Ahh, Paris. So often top of the list in city break surveys and no wonder. Iconic sights, red café awnings, bouquinistes ….. and plenty of ‘je ne sais quoi’.
The 22 episodes in our Paris series cover all the background history and culture you need to get the most from your visit. We tell the stories behind all the main sights – Notre Dame, Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay – and go looking for the places which illustrate the city’s main themes: everything from Napoleon’s Paris to café culture, not forgetting art, literature and history.
There’s a podcast for each episode and we are adding more written information to each post as fast as we can. So, let’s go, or as the French would put it ‘On y va?’
‘You, who have been to Paris, know. And you who have not been to Paris, go!’ If you need an introduction to Paris, this quotation from John Ruskin, written in the 1830s, tells you all … Read more
The two islands on the River Seine, the Île de la Cité and the Île St-Louis, are the very heart of Paris. A ramble over one or both is an ideal way to start your … Read more
Did you know that there are two Paris Cathedrals? Notre Dame symbolises Paris, especially since the devastating fire which nearly destroyed it, but there is another Paris cathedral, just as full of historical significance and … Read more
The palace and grounds at Versailles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 22km from the centre of Paris, were born of envy: Louis XIV was so jealous of the Château Vaux-le-Vicomte, which belonged to his … Read more
Revolutionary Paris represented a defining moment in France, in Europe and worldwide, and it’s story is what sits behind the annual 14th July celebrations. But where can you ‘find’ the French Revolution in Paris today? … Read more
Napoleon’s Paris is everywhere today, even today, 200 years after his death. Here’s our guide to 8 places you can visit to find out more about the Corsican teenager who arrived to study at the … Read more
Montmartre: a hilltop area, full of history, and with a truly Parisian ambiance; no wonder it’s so popular with tourists. The lovely Sacré Cœur church, silhouetted on the northern city skyline is a constant beckon. … Read more
Close your eyes and picture Paris and it may well be Belle Époque Paris you’re imagining: the Eiffel Tower, exuberant cancan dancers at the Moulin Rouge, the insouciance of everyday life captured In Renoir’s painting … Read more
Paris and Impressionism: surely no city and art movement are more closely linked. Paris was home to many impressionist artists and Paris was often their subject. This post tells you a little about impressionism – … Read more
There are still signs of ‘les années noires‘ (the dark years) of German occupation in Paris to be found all over the city, including bullet holes in walls and many plaques in memory of fallen … Read more
The ceiling of the Cluny la Sorbonne metro station is covered in signatures: Molière, Victor Hugo and lots more writers and thinkers. It’s on the borders of the Latin Quarter, or university area, and Montparnasse, … Read more
Whether it’s your first visit to Paris, or your twenty-first, wandering up the Champs Élysées or along the banks of the Seine are two excellent ways to see the city. This post explains the importance … Read more
The Parisian district of St Germain oozes class and intellectual allure, being home to the Sorbonne, and also to some of the big publishing houses, the Académie Française, proud guardian of the French language, and … Read more
The world’s grandest art gallery, the Louvre’s enormity presents both a pleasure and a challenge. It is said that it would take a hundred days to see everything, if you stopped at each exhibit for … Read more
A rundown of some of the events and ‘happenings’ in Paris which celebrate modern art, plus a visit to three of the big hitter museums where you can see 20th and 21st century works: the … Read more
Shopping in Paris is always a delight, whether you are popping to a local food market to choose some of the very best seasonal produce, wandering the ‘passages’, the maze of little covered shopping arcades … Read more
‘The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gay. I heard the laughter of her heart in every street café.’ (Oscar Hammerstein II). Paris welcomes you to its corner cafes, its bistros … Read more
Visits to the Panthéon, where Paris pays homage to France’s most respected citizens, and to the city’s cemeteries are always fascinating. The world’s most-visited cemetery, the Père Lachaise, contains the graves of, for example, Oscar … Read more
What Balzac and Victor Hugo can tell us about Paris We visit the two best-known literary museums in Paris, the Maison de Balzac in the 16th district and the Maison de Victor Hugo in the … Read more
Authors reminisce about their life in Paris This episode sets out to enjoy the work of a number of writers who loved Paris and wrote their memoirs about living or working there. Hear some gossip … Read more
A look at Paris through history books and historical novels. Biographies of Queen Marie Antoinette or of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir can show us much behind the scenes of the places we visit … Read more
A last look at Paris, this time through the eyes of authors who have set their work there. Four different novelists take us from the observation of murder and its aftermath in dingy 19th century … Read more
This virtual visit to Paris takes you on a tour of websites, YouTube videos and books which will bring the spirit of the City of Light alive for you even if you can’t go there … Read more
