One hundred years after the Revolution, and fifty years after King Louis Philippe created the historical museum, Château de Versailles had a festive period of resurrection under curator Pierre de Nolhac‘s reign (1892-1920) and the exhibition “Versailles Revival“, which opened a month ago, is a very refreshing vision of what “Marie Antoinette’s castle” had become. Now is the good time … Read More
Merry Christmas to you all!
I am taking the opportunity of Christmas to let you know that Parisdiary is now on Instagram at @parisdiarybylaure. Don’t hesitate to let all your best friends know about it. Paris has been hit by the strikes but Theaters and the Champs Elysées are swarmed by people who want to have a good time. And two castles near Paris are celebrating … Read More
Alone, at night, with La Joconde
A few hundred members of “Les Amis du Louvre” were brave enough to walk through Paris in the middle of the strike, to honor the invitation, last Tuesday night when the museum was closed, to a private visit of the new “Salle des Etats” where Mona Lisa is exhibited. The huge room, painted in a combination of midnight blue and … Read More
“Another Christmas” for children refugees! Quai Branly style
President Jacques Chirac, who created the “Prize for Prevention of Conflicts”, would have been happy to see this very special Christmas celebration at his Musée du Quai Branly. On December 29, between 2 and 6 pm, everyone is welcome to bring old and new toys for the Rohingya children refugees in Bangladesh. the afternoon is organized by the UN Agency … Read More
Gerald Shea is honored by the city of Reims in a Franco American celebration
From the solemn morning ceremonies at a monument to World War I dead, to a sparkling evening in the ornate Salle des Fêtes at City Hall, the city of Reims went all out on Nov. 11, Armistice Day, to honor the Centenary of the American Memorial Hospital, a pediatric hospital founded in the ruined city in 1919 by a group … Read More
Yes it’s open in August!
Paris is wonderful in August because you park everywhere and everyone is smiling at you. Except when you look for a post office, like I did this morning, and you realize they are all closed until 1pm!!! While walking on rue des Archives, I ran into a wonderful store, La Garçonnière, at the corner of rue Braque where Thérèse Delpech, … Read More
An all women event at Royal St George’s! What a feast.
Royal St George’s first accepted lady members only four years ago, so it was a very unusual sight to see the terrace of the famous Sandwich golf club in Kent, swarmed by young pretty girls for the Vagliano Trophy, a tournament founded by André Vagliano in 1931. It started out as a French British match play and now includes young women from … Read More
Two exceptional shows bring Romanticism to Petit Palais
Once again, an exhibition opens at Petit Palais and the surprise is overwhelming in quality and originality. “Romantic Paris, 1815-1848” comprises all the arts of the beginning of the 19th century thanks to the clever Christopher Leribault who convinced his colleagues from Musées Galliera, Carnavalet, Arts décoratifs and de la Vie Romantique, to lend exceptional treasures. It is a panorama … Read More