Quaismodo would be impressed were he to return now to the cathedral that he inhabited as Victor Hugo’s beloved and maligned hunchback. He would immediately feel at home within the stone walls and wooden frames of the towers of Notre-Dame. Yet the cathedral has also changed and brightened since he knew it as Hugo’s fictional bellringer in the 15th century. There are new elements and much has been restored over the centuries, including its most recent restoration from the fire of April 15, 2019. But I imagine that Quasimodo would be enthralled as we were as we climbed the southern tower, examined gargoyles and chimeras, took in the extraordinary view, stood before the great bells, and descended through the northern tower.

As you would expect, the 360-degree view of Paris is well worth the effort of climbing 424 steps, despite the chicken-wire enclosure from which we take it all in: the city’s rooftops and monuments, church towers and spires, river and bridges, and the spire of Notre-Dame itself rising right before us.

The view over the city isn’t all that makes this visit worthwhile. There’s more to the new climbing route than the grand view. Quasimodo would be in awe to stand face to face, as we did, with the cathedral’s two great bells or bourdons, though these aren’t the ones that he so loved to ring: the 6-ton bourdon Marie, cast in 2012, which sounds a do, and the 13-ton bourdon Emmanuel, cast in 1686, which sounds a fa. The latter is France’s second largest bourdon after the 18-tonner known as La Savoyarde at Sacré Coeur Basilica, the church that we see on the hill to the north.

In bringing the hunchback to life on the page in 1831, Hugo also called for new life to be breathed into the then-dilapidated cathedral. Over the ensuing decades, appointed architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc honored that call by leading a massive restoration while also reimagining missing or degraded elements, taking liberties here and there. The tower route gives a close-up view of several of the 54 animal and demon chimeras that he and an assistant designed. Those that were heavily damaged during the fire of 2019 have recently been replaced with copies, as has Viollet-le-Duc’s spire of 1859. Even if none of these were known to Quasimodo, we are tempted to do as he did and “spend whole hours crouched before one of the statues in solitary conversation with it.” But visitors today don’t have such luxury of such time when visiting the towers.

My own climbing group, comprised of journalists specialized in cultural heritage, had the enlightening pleasure of touring the towers in the company of Viollet-le-Duc’s current successor, Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect in charge of the restoration and reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris since the fire.

As we rose, he steered our eyes to various eras and elements of construction and major restoration. The current restoration work in response to the fire will likely continue through 2028, he said.

Even without Villeneuve’s insightful company, you’ll see along the way two major markers of his conceptual work. First, the massive oak spiral staircase, partially in double revolution, that Villeneuve designed for the passage from the second landing to the medieval stone staircase in the tower. Villeneuve’s staircase was shaped and puzzled together by an exceptional band of carpenters in Normandy. Throughout our visit, he sang praises to the dedicated, high-level artisans he’s worked with over the course of the restoration. As he points up to his work, a glimpse of the peak of the spire tatooed on his arm peeks out from beneath his sleeve.

Second, from the top of the south tower, you’ll look out to the real spire rising from the roof. It’s crowned by the flaming golden rooster—symbol of France and of the resurrected monument—that Villeneuve himself designed to replace the fallen, damaged rooster that has now been placed in one of the chapels inside the cathedral. On this national monument belong to the State, not the Church, the rooster crows above the Cross. View the full spire, accompanied by bells, on the 15-second video below.

On the way down, we glimpsed through windows “the forest” of oak beams, cut from throughout France, that form the roof beams. They replaced the medieval forest where the fire originated before consuming it into the night before the eyes of the world.

No more than 26 visitors are allowed to start the climb per 15-minute time slot. Contrast that with the lengthy queue down below leading to a shoulder-to-shoulder shuffle along the cathedral floor. Comparatively, a visit to the towers, culminating with the grand view (even if limited to 5 minutes), feels semi-private, nearly exclusive.

All that’s required is a timed ticket, to be reserved in advance, at a cost 16€ or free for under 18s and adults with the Paris Museum Paris or the Passion Monument pass. While you needn’t be a high-level athlete to climb the 424 steps to the top, do be aware of your own limitations before undertaking the endeavor. The winding staircases include some narrow passages less than 18-inches wide as well as low sections where someone over 5’10” or so is well advised to watch their head.

Along the way, there are levels to pause on, where one can learn a few historical tidbits on information panels about the towers and the bells. There is no elevator. There is no WC. Families are discouraged from bringing children under 6.

Timed ticket to the towers of Notre-Dame should be reserved only through the official site managed by France’s Center for Historical Monuments. Even free tickets require reservations.

From great heights in architectural history to great heights in culinary history

Epilogue: From great heights in architectural history we crossed over the Seine to great heights in culinary history as we pursued our conversation with Philippe Villeneuve at one of Paris’s other celebrated tours, La Tour d’Argent (The Silver Tower). That’s the famous gastronomic institution with the stunning view of the Notre-Dame’s chevet, the portion of the cathedral that radiates in an eastern flourish. Even with the crane and scaffolding that remain on that side of the cathedral, the view from the upper-floor restaurant is a sight for well-heeled, well-fed eyes. We, however, settled into the bar on the ground floor, where we were entertained and informed by Villeneuve’s insightful, cutting, wit-laden accounts of these past seven years of restoration—the wonder, the toil and the beauty of the work on the one hand and the egos, the politics and the back-stabbing on the other. Listening to his vision of architectural and decorative triumphs and failures and to his expression of emotional zeniths and nadirs, the current guardian of the temple seemed to embody both Viollet-le-Duc and Quasimodo. His thirst was quenched with water brought not by Esmeralda, however, but by a polished server from the Tour d’Argent.

As a further treat, André Terrail, owner of the Tour d’Argent made a gracious appearance. While the restaurant is heir to a history that begins with the creation of an elegant inn on this site in 1582, Terrail is heir to the celebrated restaurant that his grandfather, also named André Terrail, purchased in 1911. It was then a ground-floor restaurant, raised to the top in 1936. The Tour d’Argent has now developed into something of a “village,” to use the current Terrail’s term, with its restaurant, its rooftop and ground-floor bars, its grocer next door, its bakery across the street, and beside that its rotisserie. There’s even an apartment with the fab view that can be rented for the night (1800€).

Despite the Tour d’Argent’s visual affinity for Notre-Dame, I’m not promoting it here as the natural extension of a visit to the towers, however many Michelin stars its restaurant may or may not receive in a given year (in 2026 it has 1). Nevertheless, one’s got to go somewhere after the extraordinary experience of climbing to the top of the cathedral, and it might as well be somewhere that’s also earned its place in Paris history and lore, someplace accessible, if not to Quasimode, then perhaps to the likes of Victor Hugo, Viollet-le-Duc, Philippe Villeneuve, and yourself.

© 2026 by Gary Lee Kraut

Also read Notre-Dame: An Interview with Witnesses to a Dazzling Restoration

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With the reopening this month of the Villa Majorelle, Nancy reaffirms its attraction as a destination for visitors who delight in the floral- and nature-inspired curves, the flowing design and the craftsmanship of the Art Nouveau period.

The villa is an iconic home of the Art Nouveau style that flourished in Nancy at the turn of the 20th century. It was the home of Louis Majorelle, a cabinetmaker and furniture manufacturer, whose company, originally focused on the production of copies of older styles, became increasingly involved in the creation of modern furniture inspired by forms in nature and influenced by the work of Emile Gallé, Nancy’s celebrated glass designer.

Gallé and Majorelle were among the founders of the Nancy School of design. An important collection of their works and of their contemporaries from 1890 to 1914 can be found at the Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy, the Museum of the Nancy School, the city’s primary Art Nouveau destination, a 15-minute walk from the Villa Majorelle. (Several examples of Majorelle furniture can be seen in the decorative arts section of the Orsay Museum in Paris.)

The Villa Majorelle—originally known as the Villa Jika, after the initials for Majorelle’s wife, Jane Kretz—was built 1901-1902 and holds a special place in the history of architecture in Nancy. It is considered the first completely Art Nouveau house in the city, designed as an ensemble in which each component of its structure and decoration was designed in close interdependence with the rest of the building. The flowing forms and decorative motifs and the continuous interplay between the exterior and the interior make Villa Majorelle an example of successfully applying the notion of artistic unity, advocated by a large number of artists of the period.

The villa was the first major commission for Henri Sauvage (1873-1932), a young, unknown architect when he received it in 1898. Sauvage, who would go on to design significant projects in Paris, would later say, “I worked there for two years, redesigning my work a hundred times over… I offer this, my first client, this fine artist (…) the expression of my heartfelt gratitude for the unheard-of freedom that he gave me. Despite my young age, he never imposed a budget limitation nor his personal ideas on me.”

Sauvage took care of the fixed decoration, which included the ironwork, and called in other artists for specific tasks. His Parisian friends, the ceramic artist Alexandre Bigot and the painter Francis Jourdain, respectively created the flambé stoneware exteriors and interiors and the decorative paintings in the dining room. Louis Majorelle himself designed the furniture, some of which was already to be found in his sales catalogues. Nancy’s master glazier, Jacques Gruber, was given the task of designing the stained-glass windows in the main rooms (stairwell, dining room, living room and the master bedroom). The concrete structural works were carried out by the construction company France-Lanord et Bichaton. Experts have found that the finished ensemble shows the occasional error, such as the north exposure of the terrace, the reusing of materials and money-saving choices, but above all Villa Majorelle stands out as a unique experimental work.

After completing the Majorelle project, Henri Sauvage largely pursued his career in Paris over the next 30 years. His Paris work more particularly expresses the Art Deco aesthetic that took over in the 1920s. Most visible to Parisians and visitors alike is his reconstruction and expansion of the department store Samaritaine, which in 2020 is emerging from years of restoration and renovation as a luxury destination in its own right.

Majorelle’s company suffered during the First World War, and after his death in 1926 his son Jacques sold the property. It has been owned by the City of Nancy since 2003. While the original property surrounding the Villa Majorelle has been subdivided over the years, the house has been restored very much as it was designed by Sauvage and with many of the original decorative elements created by Majorelle and his contemporaries.

The Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy has been tasked with overseeing oversees the Villa Majorelle. Using original photographs from the lifetime of Louis Majorelle (a photo album that belonged to his son), furnishing and decorative works have been purchased and placed according to Majorelle’s sense of aesthetics. (Older photos illustrating this text come from that photo album, which is held by the museum.)

Restoration of the villa’s exterior began in 2017 and work will continue on portions of the interior through 2022. The Villa Majorelle will remain open throughout that period.

Villa Majorelle, 1 rue Louis Majorelle. Open Wed.-Sun. 9am-noon for groups, 2-6pm for individuals. 6€; 8€ with joint ticket for the Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy (Museum of the Nancy School) when used the same day. The museum, 36-38 rue du Sergent Blandan, is open Wed.-Sun. 10am-6pm.

Nancy’s notable Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum) includes a presentation of several hundred pieces from the Daum glassworks of Nancy, among them significant pieces from the Art Nouveau period.

Art Nouveau walks in Nancy: A number of Art Nouveau buildings can be seen on a walk between the Nancy train station and Place Stanislas, the elegant 18th-century main square of the city, as well as elsewhere in the city. See, for example, the Excelsior Brasserie, created in 1911, just two blocks from the station. A downloadable brochure from the Nancy Tourist Office outline Art Nouveau walks in the city.

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For fans of architecture in both its purest and kitschiest forms the fun begins with the exterior façade. In 1878, richissime banker Emile Gaillard hired up-and-coming architect Jules Février to build a Parisian mansion modeled on the late 15th-century features of the Château de Blois in the Loire Valley. The Monceau quarter was favored terrain of the banking class at the time—the Rothschilds, the Camondos, the Perrières and others also built mansions in the area—and is still home to many golden boys and girls.

Ironically, the Hôtel Gaillard is a picture-perfect illustration of a real estate fiasco in fiscal terms: It took six years and 11 million francs to build but the Banque de France was able to scoop it up in 1919 for a mere two million. That change of hands merely ratcheted up the site’s eclectic charm since the Banque de France augmented the already over-the-top décor with the Art Nouveau and Art Deco elements popular in its day. However, for some delightfully curious reason, the directors went all medieval when they decided to protect the safety deposit vault with a moat.

Yes, they dug an actual moat and filled it with water. (BTW, not a single break-in before the bank closed its door to private customers in 2006.) Today’s visitors can walk over the (now-tiled) drawbridge that led over the moat to the coffers.

While the museum’s “function’ is devoted to economics, it’s not macro and micro economics in its stuffiest, textbook form.

Citéco is all about the money: how it’s made, lost, spent, printed, squandered, stolen or saved. All exhibits are well translated in English and Spanish.

Displays showcase currency made from silver, gold, bone seashells, and intricately braided raffia. A home-made, home-grown toaster constructed by British artist Thomas Thwaites (nine months to assemble; nine seconds to melt down) illustrates the need to trade in both skills and materials.

Interactive exhibits make economics even more personal. A bank-balance game flashes a monthly salary, then fast-forwards through possible expenses. Pull a lever to evade the exorbitant 150 € cable/internet charge and the screen politely reminds you that you signed a monthly contract.

The 9-player boardroom game is a lesson in negotiation. Visitors can explore the domino theory with real dominoes, put a pair of jeans through a TSA-style radar check to trace its manufacture and materials, and even design their own paper money.

Don’t worry if you get a little seasick from the walk-in exhibit of the sub-prime crisis. It was specifically designed to make spectators feel queasy. Recover (or not?) by sitting in on an imaginary conversation with John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman.

Citéco: La Cité de l’Economie. 1 Place du Général Catroux, 17th arr. Metro Monceau or Malesherbes. Open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday until 7 pm. Tickets: 12 € (general admission); 9 € (ages 18 – 25); 6 € (age 6 – 17); under 6 free. Happy Hour: 6 € from 4:30 pm Monday through Friday (except holidays); 8 € on the first Thursday of each month from 7 to 10 pm.

© 2019, Corinne LaBalme

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* * *

We are often at a loss for words when we travel in continental Europe. It isn’t only the words for natural conversation that are lacking but also the vocabulary of the things we see.

We admire the architectural and ornamental details of cathedrals, castles, mansions, ornate buildings and interior design without being able to name them: the archivolt, tympanum and gable at the entrance to the cathedral, the rib vaulting and lancet and rose windows inside, or the madillions, scrolled pediments, atlantes and caryatids that draw our attention as we wander through town. Perhaps that’s why we take so many pictures, because we don’t have the vocabulary, even in English, to describe or remember the details.

That isn’t a failing on our part. After all, we have little to no contact with such elements back home. Still, if you find yourself curious for the name of such things, the handsome coffeetable book Vocabulaire Illustré de l’Ornament by Evelyne Thomas can go a long way in satisfying your curiosity in the vocabulary of ornamentation from Antiquity through the 19th century.

The 320-page book has hundreds of entries alphabetically organized and precisely illustrated with 800 photographs, nearly all of which were taken by the author Though the descriptions are in French, a 12-page lexicon of terms English-to-French and French-to-English adds a touch of accessibility to those unable to read in French.

Evelyne Thomas is a journalist originally from Tours who holds a doctorate in the History of Art. (Disclaimer: She is also member of the board of the Association des Journalistes du Patrimoine as is this writer.)

Vocabulaire illustré de l’ornament par le décor de l’architecture et des autres arts by Evelyne Thomas. Published by Eyrolles. 39.50€. First published in 2012, and recipient of the 2013 Demeure Historique book prize, the book’s second edition was published in this year.

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* * *

The wealth and stature of Paris have for centuries made it a breeding ground for ambitious projects and the desire of kings, emperors, presidents and recently mayors to make their mark while enhancing and expanding their city.

Though urban planners of the first half of the 19th century were already drawing up plans to break through the dense, epidemic-prone city so as to give it light and air and flowing traffic, it was the vast urban upheaval orchestrated by Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann that came to define Paris, with its wide animated boulevards and avenues, its public parks and gardens and its absorption of the surrounding villages of Belleville, Grenelle, Bercy, Montmartre and others.

Haussmann’s urban planning of 1853 to 1870 and its follow-up over the next 50 years very much defined Paris until well into the 20th century. But as the century progressed, inadequate lodging, health concerns and the automobile became problems to be dealt with in a post-Haussmannian city.

“To say that we’re in Haussmann’s city is an absurdity,” says Christine Hoarau-Beauval, cofounder of ArchiTrip, a Paris-based company offerings tours of 20th and 21st century architecture and urban planning. “It’s untrue to say that we’re frozen in a uniform city that hasn’t since evolved and can’t continue to evolve.”

Founded by Hoarau-Beauval, a historian, and Delphine Aboulker-Soriano, a licensed architect, ArchiTrip is filling the void in the tourscape of Paris by revealing the intent and the reality of that evolution. Created in June 2014, ArchiTrip is still a toddler. Its office has been housed since June 2015 in Paris’s nursery for start-ups in the field of urban tourism, Welcome City Lab (76bis rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris). Notably, ArchiTrip is the rare company among the 15 or so of the current class of start-ups to not be tech-oriented.

I have asked Hoarau-Beauval to meet me in Paris’s 13th arrondissement so that I could to learn in situ about ArchiTrip and its tours. In particular, I’ve asked her to show me a portion of the south-eastern edge of the city, a 130-hectare project underway since 1991 called Paris Rive Gauche.

It’s clear as we stand on the windswept plateau of the Bibilothèque François Mitterrand (1996), the library complex that anchors the quarter, that this Paris Rive Gauche doesn’t fit into preconceived notions of Rive Gauche à la Saint Germain Quarter or perhaps even of Paris altogether. Many visitors and residents may even shun it as distinctly “unParisian.”

Hoarau-Beauval tells me that three-quarters of the 13th arrondissement has been transformed over the past 50 years. This zone, formerly defined by industry, docks and rail yards between the Gare d’Austerlitz and the peripheral ring of the city, is still a fledgling district quarter that won’t be completed for another 10 years.

I tell Hoarau-Beauval that I find little to applaud in the architecture of the Mitterand Library (BNF) and the void of its plateau. She has her own horror stories to tell of being a student doing research inside and doesn’t try to disabuse me of my impression. She puts down the library’s original architectural and technical mistakes to a failure to include experts on the use of a building when the building was designed. She then presents the context, the intent, the experimentation, the creation and the evolution of this new quarter along the Seine.

Only recently, she says, has Paris Rive Gauche begun to reach its maturity as residences, businesses and Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7, with its 26,000 students and 2000 faculty)—in short, daily life—have settled into this edge of the city. The quarter is still a work in progress. The wide Avenue de France that runs through the zone, which currently appears to fall off a cliff to the east, will eventually aim towards two towers, the Tours Duo, respectively 180 meters (39 stories) and 122 meters (27 stories) high, as the edges of Paris rise and the region pursues its march towards earning the moniker Greater Paris.

Overlooking the Seine, Hoarau-Beauval speaks of a successful synergy that has developed between the two sides of the river with the completion in 2006 of Passage Simone-de-Beauvoir, the 304-meter eye-shaped, double-helix foot- (and bike-) bridge that connects the BNF and the left bank of the river with Parc de Bercy and the right. As she describes her admiration for the bridge, I hear in Hoarau-Beauval’s voice an enthusiasm not unlike that of a foreign visitor taking in the view of the Eiffel Tower from the overlook at Trocadero. It’s a comparison all the more appropriate in that the Eiffel metal factory, heir to the great engineer’s company, was actually involved in constructing this bridge designed by the Austrian architect Dietmar Feichtinger.

Led by Hoarau-Beauval’s enthusiasm, fluidity of explanation and evident expertise, we visit a portion of Paris Rive Gauche: green spaces, the varied architecture of recent apartment buildings, industrial building transformed to space for artists and craftsman, the university. We glimpse the brick smoke stack of the former compressed air plant of the 19th century that is now a part of the Paris Val de Seine School of Architecture. While Hoarau-Beauval admires some of the architecture and sections of urban planning in this zone more than others, she sees this as “generally successful experimentation.”

Some of the buildings have character, yet the businesses of the quarter rarely do. An exception is Fil’O’Fromage (12 rue Neuve Tolbiac; closed Monday), the enduring cheese-and-wine bar of philosopher cheese monger Chérif Boubrit (“I’m the Cherif,” he says).

Asked about other new quarters on the edges of the city, Hoarau-Beauval applauds plans for new construction projects such as those in the Batignolles Quarter of the 17th arrondissement and the Triangle Tower in the 15th arrondissement. (Those developments that continue to have many detractors, as presented here and here on France Revisited).

In decades to come will we be as dismayed by architecture and materials of the 1990s-2010s as we are by some of those of the 1960s and 1970s?

“We’ve learned a lot from our errors with respect to that period,” she says.

At times Hoarau-Beauval seems to appreciate buildings whose appeal I don’t see, yet her role and that of the ArchiTrip guides is not to sell us on the beauty or utility of these structures and the larger district but to help us understand the whos, what, whens and whys of their development.

As a historian she, she held a similar role of urban explainer when working from 2006 to 2014 at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, an information and exhibition center devoted to urban planning and architecture in Paris and the surrounding region.

ArchiTrip’s other cofounder is Delphine Aboulker-Soriano, a licensed architect with a particular interest in Modernism. Aboulker-Soriano, who worked for two years in New York, is particularly interested in how architecture becomes recognized as heritage sites. In 2007 she cofounded Architecture de collection, a real estate agency dealing in remarkable architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Both cofounders continue to practice their specialization outside of their growing touring business.

They are both bilingual, French and English, as are most of the 12 independent guides now working for ArchiTrip. Tours are also available in Japanese, Chinese and Italian. Hoarau-Beauval says whereas she first thought that these tours would be particularly attractive to foreign visitors, it was the French that took an immediate interest.

ArchiTrip regularly schedules 3-hour “discovery tours” on various edges of the city, as well as in the center. Among them are tours that examine: canal-side developments in Pantin, where suburban industry is giving way to an urban mix of culture, offices and apartments; the period between the wars around Trocadero in the 16th arrondissement; the Roaring Twenties on the Left Bank along boulevard Raspail and boulevard du Montparnasse; the 1930s in Boulogne-Billancourt; the constellation of 100-metre tower from the 1960s and 1970s built along the Seine in the 15th arrondissement; La Défense, Europe’s largest business zone, and others quarters.

These 3-hour tours include a well-situated café break, and, whether seated or walking, the tour guides encourage questions and constructive dialogue about the use of buildings and the life of neighborhoods and quarters.

Discovery tours are designed for 10 to 15 participants, typically costing 36€ per person (18€ for the Pantin tour because partially subsidized by that suburb). Customized tours lasting 1½ to 3 hours are frequently organized for constituted groups of 6 to 8. There are also workshops for children ages 6 to 12, e.g. a workshop from Place de la Concorde to the Louvre by way of the Tuileries to examine the royal perspective to the west and observations about old and contemporary Paris.

An ArchiTrip tour may not turn you into a fan of the urban zones and architecture being examined, but it will open your eyes to how the powers that be in and around the capital city have conceived of its needs and its future over the past 100 years. Within and beyond the Paris that is so widely loved of an earlier time, the Paris of our own time merits exploration and understanding, whether we’d wish to stay/live in those parts of the city or not.

ArchiTrip, http://architrip.fr/en/

© 2015-2016, Gary Lee Kraut

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APUI (Appel à Projets Urbains et Innovants/Call for Innovative Urban Projects) was launched 15 month ago by Mayor Anne Hidalgo and drew 815 proposals from around the world.

”It was a crazy idea from the get-go,” the mayor said in announcing the winners on February 3, “but Paris needs out-of-the-box ideas for the 21st century.”

Most of the projects are far from the touristic center, taking advantage of abandoned buildings (like the 1930s Castagnary bathhouse in the 15th arrondissement) and oddly-shaped bits of undeveloped terrain. The initiative will create 1,341 new apartments (subsidized for 50% low and moderate income housing), co-working space, art forums, sport facilities and nearly 5½ acres of greenery, mostly planted on rooftops, terraces and facades.

The most ambitious—and largest—undertaking is Mille Arbres, an ocean-liner-like apartment/ park/ office/ hotel complex that will perch atop the beltway in the 17th arrondissement. In this city-within-a-city designed by architects Sou Fujimoto and Manal Rachdi-Oxo, the residential section will incorporate millennial-style amenities such as communal terraces with BBQs, rentable party facilities, concierge service and guest rooms. A signature Philippe Starck food court spanning the highway will link it to both Paris and Neuilly. Budgeted at 550 million euros, the complex is scheduled for delivery in 2022.

An early 20th-century electric sub-station in the Oberkampf district will morph into the Etoile Voltaire cinema/restaurant complex (scheduled to open in 2018) while a metal-frame 1950s garage in the Gambetta sector of the 20th arrondissement will cha-cha into the future as a choreographic center dubbed La Fabrique de la Danse (The Dance Factory).

One of several all-new buildings to be constructed with wooden facades, the Masséna Tower (on the site of a former rail station in the 13th arrondissement) will be devoted to alternative food and agriculture.

Through May 8, floorplans and scale models of the winning (and short-listed projects) are on view at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, Paris’s center for architecture and urban planning.

”Reinventing Paris” may seem like a daunting task but Mayor Hidalgo said she’s only just begun. ”My next project,” she promised, ”will be reinventing the Seine, all the way to Rouen.”

Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 21 Boulevard Morland. 4th arrondissement. Closed Monday. Metro Sully-MorlandFree admission.

Reinventer.paris. See the city’s official website for information about all of the sites and projects.

© 2016, Corinne LaBalme

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* * *

No casual tourist would describe Aix-en-Provence as a hotbed of the architectural avant-garde. From the terrace of Café des Deux Garçons, the Aix skyline looks just about like it did back when Paul Cézanne sipped his tisane with Emile Zola.

And yet the ultra-modern Sextius Mirabeau quarter, a showcase for Rudy Ricciotti, Kengo Kuma and some of the hottest 21st century design on the planet, is only a few blocks away. As one sips one’s pastis and looks around at the tawny-tinted 17th-18th century façades, the only question is “Where?”

Closer than you think

Like most 2000-year-old towns, Aix-en-Provence faced a severe space crunch in the mid-20th century. The population had exploded (from 30,000 in 1945 to 100,000 in 1975) and its summertime Lyric Festival, which started small and provincial in 1948, had gone global.

But unlike most 2000-year-old towns, Aix had a magic mushroom: 46 acres of friche—abandoned and under-used industrial land—that started right where the tree-lined Cours Mirabeau ended. City planners had coveted this terrain since the 1950s but given the multiple ownership couldn’t gain title to it.

Eventually, sorely-needed housing projects simply hop-scotched over the zone to new settlements west of the city, such as Jas de Bouffan, where the Fondation Vasarely broke ground in 1976. This left a void that started just west of the 19th-century Rotonde Fountain.

That’s not to say that nothing happened in this sector in the late 20th century. The Marseille autoroute bull-dozed through in the 60s, and a defunct match factory morphed into the Cité des Livres library complex in 1986. But the area wasn’t cleared for construction until negotiations were finalized over land held by the French railway company SNCF and the 1989 sale of the Thompson factory.

All these delays produced some happy results. The nastier brut abuse of the Pompidou era of the 1970s passed Aix by, and city planners had enough time to note that public opinion was against skyscrapers. Although the first set of plans had to be scrapped due the 1980s financial crisis, what emerged is all the more impressive.

Touring the new Aix

Head for the Napoleon III-era Fontaine de la Rotonde at the end of the Cours Mirabeau. It’s topped with three goddesses representing commerce, justice and the arts. One of those ladies, probably Miss Business, is staring hard at the brand-new, glass-walled Apple boutique that popped up last month. The gateway to New Aix is Les Allées Provençales, a series of sleek shopping and housing corridors (ca 2007) leading right across from Apple and the brand-new Tourist Office. Between Les Allees Provençales and the Grand Théâtre, you cross the Esplanade des Justes, inaugurated in March 2014.

The high architectural drama starts a few meters west at the Grand Théâtre de Provence, designed by Milan-based architect Vittorio Gregotti and inaugurated in 2007.

The choice of Gregotti as one the spirit guides for this new district is significant in itself. Gregotti is considered an anti-modernist of the Jane Jacobs/Robert Venturi ilk, believing that new architecture should harmonize with the existing urban context rather than make a stand-alone “statement” (e.g. Paris’s Tour Montparnasse).

Thus the curved, amphitheater-like entrance to the 1,366-seat building appears to nestle into its site, its stones carefully chosen to mimic the changing colors of Mont Sainte-Victoire. (Fact: The proximity of train tracks meant that the whole structure had to be mounted on springs.)

The rear of the theater, more linear but just as attractive, is visible from a high parvis (built above transit) that is home to two other 21st-century bijoux: the Centre Choréographique National d’Aix-en-Provence, nicknamed the Pavillon Noir, designed by Rudy Ricciotti (2006), and the comparatively virginal-looking, all-white Conservatoire Darius Milhaud (2013), signed Kengo Kuma.

Ricciotti, designer of Marseille’s drop-dead gorgeous MuCEM Museum (2013), used an angular, black concrete grid over sheets of glass for an effect that he has described as ”sado-maso” for the Aix Ballet’s home-base. It’s perfectly in line with the edgy work of Angelin Preljocaj, director of the Aix Ballet, famously quoted as saying “La création se fait dans le noir” (Creation takes place in the dark).

Next door, the angels (literally) sing in the Music Conservatory that Tokyo/Paris-based Kengo Kuma coated with shimmery, silver-white anodized aluminum that has been folded, origami-style, to create asymmetric zones of light and shadow. The concert hall, seating 500, is fashioned with wood-paneling in a similar origami treatment.

And below all this?

Remember the autoroute that was paved through the center of the neighborhood in the 1960s? Efforts have been made to beautify it as well. On one side on the tunnel, drivers see a vegetal wall developed by landscape artist Patrick Blanc in 2008. (Parisians know his work from vertical gardens at the Pershing Hall Hotel, the Quai Branly Museum and the BHV Homme store, among other places.) On the other side, yet to be completed, there will be a “water wall” (mur d’eau) commemorating Aix’s natural springs, designed by Christian Ghion.

Where to stay in the Sextius Mirabeau neighborhood?

This is a no-brainer. The glamorous, 5-star Mariott Renaissance opened right across from the Conservatory Darius Milhaud (Pavillon Blanc) in Feb 2014. Marseille architects Claude Sabon Nadjari and Rémy Saada drew up the plans which include a spa, a pool, and a gourmet Provençal restaurant that poached Aix’s top chef, Jean-Marc Banzo, from Le Clos de la Violette. The gastronomic restaurant (closed Sunday and Monday) serves dishes like grilled red mullet with zucchini spaghetti, calamars in squid ink and a reduced bouillabaisse sauce on its 90 € and 130 € prix fixe menus. (There’s also a bistro, open daily serving a 25 € lunch and a 39 € dinner.)

Christian Ghion designed the sleek furniture for the 133 guestrooms that are long on creature comforts: king-size beds, rain showers, AC, coffee/tea service, WiFi and iPod music chargers.

Even in a luxury hotel, however, you won’t get away from the fact that Aix, with 40,000 students, is youth-oriented. (There’s Gatorade right next to the Rémy Martin in the mini-bar.) To fit in better, book yourself a “face-modelling massage” at the spa or go directly to the bar and order the Renaissance cocktail (orange vodka, amaretto, lemon juice, ginger and sesame oil) and test its Phoenix effect.

Note that from many rooms like N° 18, you’ll have a great view of the Water Wall, which, when finished, will be the largest of its kind in Europe.

Marriott Renaissance Aix-en-Provence. 320 avenue Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 13100 Aix-en-Provence. Tel: 04.86.91.54.50.

Exterior Aix

Modern art doesn’t stop at the city limits. Forgo the all-too-familiar Cézanne route and check out the Fondation Vasarely, an Op Art palazzo presided over by Pierre Vasarely, grandson of the artist Victor Vasarely. It’s rare to be able to see this artist’s illusionistic work on a large scale… and ‘large’ for Vasarely was as tall as a two-story building. It’s a hike out of town, but the N° 2 bus takes you up to the doorstep.

Fondation Vasarely. Jas de Bouffan, 13690 Aix-en-Provence. Tel: 04 42 20 01 09. Closed Monday. Through September 2014, the museum showcases the work of Venezuelan op-artist Carlos Cruz-Diez.

Count on a half-hour drive due north to the Château La Coste and get an early start because it’s worth a day-long visit. Irish businessman/bio-dynamic wine entrepreneur Patrick McKillen has spiked his vineyards with works by a Who’s Who of contemporary artists.

Tadao Ando created the striking entry, Jean Nouvel designed the wine production area, and the surprises on the grounds include a Louise Bourgeois spider, a Calder stabile, a Frank Gehry music pavilion “rescued” from its Serpentine sojourn in London, Liam Gillick screens, a Druid-like subterranean vault by Andy Goldsworthy and Michael Stipe foxes… and that’s not all.

It takes at least three to four hours to see all the installations… and new ones are being built all the time. (Kengo Kuma, Ai Weiwei, Carsten Holler and Renzo Piano are on the coming attractions list.) Eventually, the owner plans to create a hotel.

In the meantime, there’s wine to drink and food to eat in two different restaurants. One—slightly more formal, overlooking a Hiroshi Sugimoto sculpture in a reflecting pool—serves quinoa tabbouleh and foie gras. The second—set in a village-like townscape which is actually where La Coste vineyard workers live—serves gazpacho and salads. Open daily. Call ahead for information about wine tastings and special evening events.

Château La Coste. 2750 Route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade. Tel: 04 42 61 92 90.

© 2014, Corinne LaBalme

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Will Paris Be Modernized or Disfigured?
by Patrice Maire

Ever since he was elected Mayor of Paris in 2001, Bertrand Delanoë has established his popularity though high profile communications with operations such as Vélib, the bike share system, Paris-Plages, the summertime “beach” along the Seine, and a call for the construction of skyscrapers—towers—along the edges of the city.

In 2004 he consulted Parisians on their view of the capital’s urban development: 120,000 people responded and 63% declared themselves to be opposed to the construction of towers. He dropped the idea, particularly since he couldn’t alienate his Green Party allies who were also opposed.

A modernity of thundering rupture with the past

In an opuscule published in 2009, Paris 21e siècle (21st Century Paris), the mayor bellowed that “Paris should know how to impose its modernity in order to maintain its rank.” Indeed, he’s given endless stabs at the Paris landscape. On multiple occasions he has pushed up the height limits in urban regulations: 15 meters (49 feet) higher for architectural signs, unlimited increase for wind turbines, etc. At the end of 2009, he chipped away at the regulated height zone protecting the view of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées and on Rue de Rivoli by accepting the raising of the Samaritaine [Editor’s note: Samaritaine is a former department store occupying choice real estate between Notre-Dame and the Louvre  and now owned by LVMH and under renovation/reconversion]. Worse still, he obliges developers with a modernity of thundering rupture, a 180° turn-around with respect to the principles of integration in the urban landscape that have always been written in the City Planning Code.

Delanoë and “old stones”

On November 21, 2011, at the Cévennes Gymnasium in the 15th arrondissement, he said that “the image of Paris is not simply to come to see old stones… we expect Paris to be a dynamic city of the 21st century, not of the 18th or the 19th… we ask it to be a city of heritage and in international competition, intellectually and creatively competitive… the city cannot live and breathe if we have this immobile, stiff, stuck vision…”

Architectural language during Haussmann’s time

Hearing these unpleasant words about the physiognomy of Haussmann’s Paris is a reminder that some Parisians repudiate it and even see in a “bourgeois culture.” Needless to say, we appreciate a masterpiece more when we understand the context in which it appeared. That was my goal in publishing in May 2012 Special Issue No. 4 of the journal Monts 14 entitled Le langage architectural au temps d’Haussmann, (Architectural Language During Haussmann’s Time), a document that dares to make the comparison with the Renaissance in Florence, Italy in the 15th century.

The fight against the Triangle Tower

Following the municipal elections of 2008, Mayor Delanoë’s Socialist Party had an absolute majority in the city legislature. He immediately began to push on Parisians plans for skyscrapers at six locations in Paris. On September 25 that year, the Triangle Tower project was presented at City Hall to an audience of dazzled journalists. [Editor’s note: the official website for the Triangle Tower as planned by the architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron can be found here.]

The tower is supposed to make more attractive the Parc des expositions exhibition complex at Porte de Versailles on the southeastern edge of the city (15th arrondissement) by creating hotel rooms, conference halls, a business incubator, etc. In reality, only one large company, of international scope, is interested in occupying space there. Offended at having been left in the dark, Philippe Goujon, mayor (UMP, conservative party) of the 15th arrondissement, declared, “The project disintegrated in my eyes: no hotel rooms, no conference halls, offices for whom?”

Revision of the PLU (Local Urban Plan) for Porte de Versailles

That was before the financial crisis weighed down on the real estate market for office space in 2009. Nevertheless, Anne Hidalgo, Mayor Delanoë’s right hand [Editor’s note: and presumed candidate to replace him in 2014], launched a communications campaign on the theme “Change the image of Paris.”

Two years later, an exhibition about the projected changes took place at the district hall of the 15th arrondissement from June 28 to September 2, 2011. District Mayor Goujon was again in favor of the project. A public inquiry was conducted that fall to gather the comments regarding the proposed development.

During that period, Mont 14 and other associations opposed to the project—Jeunes Parisiens de Paris, ADAHPE, APXV and SOS Paris (the most international and Anglophone of these groups)—formed the Collective Against the Triangle Tower.

Collective Against the Triangle Tower gains traction

These efforts began to bear fruit. Having gathered the observations 300 people as well as 1700 signatures on a petition by Monts 14, the commissioner of the inquiry noted in his official report of April 2012, along with remarks favorable to the tower, three reservations to the project: concerning traffic, the shadow caused by the tower and the partial amputation of the Parc des expositions. In particular, the report asked Mr. Delanoë to justify that the project would not weaken the role of the exhibition complex in terms of international competition.

Indeed, the tower as then planned would amputate from 6000 square meters (65000 square feet) of the exhibition complex’s Hall 1, a unique window to the world for the major French automobile manufacturers during the Automobile Show held here every two years in the fall. In support of the Automobile Show, the Collective Against the Triangle Tower demonstrated at the show’s opening on September 29, 2012. The demonstration made the front page of the newspaper Le Parisien. The newspaper Le Figaro followed suit. Another demonstration, on the occasion of the Boat Show, took place on December 8. This time the Collective was joined by representatives of the political parties MODEM, Jeunes democrats, EELV, Debout la république and Parti de Gauche.

A turning point in the fight

Their presence represents a turning point in the fight. Indeed, there are prejudices that are difficult to combat. Faced with the penury of reasonably priced housing, Parisians often see towers in a positive light. Mr. Delanoë finds it easy to toady to their anxiety by luring them with the promise of mixed-use towers with space for both business and lodging. We have repeatedly remarked that as far as lodging goes such high-rises are expensive to build per square meter and their maintenance costs are excessive (500€ per month for a 3-room apartment in the Olympiades complex on the southwest edge of Paris). Their primary purpose is apparently not to created affordable housing for inhabitants of the city.

Delanoë’s totem

The sole interest for constructing a building such as the Triangle Tower in Paris is its totemic value. A massive building overshadowing the city can have communications value for a large company or for the mayor of Paris. Mr. Delanoë would like to be identified with the totem of the Triangle Tower. However, there’s a far more emblematic vision to consider, that of the Great Boulevards, of stone buildings, of Haussmannian rooftops, of the Galeries Lafayette, of diversity and cultural richness.

It’s the attraction of that vision that explains why Paris is the most world’s most visited city. Such attractiveness is France’s good fortune, but it’s one that risks being wasted. Towers are now commonplace; worldwide, about 15000 towers rise over 100 meters (328 feet). Towers draw our attention like a lightning rod attracts lightning. Building towers would interfere with the Paris skyline and make it commonplace.

Mr. Delanoë has had to regroup following the reservations put forth last year by the commissioner of the inquiry. Still attached to the hotel rooms and convention halls that he had wanted housed in the tower, he’s now looking to build them elsewhere within the same sector. Mr. Delanoë has now launched another public inquiry in an attempt to “modernize” the Parc des Exposition with the creation of hotel rooms and meeting halls. That absolutely does not justify the construction of the Triangle Tower as an office tower!

Let’s refuse to let Paris be disfigured

The Triangle Tower will be voted on by the Council of Paris on the July 18, 2013. If approved, the association Monts 14 will bring the matter before the administrative tribunal on the grounds that this project is not in the public interest. We will then do our part in ensuring that the debate about the physiognomy of Paris is among the major issues of next year’s municipal elections.

Whether you live in France, in the United States or elsewhere around world, we invite all those who love Paris to support this fight by signing the petition found here, writing to the major or to your local representative in Paris, joining an association, attending our debates and demonstrations, and letting it be known that you refuse to let Paris be disfigured.

Patrice Maire
President of Monts 14

Patrice Maire is president of the association Monts 14 and editor of the journal produced by the association. For information about the association and its efforts to halt the construction of the Triangle Tower see www.monts14.com.

Mont 14 is one of the associations that grouped under the banner Collective Against the Triangle Tower. Another among them is SOS Paris, which has many foreign and English-speaking members.

Patrice Maire’s text in France was translated for France Revisited by Gary Lee Kraut, April 2013.

The opinion expressed above is presented to give a sense of the debate surrounding the Triangle Tower and does not necessarily reflect that of France Revisited.

For France Revisited’s introduction to the subject of the Triangle Tower and of other high-rises in Paris read: Paris on the Edge: Does the French Capital Need High-Rises and Towers to Stay Relevant.

The post The Cranky Urbanist: Paris Doesn’t Need the Triangle Tower appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

No, it’s on the edges of the city that Paris is mutating, with accelerated changes due to arrive over the next 15 years. The most marked of these mutations, if Paris City Hall gets its way, would be the construction of a ring of towers around the city, placing the French capital, in the shadow, both literally and figuratively, of high-rises and skyscrapers (mini skyscrapers to start) as never before.

Gustave Eiffel’s tower, completed in 1889 and at 312 meters (1034 feet) then the highest monument in the world, may be the grandfather of skyscrapers, but Paris otherwise kept its head down until the 1960s. While the authorized height limit within Paris remained 37 meters (about 8 stories) or less in some areas, permission was giving in the late 1960s and early 1970s to build a spate of high-rise towers on inner edges of the city, notably in the 13th arrondissement (Olympiades) and the 15th arrondissement (Front de Seine).

But it was the Montparnasse Tower that truly challenged the vision of what the skyline of Paris could be when it rose far beyond the standard height and well within the city limits. Inaugurated in 1973, it stands 210 meters (689 feet) high, two-thirds the height of the Eiffel Tower; it’s a foreboding sight from most angles but it does offer a spectacular 360 degree view from its rooftop. After that, Paris again shied away from towers and instead watched contentedly as business (and some residential) towers took shape at a safe suburban distance to the west at La Defense.

In the past 30 years, the debates about new constructions have largely centered around public projects: Buren’s Columns in the mid-1980s and I.M. Pei’s (and President Francois Mitterand’s) Pyramid of the Louvre in the late 1980s were quickly followed by the pharaonic assault of the BNF National Library, another Mitterand project which opened in 1998, and the Quai Branly Museum, President Jacques Chirac’s lovechild born ugly as sin in 2006 but discrete behind its greenery.  Like them or not, those were all national constructions designed with culture and national (as well as presidential) pride in mind.

Plans are now underway for the construction of towers around the inner edge of the capital. The towers as currently imagined would max out at 180 meters (590 feet), small by skyscraper standards but nevertheless a dramatic change of the skyline of the city. In conceiving them, there is no longer any pretense of cultural or even national pride but rather, according to those in favor of the new towers, of economic development and a certain kind of height-inspired prestige. Paris, for all its tourist appeal and its one-upmanship in terms of food, drink, art and all that is urban luxury, remains a city concerned with housing, office space, economic development, and noise and air pollution—in short, with growth and well-being.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (Socialist Party) is full steam ahead regarding the towers, and should the current detract his plans then the 2014 mayoral race in Paris will undoubtedly set for years to come the city’s direction in the construction of towers, with the Socialist Party leading the charge for the construction of towers and the conservative party (UMP) not so sure—or at least preferring to have their own friends in on the deal. (It’s likely, however, that, both major parties cavort with the builders and developers.)

Towers have been on the mayor’s agenda for the past decade. A major step toward their construction was taken in 2010 the City of Paris raised the authorized limit in certain sectors to 50 meters (164 feet, about 11 stories) for apartment buildings and has been flirting with developers for projects for office towers or mixed-use towers of up to 180 meters (590 feet). The first of the new towers benefiting from the new height limit will begin casting their shadows over the next few years.

Now comes plans for the Triangle Building, a 180-meter pyramid designed by the Swiss firm of Herzog & de Meuron (Tate Modern of London, Beijing National Stadium, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum of San Francisco, etc.), whose construction City Hall has been pushing for on the southwestern edge of the city near the Parc des Expositions exhibition complex in the 15th arrondissement. (The architects’ visions of the planned towers can be seen here.)

They mayor’s office has for several years now been arguing for the need for the likes of the Triangle Tower and other high rises along the periphery of the capital, claiming that the economic development, competitiveness and very prestige of the capital are at stake. The yea-sayers allege that refusing the solution of height would mummify Paris. Of the Triangle Tower itself, Mayor Delanoë has said that its profile would not only not disturb the city but would “improve both the beauty and the urbanism of Paris” and the neighboring suburbs of Vanves and Issy-les-Moulineaux.

Yet opposition runs strong, arguing that Triangle Tower in particular is economically unsound, contrary to the public interest, harmful to its neighborhood and visual nuisance.

Seeking to show the point of view of those opposed to the Triangle Tower and, more generally, to the eventuality of a ring of towers around the city, France Revisited offered associations in opposition to the project a tribune to present their views to our foreign readership. Patrice Maire, president of the association Monts 14, itself a part of the  Collective Against the Triangle Tower,  stepped up to the plate. Read that opinion on the construction of the Triangle Tower here.

© 2013, Gary Lee Kraut

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* * *

Notre-Dame de Reims

The Gothic cathedrals of Europe were very much the skyscrapers of their time both for their reach to the sky and their intent to demonstrate the stature of the cities and of the bishoprics (a Roman Catholic cathedral refers to the church that is the seat of the bishop) in which they were built.

In 469 Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized in Reims by Bishop-cum-Saint Remi. That fundamental consecration of the marriage of Church and King in France, is shown on the façade of Notre-Dame de Reims as it is in many other cathedrals in France. (The marriage was formally dissolved during the French Revolution. There were attempts at national therapy to patch things up in the 19th century, but for over a hundred years now the marriage has been declared over, with the separation of assets clearly identified by the law of 1905.)

In memory of the baptism of Clovis, it became firm tradition as of the 9th century that a king of France should come to Reims, 80 miles northeast of Paris, to confirm his divinely-inspired power over his kingdom and the Church’s intimate role in that power. That confirmation required anointing by a holy ointment kept in a holy vial. By the time this Notre-Dame was begun, in 1211, the construction of a cathedral in keeping with Reims’s stature and role as the site of royal unction was long overdue.

Since the coronation of Louis VIII in 1223, all but three of the French kings were crowned in this cathedral. Those three are: Louis VI, who received unction in Orleans in 1108 because he felt it would be dangers to travel to Reims; Henri IV, who was crowned in Chartres in 1594 because Reims was in the hand of his enemies; Louis XVIII, who returned from exile in England to become king in 1814 and for whom no coronation ceremony was held in France.)

The historical events surrounding the 1429 coronation of Charles VII in the presence of Joan of Arc, who’d heard voices telling her that that the king must quit cowering in the Loire Valley and assume his god-given role in France, is celebrated each year in Reims over the first weekend of June in an annual Joan festival called les Fêtes Johanniques. The major event of the weekend is the Sunday afternoon reenactment of the procession to the cathedral from Saint Remi Basilica, Reims’ other important and impressive architectural monument.

Visitors arriving by car will find that the frontal approach leading to Rue Rockefeller and then the vast square in front of the cathedral is regal indeed. American industrialist John D. Rockefeller got the honors of a street named after him in thanks for the enormous funding he provided in the 1920s to rebuild the cathedral which had been heavily damaged by bombardment during WWI. (Another sizable donation by the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie allowed for the construction of the beautiful Art Deco public library that’s near the cathedral.)

There are lots of 20th-century windows here because of war damage, including the bright blue windows that draws your gaze the far end of the cathedral when you first enter were created by Marc Chagall in 1974.

Unlike Chartres, where the cathedral is the destination, Notre-Dame de Reims often plays second fiddle to the town’s main attraction: its champagne houses. After all, Reims along with Epernay, 18 miles south, are the main centers for champagne production, with many small producers nearby along the slopes between the two towns. Millions of bottles lie fermenting in tunnels north and east of the cathedral. Those bottles will eventually see the light of day—or night—dressed in the labels of Taittinger, Pommery, Mumm, Ruinart, Veuve-Cliquot, and other champagne houses.

There’s no escaping the influence of bubbly in Reims, even in the cathedral, where a series of stained glass windows donated by the region’s winemakers show it being made as though a scene from a regional bible.

But the most joyful symbol of the marriage of Church and champagne is the smiling angel on the façade of the cathedral that has come to represent the city itself. It wasn’t created with sparkling wine in mind, yet no visitor now admires the angel without associating the two.

Like Chartres and Amiens, Reims also had a labyrinth on its floor, but it was removed by the Church in 1779. Nevertheless, its image, taken from drawings made when the labyrinth was in place, is now the French Ministry of Culture’s logo designating historical monuments.

Notre-Dame d’Amiens

The final spoke in these radiating Notre-Dames leads north to the Cathedral of Amiens, 80 miles north of Paris, which has the largest interior of all the medieval mastodons of France, twice as voluminous as its elder sister Notre-Dame de Paris.

Amiens is perhaps the most harmonious of these cathedrals because, following the destruction of a previous cathedral destroyed by fire in 1218, it was built in a relatively short period of 50 years, from 1220 to 1270, making this the rare cathedral that an individual might see started and consecrated during his lifetime.

Along with its architectural prowess, the cathedral reveals a treasure chest of biblical, spiritual, political, and local anecdotes in stone, wood, and glass, all in tip-top condition thanks to cleaning and restoration in the 1990s. That work brought to light evidence of the extent to which the sculptures on the facade were painted in the Middle Ages. We often think of these medieval churches as being the color of the naked limestone, but in fact they were highly colored. An impressive 40-minute sound-and-light show (after nightfall in spring and summer and again in December) projects estimates of the original colors on the façade. Reims and Chartres also have sound-and-light shows against the façade of their cathedrals.

For the quality and drama of its sculptural works inside and out, Amiens is a remarkable monument to the talents of 13th century sculptors. Among its most celebrated details are the cartoon-like images of Hell on the central door, the crying angel behind the choir that came to be dear to soldiers visiting during the First World War, and the Golden Virgin which has been brought inside from its original pedestal on the southern entrance, where a copy now stands.

By the time Amiens’ cathedral was underway, the French style of architecture had gone mainstream and was spreading throughout Europe; Gothic cathedrals then sprouted up in surrounding kingdoms and empires until the 15th century. Then new winds of architectural and artistic change, those of the Renaissance, began to blow across the continent, this time set in motion by Italy. Follow those winds on another architectural trip abroad.

Practical information for visiting the five Notre-Dames

The Notre-Dames of Paris, Chartres, Laon, Reims and Amiens are all open daily and free for all visitors. These cathedrals are designated as national monuments; they are property of and largely maintained by the state, with the Catholic Church having permanent use of them for religious purposes. Visitors can enter at all times during the day except in the case of special events. Portions designated for religious service may be cordoned off for those attending service.

Church policy requests modest dress, such as covered shoulders and skirts or shorts that aren’t too short, and men should remove any hats upon entering. But authorities are fairly relaxed about it these days. In any case, visitors should respect the fact that the buildings do have a religious function along with their secular appeal as historical monuments.

If traveling in spring and summer consider attending a sound-and-light show after nightfall at the cathedrals of Chartres, Reims and Amiens (whose show also takes place in December).

While you can visit any of those outside of Paris by radiating out from the capital, Amiens, Laon (to which can be added the Gothic Saint-Quentin Basilica between Amiens and Laon) and Reims can be visited in a driving tour of the regions north and northeast of Paris. These can be combined with explorations of WWI sites in the countryside, making for a fascinating two or three or four days of historical touring, ending with a glass or three of champagne in and around Reims. The central tourist offices of those towns can provide information about WWI sites (including those with an American and Canadian presence) and specialized tours in the surrounding area.

Paris: The official website of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau gives much practical information about visiting the city. The Catholic’s Church’s own information site about Notre-Dame provides details about the edifice as well as mass times, church-organized tours and concerts (the latter include free Sunday afternoon organ concerts which have been suspended during work on the instrument in 2012 and will resume in January 2013). Paris’s other great Gothic structure, the Saint Chapelle (Holy Chapel), the royal chapel of exquisite construction and mostly 13th-century glass, is just a few hundred yards from Notre-Dame in what was formerly a royal palace complex and is now the city’s judicial complex.

Saint-Denis: Saint-Denis Basilica, which is considered the first major structure built at the start of the Gothic era when reconstruction of its apse began in 1144, is located in the suburb/city of Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, and can be reached on metro (subway) line 13 at station Basilique de Saint-Denis. In 1966 it was also given the status of cathedral, so it is officially called the Basilica-Cathedral of Saint Denis. In addition to presenting extraordinary and luminous architecture, the basilica-cathedral contains dozens of royal tombs and funerary monuments since this was the traditional burial place of the royals of France. There is an entrance fee to visit the tombs and monuments. More information can be found here.

Chartres: 56 miles southwest of Paris; 1¼ hour by car; an hour by train departing from Paris Montparnasse Station; about $21 one way. In addition to its daytrip appeal, Chartres can be visited on the way to/from the Loire Valley or Brittany or as a detour to/from Normandy. Tourist information can be found here.  The church’s own website is here. A sound-and-light show takes place on the facade of the cathedral from April 20 to September 21.

Laon: 85 miles northeast of Paris; 2 hours by car; 1½-2 hours for direct trains departing every hour or two from Paris North (Nord) Station; about $30 one way. The Laon Tourist Office is beside the cathedral. Tourist officials have told me that few Canadians or Americans visit the town, so North Americans should stop into the tourist office while here and ask to be counted. Cathedral tours are worthwhile even when only in French because they give access to portions of the building that are otherwise inaccessible. Also see this photo reportage about Notre-Dame de Laon.

Reims: 80 miles northeast of Paris; 1¾ hours by car; 45-50 minutes by high-speed train (TGV) from Paris East (Est) Station; about $44. The tourist office is next to the cathedral and can provide information about visiting champagne house in the city. The church’s own website is here. A 25-minute sound-and-light show takes place at the cathedral certain evenings from June to September.

Amiens: 80 miles directly north of Paris; 1 ¾ hours by car; 70-100 minutes for direct trains leaving about every 1½ hours from Paris North (Nord) Station; about $29 one way. Amiens’ tourist information website is found here. Amiens projects a magnificent light show onto the façade of its cathedral. The last train back to Paris from Amiens leaves shortly after 8pm most days, though, so in summer you’ll have to miss either the show or the train. The 40-minute projection begins at 7pm during its December run, when Amiens’ Christmas market may add a bit of an attraction, so those willing to venture north at that time of year can catch part of the show before hurrying off to the station. Also see this article about Amiens.

© 2012, Gary Lee Kraut

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