Category: Paris

If you are like most travelers to France, you want everything to be perfect from the moment you set foot on French soil. To that end, this week’s post covers the various ways you can get from Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport into the city. I have used each of them over the years and…

One of the most beautiful expressions of urban French architecture is the hôtel particulier, or private mansion. Many cities all over France have outstanding examples of these prestigious demeures (dwellings) from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The hôtel particulier was often freestanding – not attached to adjacent buildings – and located on its property…

One of my favorite travel destinations is grocery stores. That’s right, local grocery stores and supermarkets – outdoor markets are a whole other category. I love to wander the aisles not necessarily to shop but to see what’s central to eating life in other parts of the world. It’s fascinating to note which sections are super…

Perhaps the most famous of all little black dresses was the one worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Created by French couture designer (and good friend of Hepburn’s) Hubert de Givenchy, the petite robe noire (little black dress, or LBD) attained such iconic status from the film that today it’s…

This past week in Paris was cool weather-wise – I wore a sweater and jacket every day – but it was sizzling as usual in the culture department. No matter what time of year, there is always something interesting going on in Paris. So if you are planning to be there in the next few…

Paris is one of those towns that wears its fashion heart on its sleeve. A good sit in a central Paris café or a nice stroll by a few tony shop windows will show you the hot new trends in a red-hot minute. All you have to do is keep your eyes open and take…

Pastry shops in Paris have always been a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. But there are some important differences between the pastry shops of then and the pastry shops of now. In the past, you walked in and saw all those rows of classic French desserts standing at perfect attention. Typically,…

There’s lots of gold in Paris – this should be no surprise as luxe and grandeur have been the motto for French rulers and presidents throughout the city’s history. As the French and Europeans figured out long ago, nothing says wealth and power quite so well and quite so publicly as gold. And once you start become…

A little over a week ago, winter made a roaring comeback in Paris – just before the official start of spring. The snow, la neige, started falling late Monday night and big flakes kept coming the entire next day. When I ventured out Tuesday morning to go to a meeting, Paris buses were still running but…