Paris 1971: Captured, Willingly
Photographs from nearly half a century ago lead Elizabeth Esris to revisit her first encounter with Paris with her then-boyfriend (now husband) and to rejoice in the timeless nature of travel discovery.
Jewish Paris: Deportation Memorial, Shoah Memorial, Vel d’Hiv Memorial
Jewish quarters come and go, but anti-Semitism never goes out of fashion. Most recently in France there’s been a growing attraction of the “quenelle,” a down-turned Nazi salute now understood by most to be an anti-Semitic, anti-establishment gesture. It has gained favor among individuals and groups who ...
Off-Beat Touring: Paris Hospitals and Medical Museums, Part 1
Paris has a rich if sometimes horrific hospital and medical heritage. Hitting the medical trails of the capital allows the off-beat traveler to encounter peaceful courtyards, beautiful chapels, a magnificent crypt, troubling and enlightening history and much medical knowledge along the way.
The Museum of the Liberation of Paris
A new, free, highly informative museum in Paris, partially located in an air raid shelter used by the Resistance during the city's liberation, provides insights into the history of Paris and Parisians during the Second World War.
Paris’s Hôtel de Crillon Closes for Two-Year Renovation
Hôtel de Crillon, the palatial Paris hotel on Place de la Concorde, is closing on March 31, 2013, leaving little time for one last...
The Reawakening of the Hotel Lutetia: Living Large on the Left Bank
On April 14, 2014, the Hotel Lutetia will close for a three-year renovation. This article, written in early 2013, provides a "before" view of this historical hotel as its owners were seeking a new path to glory that eventually led to its closure for a major overhaul.
Departure of signs and numbers from the heart of Paris
My favorite little shop in Paris, one of the last living vestiges of the historical belly of Paris that was the Les Halles Quarter, closed at the end of July 2009. It had been a long time coming--rather, going. It isn’t easy making a living selling...
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.
Do the Rooftops of Paris Have “Outstanding Universal Value”?
Looking out over the rooftops of the city the view is romantic for some, lusty grey for others, a commercial dream for roofers—altogether Paris. In recent months the most attractive view over the capital has been from District Hall of the 9th arrondissement, where District Mayor Delphine Bürkli is spearheading the committee to present the rooftops of Paris as a candidate for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.