directions!

Most of the people are friendly which is not true of all street markets. I tell someone that Black Cat has made some of the clothes herself. Those items are snapped up as unique pieces. One young woman makes us laugh as she wiggles into a skirt then removes her own from underneath so she can check if it fits properly.

The fight
The fight

There’s a big fight at the stall opposite at one stage when a woman claims that she hasn’t had her money’s worth. It looks as though they might come to blows but she finally walks away.

Some interesting shoes at n° 65
Some interesting shoes at n° 65

At about 6 pm, business picks up and we bring the prices down even further. I tell my neighbours they can take what they want because they are all doing another vide-grenier next day. Then it starts to spit and we all have to start packing up before everything gets wet.

The leftover shoe next morning
The leftover shoe next morning

Jean Michel turns up with the car and we bundle it all in. I take everything to La Ressourcerie at 62 rue Oberkampf because there’s no way we can store any of it. Black Cat is very pleased with her takings and I have had a most enjoyable day with my daughter!

Cooking, Food, French language, Paris, Sightseeing, Wednesday's Blogger Round-up

Wednesday’s Blogger Round-up: Butte aux Cailles – Texting in French – Céléri Rémoulade

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This week, Filly di Somma, writing for Guide2Paris, takes us off the beaten track to the Butte aux Cailles in Paris, while Katerina Forrester, in a post for My French Life gives us tips on text messaging in French. Meanwhile, Susan from Days on the Claise tells us about a little-known vegetable – celeriac – and how to prepare it. Enjoy!

Butte aux Cailles – A True Paris Ambiance

by Filly di Somma, a fanatical Paris fan, in one of her regular posts for Guide2Paris, which aims to be the complete source of information in English about the Ile-de-France region of France which includes the city of Paris.  Designed specifically for English speakers visiting Paris or the region of Ile-de-France, contemplating buying property in Paris or those already living in Paris.

020913171859--Butte aux Cailles - PTO - David LefrancDuring my last trip to Paris I had the opportunity to visit a lovely ‘quartier’ which I hadn’t previously discovered on my trips to the city. “The Butte aux Cailles” district is almost like a separate village in the centre of Paris in the 13th arrondissement. Whilst being driven there by a lovely Parisian, I discovered and adored the narrow cobblestone streets featuring original restaurants, cafes and boutiques full of people eating and drinking outside. I loved its art deco architecture and its traditional Paris atmosphere.
Read more

Unlocking French language: text a’grieve’iations

by Katerina Forrester, born in Australia but always longing to be French at heart, currently living the Arts student life in Melbourne, where she is studying to become a Linguist. writing for My French Life, a global community of French and francophiles connecting like-minded people in English & French

Texting_in_trafficLOL is the furthest I will go when writing with text abbreviations. Nothing more, nothing less. When writing texts in English, I write in full, and I write with proper syntactic features. I don’t want to be seen as an over-texting teenager! I want my friends to receive properly articulated sentences with substance. Nevertheless, this is not the case when I text to friends in French. Read more

Céleri Rémoulade

by Susan from Days on the Claise, an Australian living in the south of the Loire Valley, writing about restoring an old house and the area and its history and running Loire Valley Time Travel.

celeri_remouladeThe general appearance of celeriac doesn’t inspire much confidence in it being tasty, and even less so if you consider eating it raw. Nevertheless, the most popular dish using celeriac (céleri-rave in French) does indeed use raw, grated celeriac.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is diet food though. This is a dish to which cream is added in order to make it lighter (!!) and easier to digest (!!!) It is tremendously popular in France, but I don’t think many people bother to make it themselves. Most people buy it from their trusted local charcutière traiteur (delicatessen). If you do make it at home, it’s not just a matter of grating some celeriac and coating it with mayonnaise. There’s a trick to getting the deli style céleri rémoulade. Read more

Architecture, Paris

Saint Eustache and the Fish of Remorse

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You’ve probably never even heard of Saint Eustache, although you may have seen it if you’ve been to the famous market street of Montorgueil behind the old central markets or halles which are under renovation at the moment and not exactly a tourist attraction.

Saint-Eustache
Saint-Eustache

The church is very ornate, in the gothic style of Notre Dame. Like many cathedrals, it took over a hundred years to build – from 1532 to 1640 – and is located on the site of a chapel dedicated to Saint Agnès. The plan is gothic but the decoration is renaissance. Over 33 metres high, 100 metres long and 43 metres wide, it is very imposing despite its missing tower.

So how do we tell the difference between gothic and renaissance? Gothic architecture originated in France in the 12th century and its most famous example is Notre Dame. Its characteristic features are the flying buttress, the ribbed vault and the pointed arch.

Side of Saint Eustache in Rue du Jour
Side of Saint Eustache in Rue du Jour

It was the flying buttress that enabled architects to build increasingly higher churches because the buttress takes the extra weight off the load-bearing walls. Churches in the previous period – Romanesque or roman in French were much smaller and had no buttresses. They are more prevalent in the south of France.

The Romanesque church of Saint-Austrégésile at Mouchan in the south-west of France
The Romanesque church of Saint-Austrégésile at Mouchan in the south-west of France

Along with the ribbed vault, the flying buttress meant that more windows could be added high up in the building. When ribbed vaulting is used, the arching and intersecting stone ribs support a vaulted ceiling surface made of thin stone panels, which greatly reduces the weight of the ceiling vault.

The pointed or ogival arch may be of Islamic origin or have evolved naturally in Western Europe as a structural solution to a purely technical problem but whatever the case, it ‘s a distinguishing feature of Gothic architecture.

The Louvre
The Louvre

Renaissance is the next period after that, between the early 15th and early 17th centuries. It originated in Italy but soon spread across Europe. It puts emphasis on symmetry, proportion and geometry and features orderly arrangements of columns, pilaster and lintels, with semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches and edicules. The Louvre is a prime example of Renaissance architecture.

The buttresses on Saint Eustache are not as obvious as those of Notre Dame, for example, and the western façade, with its classical lines, is perfectly symmetrical except for the missing tower.

Notre Dame
Notre Dame

If you go around the back of Saint Eustache, you’ll see a small plaque dated 1213 with a fish trying to bite its tail, a reminder that a man once made his fortune from the local fish markets. On Sundays, our fishmonger’s stall is coincidentally just in front of it!

Jean Allais, a Parisian bourgeois, helped to finance Philippe Auguste’s crusades and in return, he asked to be allowed to levy a tax of one denier for each basket of fish sold in the covered market (or Halle whence the current name of the area).

The fish plaque
The fish plaque

He made a fortune and felt such remorse ( !!!) that he built a chapel for the fishmongers dedicated to Saint Agnès. It was added to over the centuries, partly demolished, and rechristened Saint Eustache. It was finally razed to the ground in the 16th century and the present church built and never completed.

A crypt in the basement of the church still bears the name of Saint Agnès. Remains of the original chapel can still be seen. Access is via a small door, but only during temporary exhibitions and concerts.

Which is your favourite Gothic church?

Paris, Travelling, Wednesday's Blogger Round-up

Romania’s Outrageous Palace of the Parliament – Paris Fashion Week SS 14 – Charles de Gaulle airport to city centre

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Wednesday’s Bloggers Round-up time again. After visiting Budapest and Sofia and reading Andrea’s post on Bucharest in Rear View Mirror, I’m ready to add Romania to my travel destinations. As you know, I’m not a fashionista, but fortunately, other bloggers are covering Paris Fashion Week. I’m referring you to Sylvia’s first post on the subject in Finding Noon but don’t stop there – check out her other more recent posts. And so that you won’t stop using the train to go from Charles de Gaulle airport to the city centre just because we nearly had a backpack stolen, here’s a comparison of travelling methods by Jill from Gigi’s French Window. Enjoy!

Romania’s Outrageous Palace of the Parliament

by Andrea from Rear View Mirror (formerly Destination Europe), a fellow Australian who, after 6 years of living in France, has given up herParis apartment to live a nomadic life slowing travelling around Europe, experiencing each destination like a local.

bucharest-parliament-3Upon setting eyes on Bucharest’s Palace of the Parliament, I was slightly underwhelmed. Yes, it’s a massive building but it didn’t strike me as being particularly remarkable or memorable. It didn’t have that grandiose feeling I had experience when seeing photos in the past. But when entering the first of countless marble filled halls I realised just how extravagant this 370,000 sq.m. building really is. Read more

Paris Fashion Week SS 14

by Sylvia from Finding Noon, an American living in Paris who appreciates fine art, good music, succulent food, and breath taking scenery

fashion_weekSS 14 is fashion speak for Spring/Summer 2014, and this being fall 2013, its that time of year again… Fashion Week. I’ve got Le Gastro, which is a charming local way of saying a tummy bug, so it wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to drag myself out into the glorious Paris sunshine and start shooting, but I had worked so hard getting the fashion show invites and I really do love seeing all those creative types out there doing their thing, I simply could not stay put. So while all the other girls were out there sporting their ‘it’ bags, I was sporting the bags under my eyes and taking as many clichés as I could get away with. Here is what I saw yesterday: Read more

Charles de Gaulle airport to city centre

by Jill from Gigi’s French Window, French ponderings from an Australian who must have been French in another life

rer signThe first couple of days on arrival in Paris are always a mixed bag….EXHAUSTION  being the first thing that  comes to mind!

But then there is also that feeling on stepping from the flight into  Charles de Gaulle airport… for me, it’s a wonderful sensory  overload……

I close my eyes and breathe in deeply…..there is nowhere else I could be….this is Paris! There is a certain something in the air and I love it!  Below is a Charles de Gaulle airport promo video you may enjoy…must admit they paint a very ‘friendly’ picture…….;) Read more

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Paris, Travelling

Pickpockets on the train from Charles de Gaulle Airport

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We’re on our way back from Sofia. A couple of people asked us whether we had any safety issues in Bulgaria but we didn’t. Apart from an insistent beggar in Plovdiv, we always felt perfectly safe, even walking through deserted streets at night (except for the pavements which are treacherous).

Jean Michel demonstrating the position of the backpack before the attempted theft. Slightly blurry photo because I'm still a little shaky.
Jean Michel in the train with his backpack and the handle of the roll-on.

We have a large suitcase, a smaller roll-on bag, a backpack and a handbag (which I don’t usually carry when I travel but it’s easier than putting it in my roll-on). We’re sitting in the RER train that goes from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Châtelet-les-Halles in the city centre. We are sitting in the aisle opposite each other. I have the handbag on my lap with my hands on it. My iPhone is in the zipper closest to my lap because I’ve had that stolen before. The suitcase is on the floor near the window with the roll-on on top of it. The backpack is on the seat next to Jean Michel. His wallet, etc. are in his shirt flap-pocket. My wallet is in my bag.

Jean Michel then does something stupid (his admission). As we’re nearly home, he removes a little purse from the backpack and takes out his keys. He puts the now empty purse back into the backpack.

The train stops and a young man drops some coins on the floor next to us. While the door is still open, he bends down to pick them up. He indicates that one has gone under Jean Michel’s seat. Instinctively clutching my handbag (at least I’ve acquired that reflex at last!), I’m looking for the coin.

Suddenly, I see Jean Michel’s hand reach out to clutch another man’s sleeve next to us and then see his backpack on the floor. Both of the men dash out of the train just as the door closes.

Somewhat shaken, I ask Jean Michel what happened. The second man came from behind him and plucked the backpack from the seat. He then made the error (for him, not us!) of trying to leave the train from the door in front of Jean Michel. Had he left from the door behind, in the next wagon, he would have got away with it. Jean Michel immediately realised what was happening and grabbed his sleeve. The man was forced to let go and run for the door.

These are not organised professionals, in our opinion, just petty thieves used to working together whence the exit mistake.

The carriage is buzzing. Everyone is astounded but, you may be sure, not one of them would have tried to stop the thieves.

The moral is this: watch your belongings at all times. Make sure you don’t have too many bits of luggage. You can use a ribbon or shoelace or something to tie your luggage together until it’s time to get out the train. Don’t be silly enough to remove a purse from your backpack or bag in public transport.

AND DON’T BE FOOLED BY PEOPLE DROPPING COINS ON THE FLOOR!!!

N.B. Do read the comments to this post – there are other scams to be aware of too.

If you have enjoyed reading this, don’t forget to subscribe to new posts using the subscription form on the top right – that way you’ll get them directly on your smart phone or in your mail box! And I love to hear your comments!

Architecture, Paris, Restaurants, Sightseeing

The Oldest House in Paris

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Surprisingly for an old city, Paris has very few mediaeval houses and when someone asked me recently where the oldest house was, I had absolutely no idea even though I later learnt that I had actually been inside!

3, rue Volta, long thought to be the oldest house in Paris 3, rue Volta, long thought to be the oldest house in Paris

For very many years, it was thought that the house at n°3 rue Volta in the 3ème arrondissement was the oldest in the capital. All the history manuals showed it to be the oldest and it was depicted in thousands of postcards. It wasn’t until 1979 that an historian finally proved that it was a copy built in 1644 by a Parisian bourgeois. That must have been a rude shock, particularly as the historian was a woman!

Mini Chinatown in rue Volta Mini Chinatown in rue Volta

I trekked off to have a look and found myself in a mini Chinatown. The half-timbered house with its stone pillars is now home to a Vietnamese restaurant called Taing Song-Heng where the same family has been serving two dishes, Pho and Bo Bun for twenty years.

L'Atelier d'Alexandre with its bike menu holder L’Atelier d’Alexandre with its bike menu holder

I had also been told that there were two other mediaeval houses at n° 11-13 rue François Miron in the 4ème arrondissement. This is not an area I know well, and I found all sorts of intriguing things on the way such as this bike doubling as a menu holder. A young man was leaning against a car smoking, dressed in chef’s attire. “It’s a very old bike”, he said. “And a very unusual way of presenting a menu,” I replied. “I saw the idea in Malta. You won’t copy it, will you?”

Mediaeval houses at 11 & 13 rue François Morin Mediaeval houses at 11 & 13 rue François Morin

I eventually reached N° 11 which used to have a sign with a reaper while n°13 had a sheep. The oldest records show their existence at the beginning of the 16th century but they might have already been there in the 14th century. In 1508, a royal decree prohibited jettied upper floors because of the risk of collapse. As a result, the gable was removed from n° 13 in the 17th century. It was rebuilt in 1967 when the two houses were being restored. In 1607, an edict ordered the timbering on this type of houses to be covered with plaster to prevent fire. Original drawings were used to guide restoration.

Street level of 11 & 13 rue François Morin Street level of 11 & 13 rue François Morin

My last visit was to n°51 rue de Montmorency, back in the 3ème arrondissement, to Nicolas Flamel’s house. As soon as I saw it, I remembered a Gargantuan meal there with French friends a few years ago. I suggested we have the food and wine pairing. It was excellent but I definitely wouldn’t recommend our choice. We still talk about it!

Nicolas Flamel's house at 51, rue Montmorency, the oldest known house in Paris, dated 1407 Nicolas Flamel’s house at 51, rue Montmorency, the oldest known house in Paris, dated 1407

So, the oldest house in Paris only dates back to 1407. No half-timbering here. The façade is entirely made of stone, all straight lines and no curves. It was built by Nicolas Flamel, a scrivener and manuscript seller. The money he earnt from renting out the ground floor shops was used to house labourers and vegetable gardeners from the surrounding area.

The façade of Nicolas Flamel's house with its inscription The façade of Nicolas Flamel’s house with its inscription 

The inscription on the wall says, “We, working men and women living beneath the porch of this house, built in 1407, must each say an Our Father and an Ave Maria every day, to ask the grace of God to forgive poor sinners their trespasses. Amen.”

L’Auberge Nicolas Flamel, 51 Rue de Montmorency,  75003 Paris, 01 42 71 77 78
L’Atelier d’Alexandre, 26 rue de Beaubourg, 75003 Paris, 01 40 27 08 31
Taing Song-Heng, 3 rue Volta, 3 Rue Volta  75003 Paris, 01 42 78 31 70
 
If you enjoyed reading this, don’t forget to subscribe to new posts – that way you’ll get them directly on your smart phone or in your mail box! And I love to hear your comments!
 

AllAboutFranceBadge_bisI’ve added this post to Lou Messugo’s All About France link-up. Click to find other posts about France from other bloggers

 

Architecture, Art, Paris, Sightseeing

10 most unusual churches in Paris – Walking in the Paths of Van Gogh – Paris Discount Passes

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Three very different posts for this Wednesday’s Blogger Round-up. French Moments takes us to visit 10 unusual churches in Paris; Heather from Lost in Arles takes us walking on the paths of Van Gogh; while Guide 2 Paris offers a very helpful and detailed analysis of discount passes in Paris. Enjoy!

10 most unusual churches in Paris

Charonne-Paris-23-©-French-Momentsby French Moments, a Sydney-based organisation with an international focus which promotes the French language and culture to English-speakers worldwide. Their French team is all about the language, culture and experience

Today, let’s have a look at 10 most unusual churches in Paris! When we think about churches in Paris, famous sanctuaries promptly come to mind: the Notre-Dame cathedral and its fantastic buttresses, the Gothic masterpiece of the Sainte-Chapelle, or the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés with its Romanesque bell tower.

But there are far more interesting churches to discover while staying in the City of Light, some of them not very well-known. Follow this guide to a chronological discover of the 10 most unusual churches in Paris… Read more

Walking in the Paths of Van Gogh

by Heather Robinson from Lost in Arles, an American writer and photographer living in Arles who offers us meanderings through all that makes life in a small town in Provence worth while.

van_goghWhen Remi first made the fateful suggestion that we swing by the town of Arles on our way home from the Visa Pour L’Image Photography Festival in 2003, one name flashed into my mind: Vincent Van Gogh. It was reason enough for me to quickly agree, as I used to regularly visit his masterpieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MOMA in Manhattan (and I still make pilgrimages to say hello whenever I return for a visit). I was only vaguely impressed by the town’s Roman monuments but was immediately transported by the light, his light. It was one of the reasons why we fell in love with this small Provençal town. Read more

Paris Discount Passes

by Guide2Paris which aims to be the complete source of information in English about the Ile-de-France region of France which includes the city of Paris.  Designed specifically for English speakers visiting Paris or the region of Ile-de-France, contemplating buying property in Paris or those already living in Paris

Paris museum passThere are a number of different Paris discount passes which are intended for tourists to maximise their holidays in the City of Light and sometimes significant savings can be made. Most cards will allow cheaper entry into museums and monuments, discounts on tours and in some cases includes free travel on public transport. It is important to discover what is included in each of the discount passes listed below as sometimes you need to fit in a lot of activities to actually save money. The best advice we can give is to carefully consider what you would like to do in Paris and then see if this corresponds with what is available with the card. Read more

If you enjoyed reading this, don’t forget to subscribe to new posts – that way you’ll get them directly on your smart phone or in your mail box! And I love to hear your comments!

Architecture, Paris

Don’t miss European heritage weekend in Paris on September 14 and 15

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We’re about to miss the European heritage weekend in Paris for the second year in a row. However, we’ll be in Blois so I’m hoping to make some new discoveries.

Poster on the window of the Ministry of Culture with it's not very inventive graphics
Poster on the window of the Ministry of Culture with its not very inventive graphics

The wonderful thing about the heritage weekend or journées du patrimoine is that buildings usually closed to the public open their doors, mostly free of charge. One of the drawbacks is the crowds, particularly at venues such as the presidential palace at Matignon and Paris city hall (Hôtel de Ville).

The front of the Banque de France at n° 31
The front of the Banque de France at n° 31

But if you take a look at the list on the paris.fr website you’ll see that there are a lot of other places you’ve never heard of and that are definitely worth a visit.

Looking down to the fireplace with the bust of Louis XIV
Looking down to the fireplace with the bust of Louis XIV

One of my favourites, which is never crowded, particularly in the morning, is the French reserve bank or Banque de France, in the 1st arrondissement, which contains the beautiful Hôtel de Toulouse built in the mid 17th century by Mansart for Louis Phélipeaux, seigneur de la Vrillière and so called after it was bought in 1713 by the Count of Toulouse, the second legitimised son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.

Inner courtyard seen from the Gallery
Inner courtyard seen from the Gallery

From the outside, it doesn’t look anything special, but it has several treasures, not the least of which is the Galerie Dorée or Golden Gallery, 40 m long by 6.50 m wide. It was initially designed to present De la Vrillière’s collection of Italian masters. When the Count of Toulouse came along, he kept the paintings and incorporated them into the new decor which is a stunning example of the Régence style.

End of the gallery leading to the main entrance
End of the gallery leading to the main entrance

The ceiling is a fresco by François Perrier and represents the sun surround by the four elements. In the centre, we have Apollo the sun god in his chariot, on the right of the door, Water represented by Neptune and Thetis, on the left, Air represented by Juno asking Aeolus to set the winds free. On the right of the magnificent fireplace, Earth represented by the abduction of Proserpine by Pluto and on the left, Fire represented by the cupids of Jupiter and Semele.

One of the sparkling clean chandeliers
One of the sparkling clean chandeliers

Mouldings, chandeliers, mythological allegories, trophies and animal motifs abound fully expressing the Régence style, which formed a transition between the rich solemnity of the Louis XIV style and the baroque elegance of Louis XV.

Wood panelling hiding a door into the Gallery
Wood panelling hiding a door into the Gallery

You’ll also see the Council Dining Room which its sculptured wooden panels which is thought to come from the former Château de Quincy-sous-Sénart, a hunting lodge owned by the Count of Provence, Louis XVI’s brother. This is definitely my favourite after the Golden Gallery.

Tapestries in the Council Room
Tapestries in the Council Room

But I also love the Council Room with its 5 Brussels tapistries from the mid 17th century, forming a sort of winter garden popular in Flanders throughout the century.

A close-up of Louis XIV
A close-up of Louis XIV

The beautifully decorated governor’s offices are also open to the public. The main entrance at n° 31 is through the new atrium, which is considered to be somewhat of a technological feat.

For those who won’t be in Paris next weekend, you might like to go on a virtual visit of the Golden Gallery on the website of the Banque de France.

Banque de France 31 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs, 75001 Paris.
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September, 10 am to 7 pm (last entry at 6 pm)
 
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