Paris Diary by Laure - A very personal and subjective view of Paris life for all of you who are curious of what's going on in France.

A beautiful dinner at Le Crillon

The Cour d’honneur is heavenly for a cool dinner and magical when lit at night

When my friends Caroline and Olivier asked where I would like to have dinner on this mild August evening, I told them I was dying to try the new restaurant at Hôtel de Crillon which has been closed for four years for restoration. With its 124 rooms and suites and remodeling of the 18 th century building by Gabriel, the hotel has managed to keep its elegance with a modern twist. There are two restaurants, a gastronomical one, “L’Ecrin” for 24 guests and “brasserie d’Aumont” with courtyard dining.Read More

The church of La Madeleine needs your help

Four statues of the Madeleine still need your help (in red)

One of the problems of churches around the world and in Paris in particular is that they are very popular and the entrance is free. Eglise de la Madeleine is the most visited church in Paris after Notre Dame (and there are no queues) with 500 000 visitors a year and it is in need of money… A patient program of restoration of its silver collections by Froment Meurice has been undertaken by Père Bruno Horaist, an XIX th century art historian, and “Avenir Paris Madeleine”. Since today is Assumption day, don’t hesitate to pay a tribute to this beautiful church!Read More

The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, an outstanding museum!

Thomas Chambers, Niagara Falls, c 1843-60

There is something extraordinarily exciting about discovering a museum you have heard so much about and wanted to stop by for years. I finally made it to the Wasdworth Atheneum museum in Hartford, Ct. on a very rainy day while driving from Boston to Warren. It was the perfect halt especially since the restaurant has a warm and excellent atmostphere and I could eardrop on the conversation of a fascinating Spanish erudite and a member of the museum staff…Read More

Peggy Guggenheim, the Film of an Art addict

Peggy Guggenheim in Venice on the terrace of her Palazzo on the Grand Canal

It was produced in 2015 in the US and never shown in a movie theatre until Germany in 2016 and Italy at the beginning of the year, and now France has distributed this amazing biographical documentary of Peggy (Marguerite) Guggentheim, the ultimate collector but also a great galerist and a compulsive lover.Read More

An Irish (golf) Odyssey

John Casey, 30, manages the hotel his grandfather Frank founded in the 1960’s

Playing golf in Ireland is like climbing the Kilimandjaro with espadrilles, you feel you can do it but you are slightly helpless. The wind, the rain, the daunting bunkers and the narrow fairways make you act like a dwarf. And yet, once you have survived your eighteen holes, you feel like a hero and you are extremely happy !Read More

A Colombian feast at Colette’s

Kristina McLean and her trendy guide book to Bogotá (photo Rurik Ingram)

There was a double news that evening at Colette, the it store on rue St Honoré which is celebrating its twenty years. Kristina McLean was presenting her alternative guide book to Bogota, Columbia’s trendy capital city which is a hip destination with Carthagena and its music and book festivals in January. And Colette was announcing its closing at Christmas. A sad news for all the hipsters who flock there as soon as they land in Paris but maybe the start of another project by Colette’s daughter?Read More

Christian Dior at Musée des Arts Décos, don’t rush!

A Leonor Fini painting of Hermès, 1932 and a woman’s buste by Salvador Dali in painted bronze 1933, were part of Christian Dior’s collection

The event of the summer in Paris is the Christian Dior exhibition at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. So obvioulsy, having missed the opening on the Fourth of July, I went to see the show as soon as I was back from celebrating with fireworks in Marblehead, Ma. And little did I know ! There was a line all the way to the Tuileries gardens… So don’t rush, the show is on till January 7.

China porcelain biscuit makes fabulous lamps at under 100€

When Compagnie Française de l’Orient et de la Chine closed down a few years ago, most Parisians were upset. It was the best place to find relatively cheap Chinese salad bowls and confortable silk outfits for Christmas. And their shop on bd Haussmann was superb ! Well it still is under knew ownership, and I found some great bargains in the middle of ultra chic Japanese furniture and Indian cushions.Read More