Sainte-Marguerite from the Eglise Saint Laurent in Bouilly © P. Praliaud The much-vaunted devolution of France’s cultural riches to the provinces is moving ahead apace, with a branch of the Louvre being built in the northern city of … Favorite
FIRST FLIGHT The Musée des Arts et Métiers has had the bright idea of celebrating the hundredth anniversary of Louis Blériot’s historic cross-Channel flight by building a flight simulator inside a replica of his plane (the real one, basically a … Read More
“United Arab Emirates. Dubai. DIFC Gulf Art Fair” (2007), from the “Luxury” series. © Martin Parr, Magnum Photos/Kamel Mennour Before you go to see the exhibition “Planète Parr. La Collection de Martin Parr” at the Jeu de Paume, I recommend … Read More
A convivial spot for lunch in Troyes. I try to make a habit of little out-of-town excursions to see art exhibitions, the sort of one-day break that is worth several days’ holiday. These jaunts can take me as far … Read More
“Sifnos, Greece” (1961) © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos Ho-hum, you might think, another exhibition of photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson, but that would be very wrong thinking. Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) was such a master of his genre that his … Favorite
Le Café qui Parle is worth a trek to the far side of the Butte Montmartre. Pros: Original dishes made with good quality ingredients; nice decor; great staff; outdoor seating available. Cons: Might be a bit noisy with a … Read More
Here’s an excellent excuse for an excursion to the seaside: François Pinault, French billionaire businessman, art collector and father-in-law of Salma Hayek (choose your own order of importance) is showing part of his extensive collection of contemporary art in the … Read More
Sidewalk table at Frenchie, a new Paris bistro worth knowing about. Pros: Excellent food at wallet-friendly prices; fine, shortish wine list with a good sprinkling of non-French wines Cons: Nothing worth mentioning, apart from the loud music issuing from the … Read More
“What’s the point of going to see five hundred artworks by women?” a friend asked. “Would you go to see a show that advertised five hundred artworks by men?” The question came up in relation to the Centre Pompidou’s new … Read More
The asparagus with white truffles looked like an abstract painting. Pros: A delight in serving well-sourced products (Desnoyers again), pleasant surroundings Cons: A slightly ditzy waitress, who was so nice and new to the job that her faux pas were … Read More
