After talking about the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe I cannot overlook the enormous "Flying Dragon" that landed a couple of weeks ago in Place Vendôme generating quite a buzz. Created by Alexandre Calder in 1975 using bright red steel plate, this giant modern dragon is an unexpected view among the symmetrical buildings that …
A little review about Musee Carnavalet in Paris
After years of renovation works the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection finally opens its doors to Parisian art lovers and - for now, not-so-many - tourists. It is a new art venue you should not miss if you are interested in contemporary art but also if you love architecture. The Japanese architect Tadao Ando …
When talking about Versailles' royal palace, I noticed that many people do not expect it to be so far from the city centre. To be accurate, the Chateau is not even in the outskirts of Paris, being Versailles a nice, indipendent town with about 90000 inhabitans located 14 miles west to the Ville Lumiere. To …
Continue reading Small talks from Versailles: why Versailles is in Versailles?
"The Devil pulls the strings which make us dance; We find delight in the most loathsome things; Some furtherance of Hell each new day brings, And yet we feel no horror in that rank advance" - C. Baudelaire. There is something very true in this Baudelaire's quote and I am not referring just to moral …
Continue reading Hell’s never been so cool – Focus on Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell”
Two of the most frequently asked questions in my Louvre tour are: "What happened to the Louvre during WWII?" and "Why the museum was not pillaged?" The answer is an amazing history that worth to be told and should be transformed into a movie. Ready to discover it? Everything started in 1939, before the war …
Continue reading When the Louvre was evacuated and Mona Lisa went missing
Today I was dreaming about having a balcony in Paris. Not necessarily a huge one. A small one would be fine for me. One like Le Balcon (The Balcony) painted by Edouard Manet in 1868/1869 would be perfect. I love that picture. It really is one of my favorite paintings ever so I decided to …
Continue reading Focus on a Masterpiece: Le Balcon – The Balcony (Manet, 1868/69)
November 1 is Touissant, All Saints' Day in France. It is tradition to visit cemeteries to bring flowers to the dead and pray for them. In Paris there are several famous cemeteries that actually deserve to be seen. Here my favorite ones.
On the 23rd of September 1964 André Malraux, French minister of cultural affairs, inaugurated the new Palais Garnier Opera House's ceiling painted by Marc Chagall in the auditorium. That was one of the biggest scandal in Paris history. Discover with me what happened!
On October 16th 1793 a simple cart left the Conciergerie, the revolutionaries' prison on Ile-de-la-Cite. Marie-Antoinette was sitting on it, wearing a simple withe shirt and a bonnet, like a commoner. She was going to the guillotine. No famous last words were spoken by the "last" queen of France. She just said "Pardon me sir, …
Your Tour In Paris 