You never forget your first sight of the Pompidou Centre in Paris. It’s a colourful, unique and totally iconic building. It’s an inside out building, a daring architectural design which caused controversy when it opened in 1977. It still does.

Due to close for 4 years for renovations from late 2023 until 2027, the Pompidou Centre is a modern art museum that’s a must-see in Paris.

Design of the Pompidou Centre

The Pompidou Centre is in the 4th Arrondissement, in an historic area known as the Beaubourg district. And in fact the museum was originally called Centre Beaubourg. It was renamed as a tribute to President Georges Pompidou during whose reign the centre was built.

The main architectural team consisted of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano. Construction work started in April 1972 and work on the metal framework began in September 1974. It was opened to the public on February 2, 1977. The Centre Pompidou covers 2 hectares with a total floor space of 103,305 square meters. The total cost of the construction was estimated to be a staggering 576 million Francs. Though if that seems a lot, the apparent cost of renovations has been estimated at as much as four times that.

Many of the glass and metal building’s functional and structural elements are on the outside and they’re colour coded in neon bright colours. Green pipes are for plumbing, electrics are yellow etc. Like ‘modern arteries’. Even the escalators are on the outside.

The design didn’t please everyone. Like the Eiffel Tower before it, which also garnered criticism, the ambitious and audacious look of the Pompidou caused heated debate. Some called it the ‘Beaubourg Folly’. To this day there are those who still detest it.

Nevertheless it’s become a landmark Paris site.

What to see at the Pompidou Centre

It houses the Musee National d’Art Moderne, the largest and most important museum of modern art in Europe. There are more than 50,000 artworks including paintings, sculptures, drawings and photography. But you can’t see them all at one, only several hundred are on display at any one time.  It’s the second largest collection of contemporary art in the world, after the Museum of Modern Art in New York. There are artworks by many greats -including Chagall, Kahlo and Matisse.

There are 10 levels, 7 above ground and 3 underground.

It houses two libraries: the Public Information Library which is accessible to the public free of charge. It has a huge collection of almost 500,000 books and can easily seat 2000 people at a time. There’s also the Kadinsky library, a research and document centre.

There also a theatre and screening rooms, three book shops and a boutique which is great for unusual gifts. Head to the Restaurant Georges on level 6 for fabulous views over the rooftops of Paris.

Did you know? The Centre Pompidou featured in a James Bond film, Moonraker (1979). A room on the fifth floor was Dr. Holly Goodhead’s office at Drax’s space-shuttle plant! Meanwhile the Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte around 50km southeast, appeared in the film too – it was Drax’s residence!

Website for Pompidou Centre

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The monumental Pantheon

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“When spring comes to Paris, the humblest mortal alive must feel that he dwells in paradise” – Henry Miller

Paris is undoubtedly a year-round city. But there is something about the spring that’s special. Paris in the spring is a cliché but like the best of clichés, it’s also a tangible experience. Here’s our guide to visiting Paris in the spring…

When spring comes to Paris

The air is soft and warm. The sun’s rays filter through the cherry blossom and light up bunches of pink and purple wisteria festooning fences, climbing over shop windows and doorways. The trees that line boulevards and avenues burst into life. Boules games resume in the parks. Favourite city spots start to fill up with people flinging off their coats and settling in to watch the world go by from the terraces of their favourite café’s from Montmartre to Montparnasse. Families stroll in the parks. The pleasure boats float on the Seine beneath the bridges and alongside famous landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, the Conciergerie, the Musée d’Orsay.

When the spring rain falls, people say, oh but the Chestnut trees smell better in the rain. The sun rises a little earlier each morning. Twilight arrives a little later each night. And the sunsets glow every shade of rosiness from pale salmon to burned-orange, turning the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur from pure white to blush pink.

I love Paris in the springtime

At the flower market in the shadow of the great Cathedral of Notre-Dame, old ladies wander through the Belle Epoque kiosks choosing pots of flowers to decorate their windowsills and balconies, daffodils, lily of the valley, miniature roses and geraniums. The sellers at the market rediscover their dormant their joie de vivre. Their fingers no longer turning purple-blue with the cold. And in rue Mouffetard, the fruit sellers lay out bunches of asparagus and sweet strawberries tempting buyers to enjoy the taste of spring.

The public parks and secret gardens burst into colour. Flowerbeds bloom, and strollers take a break on the famous green chairs. Puppet shows, guignol, return and in the Luxembourg Gardens, starry-eyed children sail wooden boats across the Grand Basin. Close by, flowers flourish in great pots around the Medici fountain, commissioned by Marie de Medici, Queen of France, in about 1630.

The bouquinistes open their book boxes along the Seine and bring out their piles of posters and books. The sun shines through stained glass windows of churches casting a kaleidoscope of colours inside the cool interiors.

 Parc Clichy-Batignolles – Martin Luther King, 17^th arrondissement to go with this box)

Cherry blossom in Paris in the spring

The cherry blossom blooms around mid-April in Paris. Several parks and gardens have rows of cherry blossom trees including Parc Clichy-Batignolles – Martin Luther King, 17th arrondissement and Place Marcel Aymé. It’s just off Rue Norvins in Montmartre, where you’ll find a statue of Dutilleul AKA ‘The Walker through the Walls.’ Bookworms will enjoy the cherry blossom tree in front of Shakespeare & Co. book shop near the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Parc Monceau, and Jardins des Plantes are also lovely.

And if you’re a wisteria fan, head to Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole restaurant in rue Channoinesse. It’s a stone’s throw from Notre Dame and is one of the best places enjoy the spring blooms that drape across the front. The wisteria here was planted in 1946. It even has its own special license to grow large!

Photos 1,5,6 by Nathalie Geffroy, Paris photographer extraordinaire, find more of her stunning photographs at : Instagram/nathparis and at nathparis.net

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Follow in the footsteps of Marie-Antoinette and take a self-guided tour of Paris and nearby surroundings to discover where the tragic queen left her mark…

The castles in and around Paris where Marie-Antoinette lived and played

The royals moved from castle to castle and Marie-Antoinette left her mark in many of them. At the Chateau of Rambouillet, in a forest on the outskirts of Paris, the queen had a marbled dairy built. Don’t miss the extraordinary Chaumière aux Coquillages, or Shell Cottage, built for her friend the Princess de Lamballe.

At the chateau of Fontainbleau, the queen commissioned a ‘Turkish Boudoir’. Originally created by the Rousseau brothers in 1777, the boudoir is the last remaining example of the “Royal Turqueries”, reflecting the Orientalism style that was fashionable at the time. Designed with symbols inspired by the Levant, the décor and fabrics are delicate, feminine and exquisite. It was to be a room to allow her to ‘bouder’ or sulk away from the rest of the court. Sadly however, she never got to enjoy it. The work was put on hold when the French Revolution broke out and wasn’t completed in her life time.

Versailles

Head to the sumptuous Palace of Versailles. It’s a short journey out of the city to see the home where the Queen spent much of her time and truly left her mark. You really get a feel for her taste and style in her State rooms and private rooms. Full of pale silks and beautiful wood carvings, paintings of cherubs and flowers. Here the queen lived with her husband Louis XVI in a monumental gilded palace which dazzled the world when it was created. It continues to do so to this day. No photo does justice to its opulence. The 700 rooms were home to some 3000 courtiers, but up to 20,000 people would be present for events, dinners, parties.

To escape life in the spotlight, Marie-Antoinette spent a lot of time at the Petit Trianon a small, more intimate palace in the grounds. Initially it was a gift from Louis XV to his mistress Madame Pompadour. Gifted to Marie-antoinette by her husband, it became her private refuge. And of course The Queen’s Hamlet, her escape from the tedium and rules of the palace, where she sometimes dressed up as a shepherdess. The queen aimed to create a tranquil space of rustic beauty with little cottages, barns and farm animals. It functioned as a working farm too with a dairy, so that the royal children could be educated in the ways of agriculture and food production.

Visit the Osmotheque perfume museum, the world’s largest scent archive. It’s famous for recreating Marie-Antoinette’s perfume using spices, honey, oils and aromatics.

Read more about Versailles

Chateau de Bagatelle

The park and the chateau de Bagatelle were created in just 64 days in 1775 as a result of a bet between Marie-Antoinette and the King’s brother, the Count of Artois. Bagatelle in French means ‘trivial’ or ‘trifle’. The area was once used for hunting and when the count purchased it, Marie-Antoinette bet him 100,000 Livres he couldn’t create somewhere to receive her after she returned from a 2 month journey. However, he hired 900 workmen and spent one million Livres – and won his bet. The magnificent rose garden has 10,000 roses from 1200 different species. There are gigantic trees, waterfalls, caves and a 19th century Chinese pagoda. Concerts and exhibitions are held there in the summer. The castle has undergone a restoration (planned to reopen to the public in 2022).

Finding Marie-Antoinette in Paris

In the Louvre museum, admire paintings of the queen including by Elisabeth Vigée le Brun. She was Marie-Antoinette’s personal portraitist despite being a commoner and a woman, unusual for an artist then. She painted more than 30 portraits of the queen. There are more of her paintings at Versailles. In the Tuileries Gardens, the queen would have strolled often as the royal couple lived at the Tuileries Palace. It was destroyed in 1871.

Not many of the Queen’s garments remain, they were destroyed during the French Revolution. But some are kept at the Palais Galliera Fashion Museum which has the world’s leading collection of 18th century dresses

The Queen’s favourite Paris shops

Stroll the Rue Saint-Honoré where Marie-Antoinette’s favourite dress-maker Madame Rose Bertin had a boutique first at no. 234 and later in front of the St Roch church. They would meet almost every week and Rose was dubbed ‘minister of fashion’ by the queen’s detractors. Visit Lubin perfumerie was opened by Pierre-François Lubin who was trained from the age of 10 by Jean-Louis Fargeon, supplier of the Queen’s perfume and beauty products. He created a pair of scented gloves for her using scents from hyacinths, violets, musk jonquils and carnations. When the Queen was in prison, Lubin would take her parcels of her favourite toiletries from Fargeon.

Sulpice Debauve, the King’s chemist, made chocolate buttons for the queen, called pistoles in which he disguised the taste of her medicine. After the Revolution, he opened Debauve & Gallais chocolatiers. To this day they make pistoles (but no medicine of course!).

Pop into Patisserie Stohrer on rue Montorgeuil, the oldest cake shop in Paris which opened in 1730. It’s entirely possible the Queen may have indulged here, the shop was opened by her father-in-law’s pastry chef. At Nina’s in Place Vendome taste the Queen’s favourite tea which is made with fruit grown in the Louis XIV’s vegetable garden in Versailles.

The end

Not far from the Louvre visit the Conciergerie, once a medieval royal palace. In the French Revolution it became a centre of detention and Marie-Antoinette’s prison. Here you can visit her prison cell, it’s the sort of place where you’ll get goose bumps.

From here she was taken to Place de la Concorde to be executed, it was called Place de la Revolution at the time. She was buried in 1793 with the King in the graveyard of the Madeleine Cemetery. Their bodies were exhumed and interred at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, a jewel of Gothic art. The Chapelle Expiatore marks the spot of her first burial on Square Louis XVI. Inside the chapel is a reproduction of her last moving letter to the king’s sister.

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We asked our favourite Paris locals for their top tips on what to see and do in the city at Christmas.

They’ve come up with some brilliant recommendations to enjoy Christmas in Paris like a local…

Streets with a festive spirit

Usually Paris is “easy” during the holidays as there is so much going on: Christmas markets, later-than-usual shopping, the ubiquitous after-dark light show on the Champs-Elysées. Many neighborhood streets (not just the Champs-Elysées) get decked out in holiday finery. So taking a walk and enjoying the lights and the pretty store windows is an absolute must.

However Christmas Day, which would seem like a slam-dunk, can be unexpectedly challenging because in France, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day translate into Family with a capital F. This means that finding restaurants that are open are rare, and those that are, will be quite expensive. You really need to book well in advance to make sure you’re sorted for Christmas day in Paris.

Skates, boats and churches

With the rinks open, ice skating is always a  favourite for family fun. There are great rinks at the Hôtel de Ville and at the Tour Eiffel. En route, it’s fun to stop off at any one of the many wonderful manèges, or carrousels, scattered about the city for a whizz about. The oldest one is a double-decker carrousel at the Hotel de Ville.

Then warm up on the Bateaux Parisiens, which have musical entertainment, on the Seine in the afternoon.

Before going on home, we like to stop off at a church for some quiet time. Notre-Dame is always a favourite. But there are so many which bring the meaning of Christmas home so very meaningfully. The Bascilica of Sacré Cour, Saint Sulpice and Saint Eustache Church are some of the most famous.

More on Christmas in France

20 beautiful images that show the spirit of Christmas in France

10 Christmassy towns in France

10 things to do on Christmas Eve in Paris 

15 things to do on Christmas Day in Paris

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Secret Paris, timeless Paris, if you know where to look there are treasures to be discovered. There are ancient books shops, the quirky boutiques, studios and artisans workshops that are like stepping into the past. Maison Soubrier, in Rue de Reuilly, near the Sorbonne University in the heart of Paris is antiques store that’s like no other. Filled with glorious antiques, its more like a museum, except everything there is for rent…

Maison Soubrier

Maison Soubrier has been owned by the same family for over two hundred years. The firm originally produced period furniture, before moving into antique dealing. Louis Soubrier, the current owner, spent years visiting auction houses to indulge his passion for historic furnishings and beautiful objects, which he then sold to a few fortunate clients. He vividly recalls one of his all-time favourites: an imposing bronze aquamanile – a water ewer or jug, often in the shape of an animal – dating from the Renaissance, which was extremely rare and far too costly to purchase. He was given a second chance to buy it a few years later, as its age had been reassessed downward, along with its price.

A Paris secret

In recent years, the firm has focused exclusively on rentals. This extraordinary destination is a well-kept secret that’s open only to the trade, and attracts professional designers, decorators, and stylists from film, theatre, and television. Once past its portals, the visitor enters a courtyard and encounters two marble sphinxes flanking the entrance. Inside, an antique elevator panelled with original wainscoting, which dates back to 1900, moves between the three floors at a stately pace.

The unparalleled collection extends over 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2). It is meticulously organized by category, and everything on show is available for rent, from a Napoleon III-era presidential desk from the Élysée Palace, to an immense baroque mirror decorated with horns, or a copper deep-sea diver’s helmet; curiously, the most frequently borrowed piece in the catalogue is a 1920s cheval glass (full-length mirror). This accumulation of antique furniture, paintings, and objects—reminiscent of a vast cabinet of curiosities—is imbued with an indefinable scent that mingles dust, polished wood, and old documents, calling to mind the attic of a charming provincial home.

Extracted from: Timeless Paris: Ateliers, Emporiums, Savoir Faire, by Marin Montagut, Flammarion 2021, a gorgeous book about the treasure troves of Paris…

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Paris is full of secrets, of timeless treasures hidden away in plain sight. Maison Sennelier is one of them. This exquisite shop which has supplied artists for more than a century including Degas and Cezanne, Picasso and Hockney, is  in the 7th arrondissement. It’s a must visit for those who have a love of art and to step into the past…

Maison Sennelier

It is impossible to imagine a better location: Maison Sennelier is situated on the Quai Voltaire – across from the Musée du Louvre—on a site first owned by a paint merchant established in the eighteenth century. It has been owned by the same family since 1887.

Sophie Sennelier, the founder’s great-granddaughter, recalls her ancestor’s story. Trained as a chemist, Gustave Sennelier began producing colors for artists, in the form of oil paints, water-colors, and pastels. Before the invention of the grinder, he crushed the pigments himself by hand in a mortar. It was Cézanne who urged Sennelier to broaden the palette of colors he was offering. Degas also patronized this renowned establishment and purchased his famous soft pastels here. Later, Picasso, Sonia and Robert Delaunay, and Nicolas de Staël were clients. David Hockney is a regular these days.

A timeless treasure trove

The shop’s façade has remained unaltered since the nineteenth century. The interior is filled with old counters, glass cabinets, and oak furnishings that lend their charm to the cavernous treasure trove. Oil paint, specially-made honey-based watercolors, dry and soft pastels in hundreds of different tones, gouaches, acrylics, and colored inks are organized next to pencils, brushes of all sizes, notebooks, and sketch pads aplenty—more than thirty-five thousand items in all. The upstairs is devoted to paper of all sorts, produced from cotton, sisal, bamboo, and papyrus. Some types are made in France; others are imported from farther afield, including China, Mexico, Thailand, India, Egypt, Korea, and Nepal. Their grains range from fine to rough, and some are encrusted with straw, moss, rice, mother-of-pearl, or coral, like the brilliant “moon papers” from Vietnam.

Everything displayed here is an inspiration to paint or draw. A simple sketchbook and a box of watercolors are all you need to get started.

Extracted from: Timeless Paris: Ateliers, Emporiums, Savoir Faire, by Marin Montagut, Flammarion 2021, a gorgeous book about the treasure troves of Paris…

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Art deco Paris: You may well have sat behind a desk in your working life. But it’s unlikely that you’ve worked while seated at an Art Deco masterpiece of furniture. To do so these days (or to  imagine doing so) you could visit the permanent Art Deco exhibit at Paris’s Museum of Decorative Arts. Here you’ll find a fascinating room dedicated to the celebration of 1930s Art Deco modernity. All its sharp edges, sleek surfaces, highly polished metals, luxurious lacquers, dramatic intersections of verticals and horizontals and a sweeping sense of movement.

Art Deco Paris

Hausmann’s nineteenth century Paris is definitely not the first city that comes to mind when you’re thinking about obvious Art Deco influences. Although you can still find the first and one of the few Art Deco buildings in Paris, the Theatre des Champs-Elysées, on the Avenue Montaigne in the First Arrondissement. But really, Paris is half a world away from the most exuberant Art Deco city, being Napier in New Zealand. It was re-built pretty much completely in the style after a massive earthquake in the early 1930s. Miami in Florida is also a contender for the Art Deco city crown.

Despite its defiantly un-Deco look, Paris can fairly claim to be the city that seriously launched the angular and streamlined Art Deco style into the public consciousness. In 1925, Paris hosted the World’s Fair Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. That big mouthful of words was soon shortened to ‘Art Deco’ to encapsulate the expo’s dominant design and style.

1925 World Fair Paris

The expo was a massive seven-month, open-air affair, featuring a staggering 15,000 exhibitors and attracting 16 million visitors. And all this was long before the era of long-haul commercial air travel and mass tourism. Amazingly, the expo occupied a substantial continuous slice of prime Paris sites, from the Esplanade of Les Invalides across to the entrances of the Grand Palais and Petit Palais and along both banks of the Seine.

The manager’s desk that you can see today, designed by Michel Roux-Spitz, remains an astonishing expression of a challenging style that rejected the gentle sinuous and soft ‘organic’ tendrils of Art Nouveau. Instead, Art Deco embraced the materials and forms of the (then) modern industrial world across many artefacts and functions, from jewellery to locomotive engines.

A popular modernist saying of the time was that a house was a machine for living in. As we can see, this manager’s desk was a machine for working in. It is utterly functional and is stripped of any trifling decoration. Everything about the desk is dedicated to rationality and efficiency. But paradoxically, the desk is also an artefact of sheer beauty. It invites the viewer’s eye to run around every turn and detail. It is that rarest of objects: a machine that actually lifts our spirits.

You can visit the Museum of Decorative Arts in the west wing of the Palais du Louvre at 107 rue de Rivoli in the First Arrondissement of Paris.

By Brad Allan, writer and wine tasting host in Melbourne, Australia and frequent visitor to France…

Art deco buildings in Paris

If you’re a fan of art deco, there are some spectacular buildings in Paris to check out. It’s a style that was prevalent for buildings created for leisure activities – theatres, cinemas, swimming pools. The Grand Rex cinema is a great example with its fabulous facade and inside an trompe l’oeil starry sky ceiling. Le Luxor cinema is also a great example of Art Deco. The Palais de  Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris and the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadero all have art deco architecture. And the Palais de la Porte Dorée, built for the 1931 International Exhibition now hosts exhibitions in its art deco halls.

More on art deco in France

Villa Cavrois – an art deco jewel in Hauts-de-France

La Piscine – the art deco swimming pool turned world class museum in Roubaix

Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris

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The monumental Pantheon building in Paris was commissioned by a king to be a church. It became a mausoleum for France’s most distinguished citizens. And it is one of the most beautiful monuments of Paris. Here’s why it should be on your list of Paris must-sees…

History of the Pantheon

When the King of France, Louis XV, caught a fever so severe the Last Rites were given, he made a promise. He told his mistress Madame de Pompadour that if he recovered he would build a church in thanks. He recovered and honoured his promise and commissioned a church to rival St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to be built on the site of a former medieval abbey.

Construction of the Church of Saint Genevieve, Patron Saint of Paris, was designed by Jacques-Germain Soufflot. He became a leader in the development of Neoclassical architecture and designed several important buildings including the Hotel-Dieu in Lyon.

Work on the Pantheon began in 1758. However, by the time it was completed in 1790, Louis XV was dead (1774) and France was a different world, especially for the royals. The French Revolution had begun the year before and in 1791, it was decided to turn the Pantheon into a mausoleum fit for heroes of the Revolution.

The Pantheon building

The Pantheon is one of the most impressive buildings of the Neoclassical period. At 83m high it is majestic. The façade is reminiscent of the Pantheon of Rome with an imposing porch of Corinthian columns. The interior is lavishly decorated with mosaics and paintings of scenes from French History. The pediments have sculptures by Pierre-Jean David d’Angers, a post-revolutionary patriot. And it’s topped by a vast dome.

The Pantheon today

Today the Pantheon is a civic building. It serves as a resting place for some of the greatest (predominantly male) French citizens including Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola. On 30th November 2002, six Republican guards carried the coffin of Alexandre Dumas, 1802–1870, author of The Three Musketeers to the Pantheon. It was draped in a blue velvet cloth inscribed with the Musketeers’ motto: “Un pour tous, tous pour un” (One for all, all for one).

There are just five women interred here including Marie Curie. But, in 2021 it was announced that the remains of Josephine Baker would also be placed here. Born in the US, Baker was a famous cabaret dancer, civil rights activist and a heroic member of the French resistance. It’s the French President who decides who is interred in the Pantheon.

What to see at the Pantheon

Nicknamed the ‘temple of the French nation’, the Pantheon makes for a fascinating visit. Inside is a giant pendulum hanging from a huge dome. It was created by French physicist Jean-Bernard-Léon Foucault in 1851 to demonstrate how the Earth spins on its axis. The original pendulum is now in the National Conservatory of Art. The one you can see at the Pantheon is a replica but seriously impressive. There are wonderful sculptures, paintings and frescoes. In the crypt there are screens giving information about those who lie in peace there.

Located in the 5^th arrondissement, the Latin Quarter, in Place du Pantheon, the building is atop the Montagne Sainte-Genevieve and form the top, there are sweeping views over the city.

More on Paris visits

Hôtel de la Marine, the museum that is like a step back to the 18th century…

A-Z of fascinating facts about Paris

Opera Garnier – the opera house of Paris is like a mini Versailles…

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Le Fouquet’s brasserie was a tavern during the Belle Epoque – today the brasserie is still there, now a listed historic monument. Plus there’s a fabulously elegant 5-Star hotel. Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière Paris has stylish rooms, the dreamiest spa, sophisticated bar and a restaurant that’s like a little oasis in the heart of Paris.

Le Fouquet’s brasserie

In 1899, a lemonade maker called Louis Fouquet bought The Criterion Tavern, a Hausmann-style building at the corner of avenue George V and the Champs-Elysées. It was the only café on the avenue on those days and little could he know that it would become one of the most upmarket restaurants of Paris. It was a meeting place for aviators in the first World Way. The Césars awards are held here (the French Oscars). And it’s long been popular with politicians, actors, celebrities and artists. It’s also where Le Cercle MBC Paris meet, a group of several hundred influential French businesspeople. In the entrance of the hotel, you’ll notice a display cabinet of silver napkin holders. Club members have their own unique holder with their name engraved which is used when they dine there, either with the club or as individuals!

Fouquet’s Hotel

In 1998, Fouquet’s was bought by the Barrière hotel group. And, after an eight-year project, they opened a hotel at the side of the Brasserie. It was an extraordinary undertaking. The outside of the building completely matches the Haussmann style. Whilst inside an opulent reception is open to a bar that’s warm and welcoming – the epitome of Paris chic, a blend of old and new.

The large fabulously plush and comfortable rooms with king-sized beds have been exquisitely designed by star French designer Jacques Garcia. He was involved in every detail from bathrooms to door handles. The result is elegant, not at all flashy, contemporary and superbly stylish in muted colours. Even though I was in Paris for just 24 hours, I spent more time in the room (overlooking the Champs-Elysées) than I normally would, simply luxuriating! I managed to get a peek at one of the suites, let’s just say if I had enough money, I’d live there.

Mini-bars and mirrors

The rooms have minibars with a range of wine, drinks and snacks which are all inclusive. ‘We want people to feel really special’ I was told, ‘and any way we can do that, we will.’ When I saw a photo of my kittens Tigger and Pooh in the room, I couldn’t disagree. ‘Well, I follow you on Instagram where I saw your cute kittens’ said Claire Coste, an executive assistant at the hotel. ‘We thought you’d like the photo.’ It’s little touches like this that make you realise just how much attention to detail Le Fouquet’s puts into making sure their guests feel really at home and really spoiled.

The bathrooms are huge with a lovely range of toiletries including Fouquet’s own fragrances. (My husband is now hooked on Fouquet’s Fugue a Paris eau de toilette for men).

In one of the hotel courtyards, the exterior of a building is covered in an 18m high mirror. Made from highly polished metal – it’s an extraordinary piece of architectural design.

Perfect Birthday treat

As it was my birthday (and I honestly can’t think of anywhere nicer to spend a birthday!), there were pink and white balloons in the room. A bottle of Fouquet’s Champagne sat in an ice-filled bucket. And there was a mouth-watering cake in the shape of the Arc de Triomphe made by the hotel-restaurant’s famous pastry chef Nicolas Paciello. It was the best party for one I’ve ever had!

Fouquet’s Spa

The hotel pool (unusually large for central Paris) has a toasty fire at one end and the walls are lined with paintings. It’s a bit like a watery posh salon, unusual and utterly brilliant. Rooms lead off to a fitness centre, hammam, sauna and jacuzzi and a range of high-end treatments are available. The spa is a real treat. I came out of there feeling utterly reinvigorated, relaxed and ready for dinner!

Restaurant Le Joy

Totally different from the legendary Fouquet’s brasserie – banquettes and dark wood – the Le Joy restaurant has a modern, opulent style whilst the large outdoor area is like a green oasis in the city. I thought I saw one of the Kardashian sisters there, but I may be wrong. Nevertheless it’s got that A-list feel, informal but smart. Le Joy is popular for aperitifs with those in the know. The Bombay Fouquet’s, a gin and martini concoction is superb by the way. You can also indulge in afternoon tea with delicious cakes. The menu is classic French and Mediterranean style, and the desserts and cheeses are divine

Reasons to love Hotel Le Fouquet’s Paris

The hotel is in a brilliant location. I wandered down the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde to visit the Hotel de la Marine museum. I walked to the Eiffel Tower. And I ogled at the Arc de Triomphe (which you can see from the bedroom windows that overlook the avenue). The metro is just a minute’s walk from the hotel so it’s easy to get around all over Paris.

You’ll get a warm welcome from the hotel’s reception staff and concierges who can help you make the most of your time in Paris. The service is professional but with a personal touch. I got the feeling that the staff are genuinely proud to work here.

It’s a great place for a Paris stay, both grand and homely. It’s ideal for celebrations (brilliant for a birthday treat). Perfect to pop into for lunch at the iconic Fouquet’s brasserie, or dine at Le Joy. Take an afternoon tea, hot chocolate or aperitif break, relax in the spa… And it totally lives up to its 5 star status.

Find out more, and book your room at Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière Paris : Hotelsbarriere.com

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Hôtel de la Marine sits on the corner of Place de la Concorde, the biggest square in Paris. Visitors have often passed by and admired the stunning architecture, it’s an iconic site. But now you can go inside too: the Hôtel de la Marine opened to the public in June 2021. Here’s what to see at the Hotel de la Marine, Paris:

A brief history of Hôtel de la Marine

Place de la Concorde was originally known as Place Louis XV. It was designed by the King’s chief architect, Ange-Jacques Gabriel. He also designed two palaces on the edge of the square – what are now the Hôtel Crillon and Hôtel de la Marine.

The palace on the eastern side of the square became the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne. Basically it was the King’s furniture store. Beds, chairs and tables, linen, arms and armour and also the crown jewels were stored here.

During the French Revolution the building was transformed into the primary place of residence for the head of the French Navy, hence Hôtel de la Marine. Place Louis XV became Place de la Revolution and then Place de la Concorde (1795).

During the German occupation of France, German naval forces set up their headquarters in Hôtel de la Marine until August 1944. The building was then occupied by French naval staff up until 2016 until they moved into a new building. There followed a major restoration project to return the building to its former glory, furnish it and open it up.

What to see at the Hôtel de la Marine

I was there the day it opened to the public. Three French sailors played in the huge courtyard. The haunting sound of bagpipes, pipe and drum filled the huge courtyard – a nod to the building’s marine past. The swish new restaurant Café Lapérouse, was still being prepared, a finishing touch of paint to the doors, flower pots being filled. I sneaked a peek inside and though unfinished the chandeliers, mirrors and elegant tables and chairs gave an indication of how lovely it’s going to be. Even if you don’t go inside the Hôtel de la Marine, it will be a wonderful place to look out over Place de la Concorde on one side and the fabulous courtyard on the other.

You’ll be given a set of headphones to wear when you visit the monument. And you do need them because otherwise you’ll miss out on the incredible history of this building.

The rooms are sumptuously furnished. You’ll be taken through  them with the voices of “previous inhabitants” who talk about their day to day life to give you a flavour of the 18^th century in Paris. It’s very well done.

The Cabinet des Glaces

The astonishing Cabinet des Glaces is memorable. Built by the first intendant (manager) of the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, Pierre-Elisabeth de Fontanieu, a bachelor and libertine. He commissioned a mirrored cabinet adjoining his bedroom, painted with figures in lascivious positions! The wife of the next intendant, Marc-Antoine Thierry de Ville d’Avray, had the figures transformed into cherubs and women in flowing dresses!

The restoration of the Hôtel de la Marine

The rooms are sumptuously furnished and decorated and it is incredible to see everything so closely. In one room the headphone voices informed me I was walking on a carpet commissioned for the Louvre. Sure enough looking down, there was the famous image of the Sun King, the jewel like colours are incredible. Elsewhere the wooden flooring is stunning and immaculately preserved.

In each room you’ll be told about the furniture, the use of the room. Exquisite pieces are on display, gorgeous lanterns made to fit on a fire guard, games tables complete with games.

In one room you’ll learn the story of the theft of the crown jewels, the thieves so sure of their victory that they held a party on site to toast their success. It was in the Arms room that on 13 July 1789 revolutionaries broke in and seized the weapons on display. The next day they went to the Bastille to seize ammunition heralding the start of the French Revolution. It’s thought that the first shots against Bastille prison were fired by canons fitted on gun carriages with silver inlays that the King of Siam gave as gifts to Louis XIV in 1684, taken the previous day from the royal collections.

There are bedrooms, a stunning dining room, bathroom (complete with a bed as it was thought that bathing was an exhausting pastime), a library, study, reception rooms and salons. Silk wall paper, rich tapestries, Sèvres china… it’s a glorious reconstruction.

The destiny of France was shaped from this building

From one of the rooms, Gaspard Monge, former navy minister, signed the execution warrant for Louis XVI. Later he watched the event take place from the window of that same room.

The history of this building is entwined with that of France. And, it’s astonishing to walk in the footsteps of some of the most famous people who shaped France’s destiny from here.

Don’t miss the views from the balcony overlooking the Place de la Concorde looking out towards the Eiffel Tower. It was here where in 1836, then King Louis Philippe stood to watch the 3000 year old obelisk being erected in the square.

The grand gallery was divided into two parts and lavish receptions were hosted here including the first official ball held after the Reign of Terror. It was held on the orders of then First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, a grand party to which European nobles were invited. French aristocrats, back from exile were not announced with their previous titles though.

In a second courtyard, a stunning canopy has been erected. It’s just beyond the gift shop which, be warned, is pretty irresistible.

The restoration is without a doubt an absolute triumph. It feels as if time has stood still here in this beautiful palace. An absolute must-see for your Paris bucket list…

Find out more and book tickets: www.hotel-de-la-marine.paris

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