Planning Your Trip
Coach House Rentals (www.rentals.chsparis.com) has expanded its private homes for rent to include addresses in Paris. Its website has pictures and full descriptions of the properties, with an English-speaking reservation team to handle bookings and to deal with any questions. A company representative will meet guests at their rental to show them the ropes. The company can usually arrange a car to meet guests at the airport and take them to their prearranged rental.
Auto Europe is debuting scooter rental service in Paris. If you're continuing on to other cities, branches are found at Nice, Cannes, and Marseilles. Yamaha YP 125 Majesty scooters are rented, and you'll certainly save on gas, the price of which is lethal in France. The company also touts the benefits of sidewalk parking and the ease of maneuvering in high-traffic locations. Bookings are online at .
In the months ahead the government of France is considering granting free access to a sampling of museums in Paris as well as other French towns. François Fillon, the prime minister, did not name any museums specifically -- the Louvre, for example -- but said a study was underway to make many museums free. He noted that several other European nations have made museums free. "I want access to our artistic heritage to be truly democratized," Fillon said. The minister also said that he wanted young people to receive a "culture passport" valid nationwide to grant them easy access to sites.
For the ultimate in luxury, Grand Etapes Françaises, 21 Square St. Charles, 75012 in Paris (tel. 01-40-02-99-80), can book you into 10 château or luxury hotels throughout the country. Each hotel or châteaux is unique, and most of them lie only a 1-hour drive from Paris. Le Château d'Esclimont in the Ile de France, outside the village of St-Symphorien le Château, is like a fairytale castle, lying between Versailles and Chartres.
Paris
Where to Stay
Many visitors to Paris are wanting to live like a native and avoid hotels altogether. The city government of Paris has launched a new program seeking residents willing to rent rooms in their homes like a B&B. The site, Hotes Qualité Paris (www.hqp.fr) encourages locals to make available their spare rooms at prices that begin around $125 a night. It's strictly pot luck; you might end up on a house barge docked between the Louvre and the place de la Concorde or else in an old-fashioned bedroom near the Bois de Boulogne with a host who happens to be a passionate history lecturer, as you'll find out at breakfast the next morning. More and more travelers are also booking B&Bs on the website www.bed-and-breakfast-in-paris.com.
Paris's hottest new property is Fouquet's Barrière, 48 av. George V (tel. 01-40-69-60-40), a veritable Parisian palace on the Champs Elysées. The trendy 107-room hotel opened with massive coverage in the local press, standing alongside its namesake and legendary restaurant, Fouquet's. The bedrooms are among the most spacious in the city, and they're luxuriously appointed, including such novel features as waterproof floating TV remotes for the bathtub and a bedside button that pops open to let your butler inside. There's one butler to every eight guests. Bedrooms are quite masculine in décor with ceiling-high padded headboards in shiny gold.
In other developments, more and more top hotels in Paris -- long known for pampering adults -- are now showing greater hospitality to families traveling with young children. For example, Four Seasons George V, 31 av. George V (tel. 01-49-52-70-00; www.fourseasons.com/paris), once housed the likes of Darryl F. Zanuck and his mistress. It is still a retreat for moguls, but also pampers young ones with kid-size bathrobes, bedtime milk and cookies, and even special menus prepared just for them. The chef will even stoop so low as to make a kid a hot dog or a hamburger.
Close to the Louvre, Place Vendome, and the Tuileries Gardens, Hotel Thérèse, 5-7 rue Thérèse (tel. 01-42-96-10-01; www.hoteltherese.com), in the 1st Arrondissement, has been recently renovated and is now one of the most desirable and affordable choices in the center of Paris. It's government-rated three stars but seems more 4 stars in ambience in its 43 stylish suites. Owner Sylvia de Lattre, who likes shades such as pistachio and royal blue, trolled the flea markets for paintings and prints to personalize each bedroom.
In Montmartre, Hotel des Arts, 5 rue Tholoze (tel. 01-46-06-30-52; www.arts-hotel-paris.com), is a trendy new address in the 18th Arrondissement. The 50-room hotel was created from a former dormitory for Moulin Rouge dancers and, as you might expect, the rooms are small but they are comfortably furnished with country-style curtains and bedspreads. Opt for one of the four bedrooms on the 6th floor. Note that as night falls the district is filled with a lot of sex workers.
Where to Dine
One of the most famous chefs in Paris, Guy Martin, continues to enjoy his three stars granted by Michelin at Grand Véfour, but he is also the inspiration behind Sensing, 19 rue Bréa (tel. 01-43-27-08-80; www.restaurantsensing.com), in the 6th Arrondisssement. The décor relies on video projections on the walls and blond sycamore tables, and the like. When plates are served, they are like statements from a museum of modern art -- geometric arrangements of rectangles and cylinders and Miró-like squiggles of sauce. The dishes are sublime from the herb-crusted veal with tubes of macaroni stuffed with fresh mushrooms to the fresh squab coated with a muscovado sugar caramel crust.
Sensing is called a "neo bistro," as is another new restaurant, Le Chateaubriand, 129 av. Parmentier (tel. 01-43-57-45-95), in the 11th Arrondissement. From the Basque Country, where he learned his skills, Inaki Aizpitarte headed for Paris to bring his skills to this time-tested old bistro. The dark 1930s décor looks relatively intact, but he completely changed the cuisine. Today instead of coq au vin and steak with frites, you are treated to rare tuna slices in pink beet foam flavored with pomegranate seeds or steamed cod with Moroccan spices. The tartare de boeuf now appears with fresh peanuts and a tangy Vietnamese dipping sauce.
What to See & Do
Nat King Cole sang of the secret of her smile. For centuries, the most famous painting in the world, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, has dazzled viewers with its enigmatic smile. Since 1804 the artist's masterpiece has been hanging in the Louvre, 34-36 quai du Louvre (tel. 01-40-20-53-17; www.louvre.fr). Now researchers feel they have solved the riddle of Mona Lisa's smug look. Using three-dimensional technology to study the masterpiece, researchers conducted the most extensive examinations ever made of the painting. For the first time, they discovered a very fine gauze veil worn over the dress. Such a veil was worn by women who were either pregnant or had just given birth. Incidentally, the lady depicted in the painting is not named Mona. Mona is the equivalent of Madame, so she is "Madame Lisa." The model was actually Lisa Gherardini, the wife of an obscure Florentine merchant.
Shopping
Some of the most fashionable shops in Paris today are opening in the 2nd Arrondissement between I.M. Pei's "Pyramids" and Charles Garnier's fin-de-siècle Opéra. The best streets for browsing are rue Ste. Anne and rue Chabanais. Many fashionistas are deserting the fabled houses of scent and heading for The Different Company at 3 rue Chabanis (tel. 01-42-60-12-74), run by a father and daughter team, Jean-Claude and Céline Ellana. The scents have been called "fragrances of the 21st century." Discerning local shoppers are learning of the opening of Louisélio, 14 rue Chabanais (tel. 01-42-97-54-65). Here ceramics, including bowls and vases, come in organic, minimalist shapes with intricate glazework. Louisélio herself welcomes shoppers to her chic studio.
Just 35 minutes from the center of Paris, La Vallée Village is home to some 75 boutiques in the chic Outlet Shopping Village. Sometimes brand names such as Lacoste or Waterford are sold here at 70% less than retail prices in the center of Paris -- just ask such patrons as Sir Mick Jagger, Victoria Beckham, or the Duchess of York. From the center of Paris you can take RER A, to the Val d'Europe station. By car, take the A4 motorway from Paris to exit 12.1 and follow the signs.
The Loire Valley
In Loches, the former house of the Marquis de la Fayette, the Château de Reignac, 37310 Reignac-sur-Indre (tel. 02-47-94-14-10), has been entirely renovated and is today one of the most luxurious châteaux hotels in the Loire. Its 12 luxuriously furnished bedrooms bear the names of historic figures who have lived here or visited. You can have drinks in the 18th-century living rooms and later go for a walk in its surrounding park. A stay here is like wandering back into a more elegant age.
Mont St-Michel
The most visited tourist attraction in France, Mont St-Michel on the Norman coast (tel. 02-33-89-80-00; www.ot-montsaintmichel.com) was founded 1,300 years ago and is now the beneficiary of a massive engineering project expected to cost $190 million and take 6 years to complete. Currently, the monument is accessible by land only during low tides. During high tides the approach fills up with water. The new project calls for a bridge to replace the 19th-century dyke to the mainland. That will make the mount accessible at all times regardless of the flow of the tides.
Brittany
Believe it or not, staid old Nantes, lying between the Loire Valley and Brittany, is taking on a kind of Atlantic Coast chic. An Air France flight from Paris will take you there for $155 roundtrip (www.airfrance.com). Impressive urban revitalization is changing the city. Once dreary industrial neighborhoods are taking on a new life in France's sixth largest city. In 2007 the newly restored Château des Ducs de Bretagne reopened in the center. It was the home of Anne de Bretagne, queen of France. Today the château contains the city museum and a first-rate restaurant, Les Oubliettes. One of the many new projects includes Le Lieu Unique, a former biscuit factory converted to art exhibitions, a restaurant, a bar/café, and fashionable shops.
Alsace-Lorraine
Since June of 2007, a fast TGV train has cut traveling time between Paris and Nancy (capital of Lorraine) to just 90 minutes. The city's landmark Place Stanislas, built in the 18th century, has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. While exploring the city, stop for food and Lorraine wine at the minuscule Le V'Four, 10 rue St-Michel (tel. 03-83-32-49-48) when set menus are priced from $35 to $52 per person. End the day by dropping in at l'Excelsior, a century-old brasserie at 50 rue Henri-Poincaré (tel. 03-83-32-24-57).
In Baerenthal, one of the most celebrated French chefs, Jean-Georges Klein, has opened Hotel K, 18 Untermuhlthal (tel. 03-87-06-50-85), perched high on a hill in a dense evergreen forest at the foot of the Vosges Mountains. This Alsatian village lies only a 40-minute drive from the city of Strasbourg. Serious foodies from nearby points in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Switzerland are flocking to this modern establishment. Many rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountains, and the bedrooms have a kind of Japanese simplicity. Dinner is at Klein's fairly remote restaurant, L'Arnsbourg, rated three stars by Michelin. A menu of Â?105 ($147) is featured nightly, including seven courses and numerous amuse-bouches. We have found it to be one of the most avant-garde dining experiences in all of France (www.arnsbourg.com).
The Basque Country
In the hills of the French Basque country, Maison Hégla in the village of Hasparren (tel. 05-59-29-67-86), is an 18th-century farmhouse that has been turned into a 5-room inn, lying an hour's drive inland from chic Biarritz. Here Michelin-starred chef, Arnaud Daguin, and his wife, Véronique, operate this gem. The elegant yet rustic rooms are the epitome of a design-for-comfort hotel, and the restaurant dishes are sublime, relying on well-chosen and market-fresh ingredients, the finest in the area. Even if you don't stay here, many motorists are driving in from Biarritz for a meal. The quail, for example, came about as a result of experiments with a local farmer who fed the birds a diet of fermented raisins. After dinner, the chef will invite you for a sip of his vintage Armagnac.
The Massif Central
Visitors to France would have little reason to stop off in this French mining town unless they wanted to see some stunning architecture by the great Le Corbusier. Ferminy-Vert has the largest concentration of Le Corbusier's works outside of Chandigarth, India. At the time of his death, the architect had not built the Church of St. Pierre in this mining town. Now some 41 years after his death, French architect José Oubrerie has updated his mentor's original sketches and completed the church. It is a hulking 108-foot concrete structure with pivoting red doors and a large concrete channel hugging the base. Other Le Corbusier designs in the town include an apartment building, Unité d'Habitation, and the Maison de la Culture, a youth center.
Many sightseers, as well as motorists, are flocking to Millau to see the new Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world. It reaches an astonishing height of 1,125 feet, making it 141 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower. The bridge spans 1.5 miles between two plateaus in the Tarn Valley in the south of France, part of a road link between Paris and Barcelona. The location is 400 miles south of Paris, a 6-hour drive via the A10, A71, and A75 auto routes. Supported by seven concrete piers, the cable-stayed, masted structure was designed by Norman Foster, the British architect. From Millau follow signs on the D992 in the direction of Albi/Toulouse. You can't miss it. The Millau tourism office (www.ot-millau.fr) sells guided bus tours of the bridge daily for $13 per person. Motorists can cross one way for $7 per vehicle ($9 in July and August).
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