Entries by admin8800

Perfumes of the Orient Exhibit, a Evocative Journey through Scent

For travelers to Paris this winter who want to learn more about gardens, flowers, and perfume we highly recommend The Perfumes of the Orient exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe. Held until 17 March 2024, the exhibit is an innovative opportunity to discover the history of scents inspired by gardens and floriculture from the […]

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Chestnuts, a French Wintertime and Festive Season Essential

Of the French food items most linked to late autumn and winter, chestnuts feature prominently. The soothing smell of roasted chestnuts wafts through the air of holiday markets, the chic golden wrappers of marrons glacés glimmer in shop windows of elegant epiceries and holiday poultry stuffing is made tantalizing by the tender pieces of chataignes. […]

Autumn 2023: a Season of 18th Century Exhibits

The autumn is often the season when most of Paris’s best exhibits are held. Besides the exhibit on Van Gogh at Auvers taking place at the Musée d’Orsay (which we cover in this article), many of the other most noteworthy exhibits taking place this autumn and winter in Paris revolve around the 18th century. Berthe […]

Vincent Van Gogh and Flowers 

This autumn the Musée d’Orsay will host a much anticipated exhibit, Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, exploring the Dutch artist’s final months that were spent in this village located north of Paris. Vincent stayed for a mere 70 days, ending his life on July 29, 1890, yet this was a period of intense creativity, in which […]

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Surprising Stories: Marie Antoinette at the Tuileries 1789-1793

October 16, 2023 will mark the 230th anniversary of Marie-Antoinette’s regicide at the age of 37. While the queen’s life story and tragic destiny have inspired novels and films, an exhibition at the National Archives–Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and the Revolution–focuses on a specific period, when the royal family was imprisoned in the Tuileries palace from […]

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How to Enjoy Paris in the Summer of 2023

Two years after Covid, Paris has maintained its spot as the number one tourist destination worldwide! The city continues to hold this acclaimed status for many reasons: its stellar number of museums, its thriving urban culture, boutique shopping, easy access to historic chateaux and gardens, and its storied (and constantly renewing) restaurant scene. The popularity […]

My New Book ‘Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy’ Wins Prestigious J.B Jackson Book Prize

I’m delighted to share the news that my new book, Marie Antoinette’s Legacy: The Politics of French Garden Patronage and Picturesque Design, 1775–1867, has won the prestigious John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize (2023).  This award acknowledges scholarly publications by landscape historians, historical geographers, urban historians, and art historians involved in landscape studies and the environmental […]

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The History and Garden Inspirations of the Parisian Macaron

Almost twenty-five years ago, baker, critic, and author Dorie Greenspan reported that when the French chef Pierre Hermé puts out new flavors for his macarons, “the news is announced in all the glossies and the lines outside his boutiques are so long you can finish a chunk of War and Peace before you reach the door. ” This […]

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Nature Into Art: La Galerie Christian Dior

Since the the opening  of the spectacular Galerie Christian Dior  in 2022, the museum has become one of the most visited cultural venues in the city. Located at 30 Avenue Montaigne, the very place where Christian Dior (1905-1958) founded his couture brand in 1947, the galley-museum celebrates the life and career of the legendary couturier.  […]

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A Marie-Antoinette Inspired Holiday Gift Guide

For this holiday season, in celebration of the publication of my book, Marie-Antoinette’s Legacy, we’ve put together a list of fabulous gift ideas honoring France’s most famous queen. Marie-Antoinette was one of the first celebrities: her taste in gardens, porcelains, fashions, and decorative arts continues to inspire fashion designers, film makers and decorators.   My […]