You might not at first connect Paris with medieval times, or the so-called Dark Ages. Paris is the City of Light, after all. Of enlightenment. The city that came of age in the grand siècle — the seventeenth century — when grand new buildings and monuments were carved from bright limestone, when the Sun King […]
Musée Carnavalet
Poetic Paris: Where to Read the Most Beautiful Parisian Poems
Paris has long inspired artists — painters, writers and, above all, poets. Nobody who loves beauty as much as words can fail to wax lyrical about the City of Light. Read on for a poetic Parisian tour — and to find the ideal locations for swooning over your favourite poèmes. Charles Baudelaire & Île Saint-Louis […]
History’s Most Stylish Parisiennes (and Where they Left their Marks)
In commemoration of Women’s History Month, a look at some of history’s most alluring Parisiennes … and where they left their marks in Paris. Catherine de Medici The Florentine heiress — brought up in a world that worshipped beauty — moved to Paris to marry the future King Henri II in 1533. Disdained by her […]
The Parisian History of Pink
In French, the word for pink is rose, a flower-inspired moniker that goes back to the Latin of Roman times (and those pleasure-loving Romans, with their decadent petal-laden parties). But, as a shade, pink wasn’t really a ‘thing’ in France until the 18th century. Before that, it was simply a lighter version of red — […]