Tag Archives: France

Top New Books: “The Seine – The River That Made Paris” By Elaine Sciolino

From an advance review:

The SeineSciolino’s keen eye and vivid prose bring the river to life as she discovers its origins on a remote plateau of Burgundy, where a pagan goddess healed pilgrims at an ancient temple. She follows the Seine to Le Havre, where it meets the sea.  Braiding memoir, travelogue, and history through the Seine’s winding route, Sciolino offers a love letter to Paris and the river at its heart and invites readers to explore its magic.

In the spring of 1978, as a young journalist in Paris, Elaine Sciolino was seduced by a river. In The Seine, she tells the story of that river through its rich history and lively characters—a bargewoman, a riverbank bookseller, a houseboat dweller, a famous cameraman known for capturing the river’s light. She patrols with river police, rows with a restorer of antique boats, discovers a champagne vineyard, and even dares to swim in the Seine.

To read more: https://elainesciolino.com/the-seine-the-river-that-made-paris

Travel: Restored Hotel “Les Bains”, Paris Hosted Marcel Proust & Émile Zola Over Century Ago

From a The Spaces online review:

French literary greats Marcel Proust and Émile Zola visited Les Bains after its opening as a bathhouse in the late 19th century. Decades later in 1978, designer Philippe Stark transformed the place into a nightclub, welcoming a different calibre of guests through its doors. David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Karl Lagerfeld were among the people to make a splash at this Paris institution.

The new Les Bains hotel, revamped by architect Vincent Bastie, features a restored grand entrance that stays true to its Haussmannian roots. Designers Tristan Auer and Denis Montel were drafted in to design the interiors, while outdoor areas have also received an update, including the courtyard, opened up to draw in more light.

Hotel Les Bains Paris

Les Bains, the iconic Paris nightclub, has reopened as a 39-room hotel five years after partygoers last enjoyed a drink and a dance. It’s the latest chapter in the life of the 1885 Haussmannian building, which has played host to a who’s who of the creative world.

Les Bains will retain its famous party spirit when the bar, club and restaurant open later this month. And the likes of Jagger and Bowie might still feel the need to let their hair down when they step onto the dance floor, which mimics Stark’s chequered design from 1978.

 

Les Bains, 7 Rue du Bourg-l’Abbé 75003 Paris

Destination Travel: “Belle Époque Luxury” At Domaine Les Crayères Hotel, Champagne, France

From an Architectural Digest online article:

Domaine Les Crayères Hotel in Champagne, FranceChampagne is a lot bigger than it seems. Vineyards can be up to an hour away from each other depending on traffic, so it’s best to pick a home base in the heart of the region. The luxurious Domaine  Les Crayères was the former home of Madame Pommery’s daughter (Pommery was a 19th century French businesswoman who took over her husband’s successful wine business after he passed away). The space was transformed into a hotel in the early 1980s, where it still retains some of the Belle Époque sensibility from its previous owner.

Champagne FranceChampagne is one of those places in the world that there’s truly no bad season to visit. Yet, before you let the bubbles get to your head, remember to plan everything in-advance as many vineyards are small, independently owned, and can’t always accommodate walk-ins. The place is also very spread out, so you should consider renting a car or hiring a driver if you’re booking several tastings. Luckily, getting to Champagne is easy, as it’s only a two-hour train ride from Paris. In fact, some travelers even opt to simply make a day trip out of it. Time spent aside, the grandiose French architecture all the way to the glow of the vineyards will warm your heart (no, it’s not just the alcohol) and have you immediately wanting to come back.

To read more: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/design-lovers-guide-to-champagne-france

New Destination Hotels: Le Grand Contrôle At The Château de Versailles Opens In Spring 2020

From a Curbed.com online article:

Le Grand Contrôle Hotel Versailles FrancePart of the luxury hotel chain Les Airelles, Le Grand Contrôle is named for the building it will occupy—a 17th-century structure once used as the finance hub of the palace. The hotel will have 14 rooms, some of them apartments, as well as a wellness center, indoor swimming pool, and an Alain Ducase restaurant.

Its views include the ornate gardens outside of the Orangery, a building custom built for housing the palace’s array of tropical trees during winter.

Though the hotel is keeping mum about the details on the interior, The Spaces reports that Parisian designer Christophe Tollemer will render the hotel in classic 18th-century style, gold, glass, and molding. There’s no word on rates yet, but we’ll go ahead and guess they’ll be as haute as the hotel itself.

To read more: https://www.curbed.com/2019/10/16/20916473/versailles-france-hotel-le-grand-controle

Classic Car Events: The “Journées d’Automne” Near Paris Is Now A Top Motoring Destination

From a Classic Driver online review:

Journées d'Automne 2019Enthusiasts and friends travelled from France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, America and even Argentina to enjoy great food and wine (we were in the Champagne region, after all), even better locations and roads and a truly diverse selection of classic cars. Wilhelm Schmid – the ever-passionate CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, Journées d’Automne’s low-key title sponsor – drove his stunning Porsche 911S from Dresden together with his wife Yvonne. “For me, this event is the highlight of my personal motoring year,” he told me. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Journées d'Automne 2019Journées d’Automne. It sounds a bit like the title of a romance novel by Rosamunde Pilcher, but it’s actually a wonderful classic car meeting that takes place every October just east of Paris. What began several years ago as an autumnal outing for a small number of car-minded friends has evolved into a large yet intimate get-together and an insider’s tip for celebrating the end of the events season in style.

To read more: https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/why-journees-dautomne-one-our-favourite-classic-car-events?utm_campaign=832019%20Journes%20dAutomne%20EN&utm_content=832019%20Journes%20dAutomne%20EN%20CID_e131205745833e66128075b678ebd38f&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

 

New Paris Museums: Bourse De Commerce – Pinault Collection To Open In June 2020

From an Art Forum online article:

Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection by Maxime TétardThe plans for the venue were previously reported to encompass 9,850 square feet of exhibition space, a black-box theater, and an auditorium. Earlier this year, Pinault said he wants the museum to complement existing art institutions in Paris, and that he will collaborate with the Centre Pompidou on a program that will take place concurrently at both venues in 2020.

The French billionaire art collector François Pinault announced that his $170 million contemporary art museum in Paris is slated to open next June near the Louvre and the Centre Pompidou. The Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection will be housed in the city’s old stock exchange, in a building designed by the Pritzker Prize–winning architect Tadao Ando, and is to host ten exhibitions a year drawing from Pinault’s collection.

To read more: https://www.artforum.com/news/francois-pinault-to-open-contemporary-art-museum-in-paris-in-june-2020-81017

Top Museum Exhibits: “Greco” At The Grand Palais, Paris On Oct 16

Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1585), El Greco.Rediscovered in the late 19th century, celebrated by authors, acknowledged and embraced by the 20th century avant-garde, the artist has enjoyed the dual prestige of tradition and modernity, linking Titian to the Fauvists and Mannerism to Cubism, Expressionism, Vorticism and Abstraction up to the Action painting.

This retrospective is the first major exhibition in France ever to be dedicated to this artist.

Born in Crete in 1541, Domenico Theotokopoulos, known as El Greco, undertook his initial apprenticeship in the Byzantine tradition before refining his training in Venice and then Rome. However, it was in Spain that his art flourished, firmly taking root from the 1577s. Attracted by the incredible promise of the El Escorial site, the artist brought Titian’s colour, Tintoretto’s audacity and Michelangelo’s heroic style. This eloquent combination, original yet consistent with his own way, gave El Greco (who died four years after Caravaggio) a unique place in the history of painting, as the last grand master of the Renaissance and the first great painter of the Golden Age.

Website: https://www.grandpalais.fr/en/event/greco

Future Of Tourism: Athenea Eco-Friendly Luxury Floating Suites Will Be Available Soon

From a Curbed.com online article:

ANTHENEA IS THE FIRST FLOATING ECO-LUX HOTEL SUITE interiorThe domed capsule is the brainchild of naval architect Jean-Michel Ducancelle, who was inspired by the floating saucer in the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Under development for the last 15 years, this 21st-century version is outfitted with five south-facing solar panels that soak up the sun and power the electric motors and mechanical systems.

 

Half-boat, half-futuristic pod, the Anthenea is a bold take on sea-bound tourism. While we’ve already seen everything from an underwater Maldives hotel to an elevating floating home, the 538-square-foot Anthenea is being billed as “the world’s first eco-luxe floating hotel suite” (that can also be used as a spa, restaurant, night club, or really whatever the buyer can dream of).

http://www.anthenea.fr/en/homepage/

To read more: https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/5/20850121/solar-powered-floating-hotel-suite-anthenea

Visual Artists: Samir Belhamra’s “Mesmerizing Meadows From Soaring Perspectives” In Provence

From a MyModernMet.com online article:

Samir Belhamra Visual Artist - Valensole by Night, South France, Provence 2To many nature photographers, no muse is quite as magical as a field of flowers. This tried and true subject is particularly popular with aerial photographers, whose atmospheric shots allow us to explore the mesmerizing meadows from soaring perspectives. One photographer taking this trend to new heights is Samir Belhamra, a visual artist whose love of aerial photography landed him in a lavender field in France.

Situated in Valensole, a picturesque town in Provence, this field of flowers blankets the golden landscape in shades of purple. In order to capture the extent of the site’s sprawling beauty, Belhamra begins his video at ground level. Slowly, he directs his DJI Mavic Air drone toward the sky in order to showcase the perfectly organized and seemingly endless rows of flowers from various vantage points.

https://grafixartphoto.com/

To read more click on following link: https://mymodernmet.com/lavender-video-samir-belhamra/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=2019-08-29