Meaux’s Museum of the Great War, WWI Reenactors and Brie (Video)
An article and video about the Museum of the Great War of Meaux and the pleasures of meeting reenactors there during WWI reenactment weekend in September, along with a tasty side-serving of brie cheese.
The Royal Estate of Marly: Absence, History and Splendor
At the Royal Estate of Marly, just over four miles from the relentless restoration of Versailles, all that’s left of what was once Louis XIV’s most precious secondary residence is fragments. Glimpses of its former splendor are found at the Louvre.
What’s THAT at Versailles? Anish Kapoor and “The Queen’s Vagina”
Despite the fact that Louis XIV dragged every artist he could find to Versailles in the 17th century, bringing contemporary sculpture to the palace in the 21st century has been fraught with controversy ever since the domain instituted an annual summer exhibition. Case in point, the work of Anish Kapoor presented in the palace gardens June 9 to Nov. 1, 2015.
Street Art: Gilles Sacksick, the Animal Painter… and Artist
A photo vignette about street art and scaffolding covers, featuring animals at the National Veterinary School in Maisons-Alforts, a wall painted with attitude in Paris's 10th arrondissement and the capital's historical judicial complex where, sadly, everyone is now sentenced to Life.
Near Paris: The Giverny – La Roche-Guyon Daytrip Combo
How and why to combine a visit to Monet's House and Gardens at Giverny with a visit to the chateau of La Roche Guyon, whether on a daytrip from Paris or a longer excursion to Normandy.
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.
Radiating from Paris: Our Glorious Ladies of Gothic Architecture (Part II: Reims, Amiens, Practical...
France Revisited pays homage to that great Gothic monument at the center of the capital and to four other Gothic Notre-Dame Cathedrals within 100 miles of Paris in a two-part article. Part II below concerns Notre-Dames of Reims and Amiens and includes practical tips for visiting all five. Part I concerns Notre-Dames of Paris, Laon and Chartres.
Radiating from Paris: Our Glorious Ladies of Gothic Architecture (Part I: Paris, Laon, Chartres)
April 16, 2019. In the wake of the fire that destroyed the roof and steeple of Notre-Dame to Paris, we republish this article paying homage to five glorious ladies of Gothic architecture, written in 2012 as Paris prepared the jubilee celebration honoring the 850th anniversary of the start of construction of the "new" cathedral of Paris.