Les Journées du Patrimoine, or European Heritage Days, are events happening in all across Europe which aim to promote visits of monuments or buildings normally closed to the public. This event finds its roots in France with La Journée Portes Ouvertes (Open Doors Day) which was held in 1984. Every year, nearly 12 million visitors[…]
When thinking of a place and a story to tell about the Marais, I thought of Victor Hugo’s house and museum at first, not too far from the famous Place des Vosges. But then I decided for a lesser-known endroit and chose to tell story of the Beguines’ Convent in Marais. These religious community used[…]
July 14th in France is the Fête Nationale, or Bastille Day, which celebrates the anniversary of the French Revolution of 1789. The French Revolution was an extraordinary moment when people joined together to show that you could rise above an unjust situation and recreate a society. You may argue that this marks the crossroads of[…]
The whole world mourns the tragic events that took place yesterday in central Paris, as a massive, accidental fire engulfed Notre Dame cathedral last night, taking down the iconic cathedral’s spire among many other damages. Today, we wanted to pay homage to this symbol of Paris, France and Gothic architecture, reminiscing about a few of[…]
Visiting the Palace of Versailles soon? You might fancy a tour of the Trianon and the Queen’s hamlet, or the King’s apartments. The former residence of the last royal family of France looks exactly the same, like frozen in time. But did you know that a whole section of the Palace was already a museum[…]