Paris Parks & Gardens: Nudism in the Vincennes Woods
In which the author visits the officially designated nudist zone in the Vincennes Woods for a close look at public nudism in Paris and discovers that it's not so different from visiting the Eiffel Tower.
Paris Parks & Gardens: Ratatouille’s Extended Family
“Maman, Papa ! C’est Ratatouille!” screeched a delighted child as a furry little creature scampered across the playground. It wasn’t an isolated sighting. I’d had several brushes with rats on my daily strolls, so when posters announced a town meeting dedicated to "the battle against rodents,” I saved the date.
A Year Ends, A Year Begins in a Hopeful Little Paris Garden
The year 2015 ends on a bright and hopeful day in Paris. I’m relieved to feel no compulsion to come up with resolutions for 2016; I can simply reuse those of 2015 since none of them was realized. Something about this makes me happy.
The Coulée Verte: A Green and Gentle Promenade in Eastern Paris
Sixteen years before New York's instantly celebrated High Line opened, Paris inaugurated its own planted promenade, a strip of green cutting east-west through the 12th arrondissement along the path of old train tracks. The 3-mile long path of greenery called the Coulée Vert René-Dumont flows from near the Bastille to the Paris beltway, offering views of urban architecture along the way.
Vice & Versailles: A Master Gardener Delves Into the Dark Shadows of the Louis...
As head gardener of Versailles Alain Baraton is responsible for restoring and maintaining the majesty of the backyard of kings, but he appears to relish in declaring that “Versailles was a great shop of horrors.” In the book "Vice et Versailles" Baraton leads readers into the dark side of the great palace.
Yours, Mine, Le Nôtre’s: An American Photographer Examines the Garden of Versailles
As France celebrates the 400th anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, the father of French gardens, France Revisited explores some of this 17th-century landscape gardener’s most famous gardens and parks. Here, American photographer Elise Prudhomme guides us along the garden paths of Versailles.
Celebrating Le Nôtre: An American Photographer Explores the Tuileries Garden
France Revisited joins France's celebration of the 400th anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, the father of French gardens, with seven stunning photos of Paris's most historical garden, the Tuileries Garden, by American photographer Elise Prudhomme.
Statue of Liberty Given Place of Honor in the Orsay Museum
Joining Whistler’s Mother, Van Gogh’s Self-portrait, Degas’s ballerinas, and many more, the Musée d’Orsay took on another familiar face this month when Liberty was given place of honor on a pedestal near the entrance to the museum’s great nave. The Orsay Museum had long claimed that Liberty rightfully belonged within its walls rather than in the Luxembourg Garden, where it previously stood.
Ballooning over Paris from Parc André Citroën
The tethered helium balloon in Parc Andre Citroen on the southwestern edge of Paris offers a queueless, stepless view of the expanse of the city and of its southern and western suburbs.