What better way to kick off the holiday season, then with some holiday windows, lights, games, cartoons and a letter to Santa? The French postal service has a section of its site dedicated to kids wanting to do just that. (For English instruction on writing to Santa in France, go here. The Champs-Elysées is illuminating Paris [...]

There’s a popular French phrase “Sous les pavés, la plage” or, “Under the cobblestones, the beach”. But if you dive a little deeper, you’ll find there’s more beneath your feet than just sand. There are also traces of the earliest civilizations who inhabited Paris long before it became the capitol city of France. You can [...]

Le Musée de la Magie is full of amazing artifacts from the history and magic and illusion: antique magicians’ props and gadgets, stunning optical illusions, beautiful old posters advertising magic shows, and more, all housed in a spooky old underground chamber that looks like an old wine cellar. Among the displays: skeleton plays the cello [...]

I have always loved designer Martin Margiela’s obsession with the color white. Margiela retired as chief designer from his eponymous label a few seasons ago but has kept busy spreading his vision of white by designing the 17 rooms and public spaces of the La Maison Champs Elysees. I had the distinct pleasure of getting [...]

The Musée des Vampires is a small private museum (near the Mairie des Lilas) dedicated to vampires and the study of their place in folklore and modern culture. Located just on the outer edge of Paris, it can be a bit complicated to visit for non-French speakers, but it’s totally do-able and absolutely worth the [...]

This past weekend the exhibition halls at Paris’s Parc Floral turned into a pet lover’s play land when the 2011 Animal Expo rolled in with over 300 dogs, 700 cats, fish, birds, farm animals, reptiles and rodents. When I saw metro billboards displaying advertisements for the expo, I knew I had to go. A chance [...]

The Eiffel Tower is about to provide its visitors with a step into dizzying suspension. Soon visitors to the first level will look straight down the Eiffel Tower through a plate of glass instead of looking through the fence. The idea of the architect, Alain Moatti, is to give the impression of floating above Paris. [...]

“Des Jouets et des hommes” (Of Toys and Men), at the Grand Palais, presents a history of toys in the Western world and spotlights their importance in children’s education right from birth. The show runs through January 23. Boys had the neatest things to play with growing up. Coming from a family of girls, the [...]

The Hôtel Biron, built in 1728, has served as the Musée Rodin since 1919, and is situated on over 7 acres (3 hectacres) of gardens and sculptures. This grand entrance is a prelude to the amazing work of Rodin contained within these 18th Century walls. The museum features the work of Rodin’s muse, Camille Claudel, [...]

The first impression when entering the Opera Restaurant at the Palais Garnier is being in a grotto. I imagined growing mushrooms. My husband imagined the grotto in Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera. We were both right. Contrary to your normal grotto though, this one is full of light and color. The fantasy of the menu [...]