Sometimes I think about all the pastry, butter, cheese and hot chocolate I consume on short trips to Paris and wonder how I don’t roll home four sizes larger than I was before. When I’m settled in Paris for long periods of time, I’m pretty good at basing my meals around fruit and vegetables (although … More La Tour Jean-sans-Peur
There are few areas of Paris as detested as les Halles. Located in the very heart of the city, over the largest subterranean train station in the world, les Halles has been a busy, noisy, messy meeting place for nine hundred years. As Paris evolved through the Middle Ages, the Ancien Régime and the République, … More L’Eglise Saint-Eustache
It doesn’t run quite through the centre of Paris, but the Seine river is both the heart of the city and the thing that splits it in two. You’ll hear Parisians refer to their location in a number of ways – arrondissement, closest metro station – but the main geographical distinction in Paris is between … More Les Ponts de Paris
French presidents of the Fifth Republic have a thing about museums. Towards the end of their tenure, they tend to announce lofty ambitions for major new museums that will enrich the cultural landscape of Paris- and not least, cement their legacy in it. It started with Georges Pompidou and his radically-designed museum of modern art. … More Le Musée du Quai Branly
I confess that as the years go by, I’m becoming less and less enamoured with Montmartre. I used to be totally charmed by the district that was once a tiny village, surrounded by fields. I was always excited to tread in the footsteps of my beloved Toulouse-Lautrec and his Impressionist peers. Not so much anymore. … More Le Cimetière de Montmartre
I’m no expert on fashion history, but I’ve always been intrigued by Yves Saint Laurent. Born in Algeria and raised between France and North Africa, Saint Laurent had an intimate understanding of texture, design and the human form, and knew he was destined for an haute couture career from an early age. As a young … More Le Musée Yves Saint Laurent
It’s been a long time since I’ve been transfixed in front of a painting. It’s been years since I’ve been so struck by an image that I’ve circled back more than once to drink it in. It’s not that I’ve lost my love of arts or that I haven’t been seeing good exhibitions. I just … More La Fondation Custodia
One of my favourite words in the French language is flâneur (or flâneuse, to describe myself). “Flâneur” became a popular word in the nineteenth century for describing a very specific kind of Parisian. A flâneur is someone who wanders at a leisurely pace throughout the city. The word describes the walk; unhurried, indulgent, with frequent stops … More Les Passages couverts de Paris
Within a couple of hours of Paris – and in some cases, a couple of minutes – there are literally dozens of châteaux. Some are rather austere but historically significant, like the Château de Vincennes, while others are impossibly decadent and ornate (hello, Château de Versailles). These castles may look like something out of a … More Le Château de Sceaux
In the heart of the city, in the middle of the Seine, on the enchanting Ile Saint-Louis, inside the quiet Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, up a spiral staircase and through multiple sets of ornate doors, lies the smallest museum in Paris. The Salon Chopin is just one room. In it you will find a piano, portraits, … More Le Salon Frédéric Chopin
Les Musées de Paris 