The best things in life are free and for one night in May, hundreds of museums across France will be open to the public and entry is free. This is an initiative of the French Department of Culture which was launched in 2005.

Some 1,000 museums throughout France and Europe participate in this annual event and there will be all types of workshops, competitions, activities, conferences and exhibitions to keep visitors happy, although many will be happy enough that there’s no charge at all. Similar events take place throughout Europe on the same date.

The Louvre, Paris

La Nuit des Musées is on Saturday, May 16th and participating cities include Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Cannes.

You can check their website to see who’s participating and where. The Louvre for instance will be open from 19:00 – 24:00 and there film screenings from 20:00 – 21:30. The National Library is also open from 19:00 – 24:00 with photographic exhibitions.

There are activities for children as well, like treasure hunts, and at the Musée en Herbe kids between 9 – 13 y.o. can learn about the fabulous pop-art CD covers of Andy Warhol and create their own covers for their favorite CDs.

Visiting museums in the after-hours is quite a different experience so if you’re in France this weekend, this is a great event. No doubt it will be very popular, but worth having a go at. Wish I were there!

Travel Signposts Blog

You don’t have to be an opera buff to appreciate the Palais Garnier which is also known as the Opéra de Paris or the Opéra Garnier, or more commonly referred to as the Paris Opéra.  Located on the Place de l’Opéra in Paris’ 9th arondissement, this 1,900-seat neo-Baroque style opera house was built on the orders of Napoleon III and its grandeur is certainly fit for emperors.

Paris | Opera Garnier's Grand Staircase

As part of Napoleon III’s great Parisian reconstruction project carried out by Baron Haussmann, an opera house was to be built.  A competition was launched for its design and this was won by Charles Garnier, an unknown 35-year-old architect.

Palais Garnier took fifteen years to complete (1860 to 1875) due to interruptions like the 1870 war and the fall of the Empire, but when it was inaugurated on 15 January 1875, it was regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time and probably still is today.

Main Features of Palais Garnier

Grand Staircase – The dramatic Staircase is one of the most famous features of the Palais Garnier. The double stairway leads to the foyers and to  the different levels of the auditorium. As you walk up or down the staircase, picture the magnificence of its days when the upper-class and fashionable society women would brush past each other here and how grand it must have been to watch an opera performance here.

The Foyers - Garnier designed the Grand Foyer to resemble the gallery of a classical chateau.  The stunning  and richly decorated foyers provide the audience with areas to stroll through during opera intervals.  The mirrors and windows accentuate its vast dimensions and the magnificent ceiling paintings by Paul Baudry portray themes from the history of music.

Salon du Glacier – is at the end of the bar gallery.  This room with a distinct 1900s feel was completed after the opening of the opera house.

Auditorium – In plush red and gold, the Auditorium is lit by the immense crystal chandelier hanging below Marc Chagall’s brightly coloured ceiling.  This Italian-style horseshoe-shaped auditorium has 1,900 red velvet seats. We were lucky to have been here at a dress rehearsal and was able to see what it is like at performance time.

At its inauguration, the opera house was officially named the Académie Nationale de Musique – Théâtre de l’Opéra. This was changed to Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris in 1978 and then renamed Palais Garnier when the opera company moved to the new Opéra Bastille in 1989.  In spite of opera no longer being performed here, the Palais Garnier is still known by many people as the Paris Opéra, but I like Opéra Garnier.

You can book your visit ticket on-line on the Palais Garnier website or at the Palais Garnier itself.  You can also join guided tours in different languages but these fill up very quickly.  This is an amazing place to visit and definitely worth the few Euros that’s being charged.

See our Opéra Garnier photos HERE.

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Perfumes (and diamonds) are a girl’s best friend and if you’ve ever been interested in learning how perfume is created, there’s no better place to do this than in Paris.

France has a long tradition of perfume making and its dominance of the fragrance industry is confirmed by top brands like Chanel, Christian Dior, Guerlain, Kenzo, all of which are household names.  The French Riviera town of Grasse is the world capital of perfume making and here the professionals work on the extraction of oils in the essence laboratories whilst the prestigious perfumes are created in Paris.

Perfume workshop in Paris

In a 2 hr 30 mins. “Perfume Workshop in Paris” you can learn about the history of  perfume, current trends and then create several perfumes of your own with the guidance of a perfume expert.

Perfumes are not only made from the petals of flowers, but also from other plant material such as fruit, resins, grasses and roots, spices and even wood bark. They are classified into seven olfactory groups.   At the workshop you will learn how to smell and describe the ingredients and characteristics of the different groups of scents and then to create the fragrance that you like and which you can take home with you.

This is a Paris experience with a difference and may perhaps trigger the start of a new hobby or profession?  Perhaps too you might be decide to next make a visit to the beautiful town of Grasse where the three perfume distilleries, Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard are based.

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Have you ever considered seeing Versailles by bicycle? If you’ve never contemplated doing this because you think it’s just too difficult to organise, this needn’t be the case.  The people at Viator have made it possible for visitors to tour Versailles with a difference.

The tour allows you to see Versailles’ expansive gardens plus the highlights of Versailles, including Marie Antoinette’s country-style Hameau, the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon.  Most visitors who come by coach tours don’t get to see these. The cycling tour also allows you to enjoy a picnic by the Grand Canal before taking a tour of the Palace of Versailles.

This is how it works:

This tour starts in Paris.  Together with your guide, you’ll cycle your hired bicycle to the RER train station to make the 20-minute trip by train to Versailles.

The first highlight on this full day out is a stop at the Versailles village market where you’ll buy freshly baked baguettes, cheese, ham, wine and whatever else you fancy for your picnic lunch in Versailles’ gardens. The range and quality of cheese in France is really amazing and there’s nothing like eating the fresh and genuine product.

Palace of Versailles

After buying your provisions, you’ll ride through the gardens behind the Palace of Versailles.  As the grounds are massive, visitors on foot can only manage a small fraction of the palace gardens, whereas on your bike you’ll be covering more grounds.  You’ll be able to take lots of picturesque photos as Versailles’ gardens and forests are crisscrossed by a network of fantastic trails and tree-lined paths.

A Royal picnic spot

At the far end of the Grand Canal is where everyone stops for their picnic lunch.  This is not just any picnic spot but it’s the exact spot where Louis XIV, XV and XVI ate in order to marvel at their palace.

After lunch, the tour will pedal back towards the Palace itself for the tour of this royal residence and catch glimpses into the lives of the French monarchy before their removal from power by the Revolution in 1789.  After the Palace visit you’ll return to Paris on the RER train again.

This leisurely 10 miles cycle on relatively flat terrain is classified as suitable for all levels of fitness. We’re all getting more conscious of our environment, our health and in this current economic climate, our finances, and this tour is very affordable and seems like a great way of sightseeing which allows you to get fit as well.

The operator, Viator, is a large and reputable tour company that provides all kinds of tours and transfers for your holiday in Europe.

For more information on this tour, click here.
For more Travels Signposts photos of Palace of Versailles and Gardens, click here

Travel Signposts Blog

For many people, Paris is undoubtedly one of the most romantic cities in the world and what an ideal setting to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Whether you prefer a feeling of being on top of the world at the summit of the Eiffel Tower, a dreamy cruise on the river Seine or a dinner and sexy show at the Moulin Rouge, there are certainly many moods and atmospheres you can create for that romantic moment. If you feel the need to declare your undying love in writing, you can also join thousands of people the world over in writing your message of love on “Le Mur des Je t’aime (The Wall of I Love You’s) at the Place des Abbesses in Montmartre.

Eiffel Tower by Night

Many of the hotels like the luxurious Prince de Galles Hotel – Champs-Elysées on George V, the Westin Paris with their Heavenly Beds® or Le Méridien Etoile, are offering champagene packages to help you set the mood, at a price of course!

For those lucky enough to be in Paris on this day of romance but don’t have the big bucks (or Euros) to splurge, or commercialization of the event has left you as cold as the current freezing winter, there are other splendid experiences you can have for a fraction of the cost if you head out of Paris.

How about a dinner in the heart of the medieval city of Carcassonne, an exchange of vows sur le pont d’Avignon or in one of the Chateaux of the Loire Valley – Chenonceau is my favourite, the possibilities are endless.

If you plan to head out to the countryside, the French Tourist authority have put out their 2009 guide to Auberges & Bistrots de France where you can experience the authentic and warm hospitality of the French countryside without having to mortgage your home.

Vive l’amour and a very loving day to all!

Helen

France Travel Info

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Stage 13 of the Tour de France is still in the Languedoc-Roussillon region which stretches from the foothills of the Pyrenees on the Spanish border to the mouth of the Rhône. This stage starts from Narbonne and ends in Nîmes, a town known for its Roman antiquities such as the Roman amphitheatre “Les Arènes”, the Maison Carrée (Square House Temple) and the Tour Magne.

Maison Caree

When we did our “Tour de France“, in a motorcoach, we stayed at the Imperator Concorde in Nîmes, a very pleasant hotel in the city centre. Nîmes’ Amphitheatre is one of the best preserved of its kind and the arches reminded us of the Colosseum in Rome.  Construction of the Colosseum was completed in 80 AD under Titus and “Les Arènes” was built at the end of the 1st century AD, so maybe that’s where the inspiration came from.  Nîmes had a turbulent history and suffered during the 16th century Wars of Religion.  Fortunately, the town prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries from textile manufacturing and anyone who’s worn denim jeans has this town to thank as denim originated from Nîmes or ‘de Nîmes’.

Carre d'Art

Nîmes is also very privileged to have a dynamic mayor who engaged great contemporary architects to modernize its cityscape.  Philippe Starck redesigned the city’s pedestrian zone and its swanky bus-stop whereas Norman Forster designed the trendy arts complex.  Blending old with new, you’ll also see the Maison Carrée in the city.  This ancient Roman temple, now used as a museum, is one of the best preserved in the world.

Jardin de la Fontaine

If the cyclists arrived in town via Avenue Jean Jaures, they would have seen the Jardin de la Fontaine in the north-western part if the city.  This beautiful formal garden is quite magnificent even though it’s slightly faded these days.  After a hard day cycling, a stroll in this garden is very soothing.  If you have a powerful camera lens, you will see the octagonal Tour Magne, high above the garden on Mont Cavalier (too far for us to climb in the time we had).  This used to be a key part of the Roman walls and the views of the city from the viewing platform up there must be fantastic.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

A tree-lined avenue marks the start of the grand entrance to Château de Chenonceau. Whilst you can picture gold-gilded, horse-drawn carriages transporting its royal residents to and from the château, us mere mortals had to make our way on foot.  It was just as well as it gave our legs time to rediscover themselves, after hours of sitting in our not so royal 48-seater coach.

If you think that view that greets you at the end of the avenue is awesome, wait till you catch the view from the gardens.  The fairy-tale looking castle stretches across the Cher river and its reflection in the water paints a dreamy picture of the château and accentuates its already magnificent beauty.

As mentioned previously, Chenonceau owes its beauty and existence to six women.  On our tour of the chateau, we were told of the love triangle between King Henri II, his wife Catherine de’ Medici and the mistress Diane de Poitiers.   When Henri II married Catherine de Medici in 1533, Château de Chenonceau became a royal palace in the Loire Valley.  However, it was to Diane that Henri offered Chenonceau to in 1547.  You can imagine how incensed Catherine was as she wanted Chenonceau for herself.

The story of Diane de Poitiers is an interesting one.  She was no ordinary mistress and to understand the King’s devotion to her, one needs to trace back to how she happened to be in the King’s inner sanctum. At the young age of 15 (not so young during those days) Diane married Louis de Brézé, who was 39 years her senior.  Louis was grandson of King Charles VII.  Diane was made lady-in-waiting to Claude de France, first wife of Francis I.  When the Queen died, Diane was placed in charge of the royal nursery and she became a mother figure for the young princes.  Henri was only five at the time.  In 1525, Francis I was taken hostage after the Battle of Pavia.  He offered his two sons as hostages to the Spaniards in exchange for his own freedom. Diane accompanied the two young princes to the Spanish border and it is said that Diane’s presence at his departure left a great impact on Henri as she tried to comfort the nine year old.  When he returned from captivity, it was Diane that he sought and not his father, hence the beginning of a very powerful relationship between Henri and Diane which then grew into one of the most powerful love affairs of the Renaissance.

Apart from being exceedingly beautiful, Diane was of sharp intellect and politically astute.  She was very loyal to Henri and he in turn relied on her as his most dependable ally. Catherine would have seethed with jealousy and hatred over this relationship and on Henri’s death in 1559, she quickly took back possession of Chenonceau from Diane and even evicted her from the palace.  She also redeveloped the castle to rid it of any reminders of Diane’s existence, however the spirit of Diane lives with us to this day.

You’ll see on the tour that Diane’s room is on the ground floor whereas Catherine’s room is on the first floor.  Interestingly, from the plan, it appears that Catherine’s room was right above Diane’s.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The Loire Valley is home to over 100 French châteaux, some of these are spectacularly grand.  On our château trail we visited Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, Château d’Amboise, Clos Luce, Château de Chambord, and my very own favorite Château de Chenonceau, including its interior.

Chenonceau is a magnificent château with a very interesting history.  We normally associate palaces with the kings who occupied the palaces during their reign, however Chenonceau is unusual in that three aristocratic ladies were responsible for some of the creation of the château and three other ladies played huge roles in transforming the château, hence its elegant and romantic feel.  The six women of Chenonceau included:

- Catherine Briconnet, wife of the first owner Thomas Bohier, was responsible for transforming the medieval Chenonceau into Renaissance style.  The couple put in the turreted pavillion and Catherine also set the trend by creating one of the first straight staircases in France.  So, blame Catherine if you don’t like straight staircases!

- Diane de Poitiers, lifelong mistress of Henri II, added the formal gardens and the arched bridge over the river

- Catherine de’ Medici changed Diane’s arched bridge into an Italian-style gallery following her husband’s death.  She also evicted Diane from the palace and forced her to move to Château de Chaumont.

- Louise de Lorraine inherited Chenonceau in 1590, when her husband Henri III passed away.  As a mark of bereavement, she painted the ceiling of her bedchamber black and white, the color of royal mourning.  Henri III was Catherine de’ Medici’s  third and favorite son.

- Madame Dupin, an 18th century chatelaine saved Chenonceau from destruction during the Revolution.  She was a cultured and educated lady and turned Chenonceau into a salon for writers and philosophers.

- Madame Pelouze bought Chenonceau in a dilapidated and ruined state and undertook a total restoration in 1863.  It is thanks to Madame Pelouze that we have the good fortune today of seeing Château de Chenonceau in its original state.

More on Chenonceau and the Châteaux of the Loire Valley later….

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The world’s most gruelling bicycle race is just around the bend.  The 2008 Tour de France marks the 95th anniversary of this high profile professional cycling event.  Competitors in this 23 day annual event will hit the road from Brest in the north-western part of Bretagne on July 5th and finish in Paris on July 27th.  Whilst the organizers are excited about the number of mountain stages and altitude finishes, my pain threshhold does not even allow me to dwell too long on how exhausting the rides must be. 

The Tour de France will be made of of 21 stages covering a total distance of 3,554 kilometres.  To put this into perspective, if you’ve ever done a 15-day coach holiday in Europe, you will generally travel that sort of distance.  Yet these guys are actually covering the same mileage on bicycle and up and down the mountain roads of France.  How the riders motivate themselves to climb on the bike again after each punishing day on the road is beyond my comprehension.

The race rules are complex and the tactics and strategies employed by the teams and individual riders to win the yellow jersey are a mystery to me.  For me, I rather enjoy following the course that these riders will be taking, which takes you through some beautiful French countryside.  The aerial shots are particularly amazing as it provides a different view of the magnificent chateaux that we’ve visited, especially around the Loire Valley. This year, the route strays into Italy and the riders will have a break day in Cuneo.

Another treat from watching the Tour de France (for Australian viewers) is the cooking show and food commentary provided by Gabriel Gate.  Gabriel is a celebrated French chef, currently resident in Melbourne.  He grew up in the Loire Valley and did his chef’s apprenticeship in a renowned restaurant in the Loire before taking off to Paris.  It’s great watching Gabriel discuss the regional products and cuisine and then he cooks up a mouth-watering dish in such an effortless manner as only celebrity chefs can. 

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Bastille Day is around the corner again and July 14th is a day of National celebrations for all of France. Those travellers who are fortunate enough to be in the vicinity of Paris on Bastille Day will be treated to a grand celebration which starts in all seriousness on the evening before. 

Usually on the evening of July 13 the festivities in Paris kick off with a number of balls as well as dancing in Bastille Square. Parisiens will need to ensure that their properties don’t catch fire on this evening as its traditional for parties to be held at fire stations, and it appears that it’s open house to all.  The firemen, and their uniforms, are a big lure for the ladies!

The next morning, a military parade starts from the Arc de Triomphe and proceeds to the Place de la Concorde, although the route has been varied by previous presidents.  This year Nicolas Sarkozy will preside over the march which is accompanied by a jet flypass.  The French are very nationalistic people and I can imagine how grand the celebrations will be.  Be careful when you’re singing  The Marseillaise that you don’t get swept up by the emotions of the day and throw in your own passport in exchange for French citizenship!

The partying and picnics continue the whole day, culminating in a grand fireworks at the Eiffel Tower in the evening. Night clubs, bars, restaurants and all will also be doing their bit and staging their own celebrations. 

So why is Bastille Day important?  The holiday commemorates the storming of the former high-security prison and the uprising that marked the beginning of the French Revolution.  On July 14, 1789, militant Parisian workers stormed and dismantled the Bastille, a royal fortress in Paris. Originally built as the Castle of St. Antoine around 1370 to be part of the fortifications of Paris, the Bastille was made a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century. Although the number of prisoners held here averages about 40, the Bastille came to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs. On the morning of July 14, 1789, a mob descended on the Bastille and demanded the arms and munitions stored there. When the prison governor refused, the people stormed the fortress and freed the prisoners. Ironically, there were only seven prisoners held at the time. The governor and most of the garrison were killed, and the Bastille was razed.

The storming of the Bastille signalled the beginning of the French Revolution, a three-year reign of terror and political turmoil. Eventually King Louis XVI was overthrown and approximately 1,000 people, including the king and his wife Marie Antoinette, were sent to the guillotine near the Place de la Concorde. The Bastille was demolished during the Revolution and although nothing now remains of the Bastille fortress itself, the place where it once stood remains an enduring symbol of the ideals of Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité.

Paris is such a beautiful city at any time and it must be one amazing place to be on Bastille Day.  Definitely something to add to the To Do list.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog