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.
Judgment Day at Notre-Dame de Paris
We stood across the square from Notre-Dame. There it was, the western façade of the cathedral, the three doors, the row of kings, the rose window, the two towers, a peek at the steeple. Susan thought it beautiful. Her daughter Claire thought it ugly. I was their guide. "Gary’s going to tell us about it and you’ll see that it’s beautiful,” said Susan. "I never said it was beautiful," I said.
Still Life in Paris, Inspired by Notre-Dame
You’re at your desk 24 hours after the outset of the fire at Notre-Dame, after being up much of the previous night, first having dinner with a friend, then standing in silence on Ile Saint Louis watching the blaze peter out, then speaking and texting with family and friends six time zones away, then ...
You know you live in Paris when… : The B52s
... you're on the metro platform after seeing your new therapist and find yourself in your own private Idaho trying to pick up the pieces as you wonder how your life would have been different had you...
Kei Kobayashi: Exceptional French Chefs Aren’t Always French
If the name Kei Kobayashi sounded more French then perhaps this exceptional chef would have more American and British clients at his restaurant Kei, near Les Halles. As it is, he has a faithful French clientele, Japanese clients and a smattering of other well-informed international gastronomes. No need to wait for him to earn a third Michelin star to put Kei on your culinary map of Paris.
Arcs of War and Triumph
The France Revisited Newsletter: I write this in the wake of two major events in Paris over the past month that occurred by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. On Nov. 11, the gathering of leaders of the belligerent nations of the First World War to commemorate the centennial of the armistice.
On Dec. 1, the vandalization of the arch by some affiliated with the Yellow Vest movement.
Over There: WWI Sights of the American Meuse-Argonne Offensive
This article, including three videos, focuses on sights relative to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of the U.S. First Army in the fall of 1918, specifically the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne 14-18, the Romagne German Cemetery and the Montfaucon Monument.
France Revisited’s Early Autumn Newsletter
Autumn was slow in coming to France this year, but it has finally arrived and with it a shift in our approach to enjoying life in Paris and travels in France as sunset creeps toward teatime. This newletter contains links to articles as well as information about exhibitions, books and tastings.
Benoît Castel: Bread, Brunch, Pastries in Eastern Paris
Brunch at Benoît Castel Ménilmontant, a pastry shop and bakery in the 20th arrondissement, is an ideal place to begin weekend wandering in the increasingly gentrified neighborhoods of eastern Paris. We came for the bread, we stayed for the brunch, and only later did we taste the heart of Benoît Castel’s trade, the pastries.
Paris Street Talk: Chadors, Communists, Cannibals
Some call it a no-go zone full of potential Islamist terrorists. Others pretend that the neighborhood is just one big hipster playground. What's really going on at the eastern end of Jean-Pierre Timbaud? Here, in a two-part illustrated vignette, is what two American travelers discover as they explore eastern Paris after brunch one Sunday afternoon.