Landmarks in a 'Hedonist's Guide to Paris'
ROMANCE 9
SPORTS 5
FOOD 9
CULTURE 9
SCENERY 8
PARTY 8
Laduree
75 avenue des Champs-Elysees, 8eme
www.laduree.fr
A legend in its own teatime, the Champs Elysees Laduree is, for our money, the one to come to since you can combine it with a gawp at the gilded interior of the Guerlain flagship spa over the road. A fabulous Second Empire stage set, it is the biggest and most splendid of three Laduree teahouses in Paris. The original opened in 1862 on 16 rue Royale (the other two are cunning fabrications), and there's a third in St-Germain-des-Pres. The one thing they all have in common is the long counter,r lit by neoclassical statuettes holding lampshades, where the famous macaroons, those nibbled by fashion editors and celebrities, are laid out daily to tempt all corners.
Upstairs is a baby blue room fit for a princess compete with grandfather clock, candelabra and gilded mirrors. A dimly lit, chinoiserie-themed central room, a small library and two more dining rooms are connected by way of a long, creaky, wooden-floored corridor, leading finally to plush bathrooms. What to eat? Cake, cake and cake. Take some macaroons home with you. Credited as pastry consultant on Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
75 avenue des Champs-Elysees, 8eme
www.laduree.fr
A legend in its own teatime, the Champs Elysees Laduree is, for our money, the one to come to since you can combine it with a gawp at the gilded interior of the Guerlain flagship spa over the road. A fabulous Second Empire stage set, it is the biggest and most splendid of three Laduree teahouses in Paris. The original opened in 1862 on 16 rue Royale (the other two are cunning fabrications), and there's a third in St-Germain-des-Pres. The one thing they all have in common is the long counter,r lit by neoclassical statuettes holding lampshades, where the famous macaroons, those nibbled by fashion editors and celebrities, are laid out daily to tempt all corners.
Upstairs is a baby blue room fit for a princess compete with grandfather clock, candelabra and gilded mirrors. A dimly lit, chinoiserie-themed central room, a small library and two more dining rooms are connected by way of a long, creaky, wooden-floored corridor, leading finally to plush bathrooms. What to eat? Cake, cake and cake. Take some macaroons home with you. Credited as pastry consultant on Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
Cimetiere du Montparnasse
3 boulevard Edgar-Quinet, 14eme
Not as starry as Pere-Lachaise, but more peaceful (no Jim Morrison necrophiles) and the eternal resting place of more left-field writers, artists and thinkers. Spend a sunny Sunday afternoon wandering it's 1,800 acres and you can pay your respects to Man Ray, Jean Baudrillard, Traistan Tzara, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, and Susan Sontag. The rock-star pilgrimage here is Serge Gainsbourg, whose grave is always festooned with love notes, Gitanes cigarettes and bottles of booze.
3 boulevard Edgar-Quinet, 14eme
Not as starry as Pere-Lachaise, but more peaceful (no Jim Morrison necrophiles) and the eternal resting place of more left-field writers, artists and thinkers. Spend a sunny Sunday afternoon wandering it's 1,800 acres and you can pay your respects to Man Ray, Jean Baudrillard, Traistan Tzara, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, and Susan Sontag. The rock-star pilgrimage here is Serge Gainsbourg, whose grave is always festooned with love notes, Gitanes cigarettes and bottles of booze.
The grave of Jean-Claude Pascal
Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise
Boulevard de Menilmontant, 20eme
www.pere-lachaise.com
Pere-Lachaise is just wonderful, a meandering, gothic fairyland of monuments grand and grotesque, and so vast you could spend days trying orient yourself. It was established in the late 1700s, when the city's graveyards were getting a bit full, and became 'fashionable' once the remains of Moliere and La Fontaine were deployed as bait. The graves are sold with varying degrees of permanence, from 10 year leases to perpetuity; there are lots of non-famous people interred here, but also hundreds of famous writers, composes, statesmen, actors and aristocrats.
Apart from Jim Morrison's grace, which is now patrolled to prevent acts of bad taste, the ones that provoke the most excitement are those of Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and one Victor Noir, whose prominently groined likeness has achieved shiny fertility-object status. Good lucky trying to find any of them.
Le Grand Rex
Boulevard de Menilmontant, 20eme
www.pere-lachaise.com
Pere-Lachaise is just wonderful, a meandering, gothic fairyland of monuments grand and grotesque, and so vast you could spend days trying orient yourself. It was established in the late 1700s, when the city's graveyards were getting a bit full, and became 'fashionable' once the remains of Moliere and La Fontaine were deployed as bait. The graves are sold with varying degrees of permanence, from 10 year leases to perpetuity; there are lots of non-famous people interred here, but also hundreds of famous writers, composes, statesmen, actors and aristocrats.
Apart from Jim Morrison's grace, which is now patrolled to prevent acts of bad taste, the ones that provoke the most excitement are those of Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and one Victor Noir, whose prominently groined likeness has achieved shiny fertility-object status. Good lucky trying to find any of them.
Le Grand Rex
1 boulevard Poissonniere, 2eme
www.legrandrex.com
This enormous cinema wasn't name Le 'Grand' Rex for nothing and, more than 60 years after launch, it is still Paris's biggest picture house. Its plush baroque-style interior and art deco facade make it a must for cinema enthusiasts who appreciate a spot of old-school grandeur. Sitting on the high-level red velvet seats is such a worthwhile experience, it barely matters whether or not you can understand the dialogue though, if you're lucky, you'll be able to catch an Anglophone film with French subtitles (look out for the 'VO' symbol, standing for Version Original.) Don't come expecting a bill of vintage fare to match the fairytale looks; this is a mainstream multiplex, effectively, with six smaller screens, all leaning towards blockbusters Look out for festivals, seasons and after-dark events.
www.legrandrex.com
This enormous cinema wasn't name Le 'Grand' Rex for nothing and, more than 60 years after launch, it is still Paris's biggest picture house. Its plush baroque-style interior and art deco facade make it a must for cinema enthusiasts who appreciate a spot of old-school grandeur. Sitting on the high-level red velvet seats is such a worthwhile experience, it barely matters whether or not you can understand the dialogue though, if you're lucky, you'll be able to catch an Anglophone film with French subtitles (look out for the 'VO' symbol, standing for Version Original.) Don't come expecting a bill of vintage fare to match the fairytale looks; this is a mainstream multiplex, effectively, with six smaller screens, all leaning towards blockbusters Look out for festivals, seasons and after-dark events.
No comments:
Post a Comment