I am sure that very few of you have heard of Romainville, a town of 28 000 inhabitants just north of Pantin. Its castle used to belong to Maréchal de Ségur in 1723 when only 400 people lived there. It is now, after thirty years of communist and socialist management, an upcoming capital of contemporary art with soon six galleries … Read More
Touring around Bordeaux vineyards is very uplifting!
For a few years, I had wanted to try the new golf course of Grand Saint-Emilionnais, designed by Tom Doak for the Mourgue d’Algue, a famous family of golf champions. Gaëtan used to run the Lancôme Trophy, one of the most memorable French Professional golf tournaments and his wife Cecilia and daughter Crystel were both great amateur players. Late … Read More
In Montauban, Ingres is the master
The city of Montauban, located an hour north of Toulouse, is famous for many reasons and at the moment primarily for its two great artists, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Emile Antoine Bourdelle born six years before the master’s death. Last December, it reopened its museum after three years of restoration and 13 million €, and visitors have come in large … Read More
Ronchamp, a chapel by Le Corbusier and now, Renzo Piano
The first mention of a church of Our Lady of the Heights, on the hill in Ronchamp, dates from 1092 and pilgrimages started in 1494. But it needed Le Corbusier’s reinterpretation in 1955, after the chapel was destroyed in the war, for it to be listed by UNESCO. I had wanted to visit this mythical place for a long time … Read More
Villa Ephrussi, a wedding place and a garden
Across the bay from Villa Kérylos, stands Villa Ephrussi in St Jean Cap Ferrat. Built by Béatrice de Rothschild and Maurice Ephrussi (an uncle of Fanny Thérèse Kann’s, married to Théodore Reinach), the Italian Renaissance house is not as interesting architecturally, but its gardens designed by Achille Duchêne and Harold Peto, are both refreshing and quite extraordinary for this part … Read More
The Riviera is still beautiful with Villa Kérylos
Villa Kérylos has been praised for a long time by Art historian Adrien Goetz, who not only wrote a novel about it but also an art book published by Editions du Patrimoine. For some reason, I never really knew where it was in the Nice area and it is only thanks to my cousin Anne Laure who drove me there, … Read More
In Calais, a surprise adventure with Jeanne Thil and much more on the way
Many of us drive through the north of France to reach Southern England through the Chunnel and why do we never stop on the way? Calais has two museums which are worth looking at. To reach this sadly famous city, in perfect temperatures, I drove around the Baie de Somme, admired its lovely pré salé lambs, raised on salted grass … Read More
Driving North into Flanders
After my successful tour of Brittany I decided to join a friend in Abbeville and explore the multiple museums of the north. Lille is well known for its Arts Museum and diverse peripheral curiosities like Robert Mallet Stevens’ Villa Cavrois, La Piscine in Roubaix and Villeneuve d’Ascq’s Museum of Modern Art. But I have a weakness for Cassel, a little … Read More