Tagged: france

Mona Lisa Getting a Room of Her Own in Major Louvre Overhaul

Big changes are coming to the Louvre museum in Paris. Chief among them: The Mona Lisa will get her own room. Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Italian Renaissance painting, known as La Joconde…

The Best Cheap Hotels in Paris for 2025

February 14, 2023 To afford a stay in Paris, you don’t need a trust fund or stock options. The 10 budget-friendly lodgings that follow may not be known for their chic décor and high…

Notre-Dame Reopening in Paris: Photos of the Restoration, Plus How and When to Visit

November 26, 2024 On Saturday, Dec. 7, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris will finally reopen to the public with a globally broadcast ceremony and a series of celebratory masses. The more…

The Best Food Halls in Paris: Affordable Food Courts for France's Modern Style

For the last few years, food courts have been conquering Europe. An American invention that was once identified with fast food joints in shopping malls, food courts have been updated…

How to Bike Normandy’s D-Day Beaches: A Car-Free Side Trip from Paris

Beyond their historical significance, Normandy’s D-Day beaches are quite simply beautiful. The stark and ever-changing light on the vast water creates a palette of colors that makes…

Should the Eiffel Tower Olympic Rings Stay Up Permanently?

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris had a lot of memorable moments. That cringey Australian breakdancer alone provided enough fodder for several highlight reels. But we've all moved on…

How to Visit Paris During the Olympics—Even If You Want to Avoid the Games

A century since it last hosted the games, Paris hosts the 2024 Summer Olympic Games from July 26 through August 11, with the Paralympics following from August 28 to September 8. After…

Orly Airport Just Opened a Cheap Direct Train Link to Central Paris

Every few months, it seems, another outfit releases a new list of the best and worst airports in the world, and a certain airport seems to be a perennial pariah. Paris' miserable…

What to Do in Marseille—and Planning Pitfalls to Avoid

As one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, the port city of Marseille in southern France has a long and colorful history—and for a good chunk of that time,…

The Best Croissants in Paris (Sorry, Crookie Fans)

No matter how they’re eaten—plain, dipped in coffee, slathered with jam or chocolate spread, stuffed with ham and melted cheese—croissants are an integral part of a French breakfast…

Free Museums in Paris: 21 Spots to Appreciate Art and Culture at No Cost

Paris is an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord for culture vultures. But admission fees can start to add up in a city with more than 130 museums, only a few of which could be described as…

This Classic Disney World Attraction Is Now Open for Just 135 Minutes a Day

You probably assume the attractions at Disney parks are always available to visit whenever the parks are open.That is not always the case. Some rides run on a schedule that's…

Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral Sets a Reopening Date

UPDATE, December 12: Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is on track to reopen to the public on December 8, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron announced exactly one year before that…

Self-Drive Barge Trips in France: The Complete Guide for Newbies

The most noteworthy journeys take you outside your comfort zone. But self-driving a barge in France? Before my own boat trip this summer, I worried it would jettison me so far outside…

Self-Guided Loire Valley Bike Tour: Seeing France’s Castles and Countryside on Two Wheels

You're riding down a country road in the Loire Valley of France, the wind in your hair, a field of sunflowers bowing their heads as you glide by. A fairy tale castle comes into view,…

Marie Antoinette's Private Rooms at Palace of Versailles Now Open for Tours

At the Palace of Versailles in France, members of the public may once again step behind the gilded paneling of the Queen's State Apartment and into the two-story suite of rooms used by…

Paris Bookshops, Cafes, and Other Stops to Add to a French Literary Pilgrimage

April 19, 2023 Paris is known as the City of Light, but it could just as aptly be nicknamed the City of Lit.  After all, it's the hometown of writer-stuffed cafés, poet-haunted cobbled…

New Paris Museum Lets You Tour the Time-Capsule Home of a Scandalous Icon

UPDATE, April 18, 2023: This post, originally published December 17, 2021, has been updated with new information. Even before French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991,…

New River Cruise to Visit WWII Sites in France and England

Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of World War II's D-Day invasion, when Allied forces landed at Normandy in France to liberate Europe from the Nazis. To commemorate the…

“Emily in Paris” Filming Locations: A Tour of Places from the Hit Netflix Show

March 3, 2023 Emily in Paris debuted on Netflix in the lockdown year of 2020, when viewers were more than ready to follow the escapist tale of American in Paris Emily Cooper (Lily…

Where to Find Art Hiding in Plain Sight in Paris

Paris is one of the world's undisputed art capitals. In addition to being the home of exceptional museums (starting of course with the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay) where countless…

The 10 Most Extreme Snowboarding Terrains

Major to moderate steeps, perhaps a chute or three, and glades where good carvers can slide between the trees—these are the types of terrain where you’re liable to find expert…

French Baguettes and Cuban Light Rum Get UNESCO Heritage Status

Anyone who has ever bit into a fresh baguette in France already knows that crunchy-chewy creation counts among the exceptional achievements of humanity.  But now UNESCO has made it…

"Czar of Noir" Eddie Muller's Surprising Thoughts on the World's Best Place for Film Noir

Eddie Muller began his Noir City film festivals in 2003 to shine a light on the dimming legacy of film noir. He wound up catapulting the movies he loves from their marginal fan niche…

PHOTOS: The Most Beautiful Churches in Paris

Novembrer 16, 2022 Badly damaged by fire in 2019, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris will reopen in time for the city's turn hosting the Summer Olympics in 2024, French government officials…