Gary Lee Kraut
Gary Lee Kraut is the editor of France Revisited and an award-winning travel writer. As a long-time specialist on travel and touring in France, he has become the go-to contact for individual travelers and travel agents seeking personalized travel advice and customized tours in Paris and throughout France. See the About the Editor tab at the top of this page for his complete bio.
Bomb Threat on the TGV
I shared a 4-seat section with a laid-back couple and their joyful, fidgety 3-year-old daughter. I had a window seat, riding backwards. The family and I had exchanged greetings in Paris as they settled into a seating arrangement whereby the woman sat across from me, the man to my left, and the child diagonally, with the warning from her mother not to donner des coups de pied au monsieur, that is, kick me.
The Spirits of Deco Past: Searching for Life in the Museum of Decorative Arts
The more I bone up on the names of great French cabinetmakers, ponder the decorative needs of French nobility, and peruse catalogues and press kits, the more I appreciate the precious objects of the Museum of Decorative Arts. But my attention is waning, quickly.
Uncovering French Weapons of Mass Seduction
A man needs to be in love in order to think of the French capital as a romantic or sexy destination whereas a woman need only hear the word “Paris.” Another word that’s sure to get a woman packing is “naughty.” Put “naughty” and “Paris” together and you get Heather Stimmler-Hall's "Naughty Paris: A Lady’s Guide to the Sexy City."
At the Flea Market: Leyla’s Antique Textiles
An encounter with Leyha Ahi, seller of antique textiles in Marché Dauphine at the Saint Ouen Flea Markets on the edge of Paris, Porte de Clignancourt.
Mystery Cuisine: Adventure, Intimacy, and Knowing Smiles
Mystery Cuisine (formerly Les III O), a confidential little restaurant near Palais Royal in the center of Paris, has the feel of an exclusive...
Writing in cafés
No offense to writers who claim to get significant work done in Paris cafés, but that’s an urban legend as far as I can...
Still Life with Eiffel Tower
My friend Monique is tall, thin, recently single, and recently blonde. She’s invited me to a play at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 8:30 curtain....
Fancy Tiles and the King’s Virginity
Olivier Mangnez’s showroom Villa Paris presents old-fashion, artisan-made tiles of terracotta, stone, and enamel, including collections of delft, azulejos, marble marquetry, mosaics and others, made à l’ancienne in the countries where the individual styles originated or where bygone traditions of production are maintained.
Natural expedition in Vendée or Still life with children
Given the choice between an afternoon with screaming kids and a nature expedition in flat, damp Vendee, south of the Loire by the Atlantic coast...