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
The German occupation in Paris lasted from June 1940 until Liberation Day on August 25th, 1944. There are still signs of this period, known as ‘les années noires‘ (the dark years) to be found all … Read more
The Latin Quarter and Montparnasse are very much the heart of intellectual Paris. The Latin Quarter is the university area, centred around the Sorbonne, and Montparnasse is the former haunt of writers like Ernest Hemingway … 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 has so many highlights. It’s home to two of the city’s best-known churches, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It has a political flavour because both the Assemblée Nationale and the Sénat … 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
This post tells you where to find modern art in Paris. It focuses mainly on three main museums where you can see 20th and 21st century works: the National Museum of Modern Art in the … Read more
Le Shopping in Paris is always a delight and this post explains what you need to know. We cover the city’s markets, its maze of little covered shopping arcades dating from the nineteenth century and … Read more
Paris cafes surely linger in the memory of everyone who visits the city. Oscar Hammerstein II summed it up well when he wrote ‘The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gay. … Read more
The main sites where people are buried in Paris – the Pantheon and the city’s main cemeteries – are atmospheric and fascinating places, visited both by Parisians themselves and by those passing through the city. … Read more
We visit the two best-known literary houses in Paris, the Maison de Balzac in the 16th arrondissement and the Maison de Victor Hugo in the Place des Vosges and give an idea of what there … Read more
This post presents the work of 6 writers who wrote memoirs of Paris. There’s 17th century gossip, along with the reminiscences of past writers like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell and then some musings on … Read more
This post takes a look at key moments of history in Paris through books – both fiction and non-fiction – which illustrate them. There are two key biographies, a literary journal and three novels. Moments … Read more
This last post in the series offers a look at fiction set in Paris. Four different novelists take us from the observation of murder and its aftermath in dingy 19th century back-street Paris, to an … 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
