Inside the Jardin des Plantes is La Ménagerie, a zoo founded in 1794. It is considered to be the oldest in the world along with de Schönbrunn, in Vienna. Among its 2,000 inhabitants, the ménageriecelebrated 168 births in 2010. One of the newborns in the singerie (monkey house), Coumba, became a bit of a celebrity in 2011 [...]

Despite looking vaguely art-deco in form, this structure was designed by architects Manolo Nunez-Yanowski and Miriam Teitelbaum in 1991, and houses the Commissariat de Police du 12ème arrondissement—the local police station. Although the curves of the building are merely derivative, what makes it really noticeable are the sculptured human forms jutting out from the balconies [...]

There has been much said about the gaudy interior of Notre Dame de Lorette, a church in the 9th arrondissement, but I find it elegant, with its 19th Century art and a Cavaille-Col grand organ. The painter Eugene Delacroix lived nearby and was christened here in 1840. The other stories of this large church refer [...]

Le Musée des Arts Forains is a stunning collection of beautiful old amusement park rides and other carnival-related attractions, housed in one of the most absolutely magical spaces I’ve ever had the pleasure to visit. When a friend of mine first told me about the Musée, I’d imagined a large, bland warehouse space displaying all [...]

The Tour Bois-le-Prêtre, standing alongside the périphérique autoroute on the very limits of the city, has recently been transformed from a crumbling outcast to an award-winning structure. Could it show the way forward for high-rise structures around the world? Last month, architects Anne Lacaton, Jean-Philippe Vassal, and Frédéric Druot picked up the Equerre d’argent 2011, an [...]

The Hilton Arc de Triomphe has installed a Tattinger-sponsored ephemeral champagne bar in their courtyard. From now through January 15, guests can enjoy swank sipping inside a snow globe. In this unseasonably warm winter, faux snow and Christmas trees add a welcome holiday feel. Within, it’s a white, light, bright winter wonderland. Fake fur throws [...]

The Rodin Museum is one of the most popular tourist sites in Paris. It encompasses a lovely old house surrounded by a huge garden, with several of Rodin’s bronze sculptures positioned here and there in the grounds. One sculpture in particular is placed so that all passersby can enjoy it, even without entering the museum precincts [...]

Winter time in Paris is always festive, but to experience the city from on high in the heart of Paris, go visit La grande Roue — the Great Ferris Wheel – at Place de la Concorde.  Towering the size of a football field, La grand Roue comfortably fits 6-8 people in a single chariot (seat), and offers [...]

Paris is a magnificent city – romantic, historic and cultural. But having been away for a few years, there are a few things that stand out when I think about what I miss… The Metro Why I miss it: Despite its ingenuity, the London Tube is something all Londoners love to complain about. The Paris [...]

Look familiar? It’s La Samaritaine in the background—a department store named after a water pump located right by the Pont Neuf—and the statue of King Henri the IVth (of France, not Henry the IVth of England), a king that said to promised that all French households would eat at least a chicken a week. The Samaritaine is closed [...]