The Enlightened Traveler: What's Going On In Paris And London

If you think you are a savvy traveler, then you'll want to always know what's going on in Paris and London.

Here are two web resources we rely on to keep au courant:

There's so much to do in Paris, one of the great destinations for art, food, strolling, and... shopping! That is why we frequently check Chic Shopping Paris for the latest boutique openings and sales. Lots of terrific shopping tips, too.

We also are dutiful readers of the weekly arts and culture e-mail published by London's Telegraph. In it you'll find useful, up-to-the-minute information about theatre, art exhibits, music and more. Sign up for the paper's Arts Agenda here.

The Artful Traveler: Musée d'Orsay – Renewed, Refreshed, Remarkable

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris, home to a spectacular collection of Impressionist masterpieces and other late 19th and early 20th Century artworks, has reopened all of its galleries to the public after two years of extensive renovation and a dramatic rethinking and rearrangement of its holdings.
Housed in a 1900 Beaux-Arts railway station and boldly transformed into a museum in 1986, the d’Orsay has become one of the most popular attractions in the City of Lights. More than 60 million have visited over the past two and one-half decades.

New Musee d'Orsay galleries

What has changed?

For one, the ubiquitous white walls are a thing of the past. In their place are deep purple, midnight blue, red and lavendar-grey ones that critics feel are more hospitable to the vivid colors of the Impressionist works on display.

Lighting has been redesigned throughout. There is more natural light in some galleries, while the sometimes harsh natural light in other rooms has been replaced with a carefully designed artificial scheme that shows off the paintings to better effect.

Unchanged, Gae Aulenti's 1986 main hall

Some of the ceilings have been removed to reveal structural beams in a nod to the building’s original industrial purpose.

Exhibition space has been expanded considerably, allowing more of the world's largest collection of Impressionist works to be shown.

What has not changed is the museum's impressive, massive arched main hall, designed by the Italian architect Gae Aulenti.

The renovations are the work of four architectural firms.

Noteworthy is the stylish Café de l’Horloge, also known as the Cafe Campana and described as an aquatic Jules Verne-inspired fantasy. It's housed in a former clock tower. Brazil’s Campana design duo is responsible for the transformation.

What's for lunch? Who cares?

Still, the main draw at the d’Orsay are its art treasures from the likes of Manet, Rodin, Courbet, Van Gogh, and Gaugin – paintings and sculptures that reside not merely in a former railway station but live on in our collective cultural memory and continue to enthrall and inspire, even as we hurtle into the vast unknown of this 21st century.

For more on the Musee d”orsay click here.
To see our other posts on Paris, click here.

Closer to home: Two singular exhibitions featuring Impressionist masterpieces have just opened in the U.S.

Atlanta’s High Museum is offering more than 100 works of art borrowed from the Museum of Modern Art in a show they are calling “Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters.” On view until April 29, it aims to reveal the connections and deep influences between modern masters of the past century.

Tip: Don't miss the Maple Bacon Brittle ice cream at Morelli's on Moreland Ave.. For more on what to do in Atlanta, read this.At the Milwaukee Art Museum, “Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper” includes more than 100 pastels watercolors, and drawings by Degas, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. The comprehensive overview is said to be the first of its kind in the U.S. It runs through Jan. 8.

While in Milwaukee, be sure to sample the dense, sticky, chewy Morning Buns, hard to find outside of this part of the country. And, as you may well fly through Chicago, you’ll want to stop at the extraordinary Art Institute for Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” This large, absorbing masterwork enchants and mesmerizes – no matter how many times you have seen it.

The Enlightened Traveler: What's On In Paris And Why You Should Spend The Holidays There

Are you planning a cozy Christmas holiday week at home with friends, family, lots of good food and movies? Or are you joining the legions who already have decided that the holidays are going to be no big deal this year?

Either way, you could do better.

We recommend heading straight for Paris, which, while magnificent at any time of year, seems most magical at Christmas.

(Hey, if it's too late for this year, there's always 2010. So, read on!)

By day you'll have your pick of dozens of wonderful museums and exhibits, sans the long lines and crowds of summer.

The Grand Palais is currently running an ambitious exhibit that explores the work and influences of Spanish cubist painter Pablo Picasso. Whether you're an expert on Picasso's work or are encountering it for the first time, "Picasso and the Masters" promises to give a solid overview of the artist's development and early influences, from Goya to Renoir and Manet.

The exhibit showcases some 200 works and should allow even those who are very well-versed in Picasso's creations to gain new perspective. Through February.

An exhibition devoted to Louis Comfort Tiffany is at the Musée du Luxembourg. This show brings together some 160 works (stained-glass windows, vases, lamps, objects, jewels and mosaics, drawings, watercolours and photographs), to reveal Tiffany’s outstanding contribution to the glass industry as well as to decorative arts in general. Through Jan. 17.

Other tantalizing exhibits on now include, "Renoir in the 20th Century" at the Galeries Nationales, "Venetian Rivalries: Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese" at the Louvre, and "Louis XIV: The Man and the King" at the Chateau de Versailles.

Plan to spend some quality shopping time at our favorite grand magasin, Au Bon Marché on the Left Bank. Even if your budget prevents you from loading up on designer duds, you will find affordable, memorable gifts in the store's La Grande Epicerie, a showstopping agglomeration of gourmet foods, sweets, and spirits.

Save some time to explore the charming boutiques – laden with gifts, tabletop items, and antiques – on the several streets that lead from Au Bon Marché through the Latin Quarter to the Seine.

A this time of year sometimes testy shopkeepers will be happy to see you. (In this economy, they'll be positively ecstatic.)

After an afternoon at the galleries, restore yourself with a cup of rich hot chocolate at one of the numerous patisseries to be found in every neighborhood. You'll enjoy it all the more in the crisp air of December than in the sweltering heat of July. If in doubt, head for the famous Ladurée or Angelina. (For more ideas, see David Lebovitz's Hot Chocolate Address Book.)

During Christmastime, Paris is breathtaking at night with dazzling light displays on the Champs-Elysées and other major thoroughfares.

Many fine restaurants and theatres remain open and welcoming throughout the holidays. Waiters normally are convivial, not brusque, owing to the season and absence of tourists.

Still, it may be difficult to find a place to dine on Christmas Eve or Christmas Night.

Our choice for Christmas eve: the famous patisserie Ladurée also operates an elegant restaurant with excellent food at their Champs-Elysées location.

We once chatted with a French couple seated next to us who boasted that they dine at Ladurée every Christmas Eve. Turns out the the husband is executive chef for Air France first class; he knows what he's talking about.

Sleep in on Christmas morning, then eat a hearty late lunch at your hotel and plan to skip dinner. Instead, reserve tickets to see the Nureyev staging of "Nutcracker" by the Paris Opera Ballet at Opera Bastille.

On another evening, see the company's new Ballets Russes de Dhiagilev program at the historic Palais Garnier, magnificently restored to its original splendor. The original choreography and stage settings for Spectre of the Rose, Afternoon of a Faun, Three-Cornered Hat, and Petroushka are on offer. Not to be missed!

At 4p.m. on Christmas afternoon, there's a free concert of organ and choral music at the Church of La Madeleine.

You'll also get a kick out of the Parisian version of the Broadway musical "The Lion King" at Théâtre Mogador. It's in French, of course, but that won't matter as you've already seen the show in the States, right?

Go for the enchantment, sheer spectacle, and fun of watching a French audience clap and stamp their feet in time with the music. As the show has been running for two years, it's likely to still be there next Christmas.

Looking for more amusement? How about outdoor ice skating until 10p.m. (midnight on Fridays and Saturdays) at the Hotel de Ville?

There's lots more to do in Paris at the holidays.

Even if you don't follow any of our suggestions, go anyway. Whatever you end up doing, you're sure to have the experience of a lifetime.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année à tous!

(For more Paris travel tips, click here.)

The Enlightened Traveler: Hermes On A Budget In Paris

Saturday's Wall St. Journal reported on the November 10 sale of vintage Hermes at the prestigious French auction house Artcurial.

Great deals on vintage Hermes in Paris. Top: Hydra bag $189. Bottom: Mephisto bag, $259. Below left: watch, $689

The paper states that the appetite for Hermes, whether vintage or new, has not at all been affected by the global economic downturn. Indeed, the auction netted a record of nearly $1.2 million for 631 lots, mostly bags and scarves but also including some unusual pieces such as a pair of garden pruners and a circa 1930 ladies watch that records golf scores.

While items from Vuitton, St. Laurent and other luxury labels are gathered into group auctions, Hermes is the only house to have its own twice-yearly sale.

The famous Birkin and Kelly bags were the top sellers with prices to match. Some crocodile and alligator models in exotic colors went for $25,000 - $50,000.

Still, there were bargains to be had. Many scarves sold in the $200 - $300 range.

You could have purchased a Kelly bag in natural pigskin for $4,677 or one in black leather for $2,598. A large Kelly in blue leather went for $2,079.

One lucky buyer snagged a small Kelly backpack for just $693.

If you schedule your next Paris visit to coincide with one of Artcurial’s Hermes auctions, you can skip Printemps and the other grands magasins altogether and return home with an affordable and prized vintage Hermes.

Getting a bargain won’t be the best part. When others compliment you on your good taste, you’ll get to tell them that you picked it up for a song at an auction on the Ave. Montaigne.

The full WSJ report is here.
Artcurial’s website is here.

The Enlightened Traveler: Paris

The rue Paul Bert is the latest destination for intrepid foodies and urban explorers. The FT's Simon Kuper takes us on a gastronomic tour.

The Enlightened Traveler: Paris

It's possible to enjoy Paris on a budget without feeling as if you're watching your pennies. The Times of London has uncovered six brilliant, affordable small hotels, including the Philippe Starck designed Mama Shelter. We'd stay there for the name alone.