Like the perfect pas de deux, ballet and opera have been in sync in Paris since 1669, when the Sun King Louis XIV — who fancied himself as a gifted dancer as much as a benevolent patron of the arts — founded the Académie d’Opéra. Ballet was originally performed as an entr’acte during an operatic […]
Paris History
How Crêpes Became Oh-So Parisian (and the Best Crêperies in Town)
For a proudly republican country, France sure loves its traditionally religious holidays. Take, for instance, La Chandeleur — or, Candlemas — which falls on February 2nd, forty days after Christmas. Thing is, these Christian holidays are deeply embedded into the cultural fabric of France because so many go back to ancient times, being reworkings of […]
Paris in the 2010s: a Look Back …
After a relatively tranquil beginning, the past Parisian decade turned out to be one of the most tumultuous of recent times. Here, some of the highs and the lows of the twenty-tens in the City of Light … 2010 The world’s most famous avenue went green for a two-day festival called Nature Capitale, designed to […]
Parisian Christmas Tradition: La Bûche de Noël
If you’ve been lucky enough to find yourself in Paris in December, you’ll have likely admired the sparkling window displays, and might have delighted over a curious-looking cake featuring in those of the city’s pâtisseries. The Bûche de Noël — or, Christmas Log — is said to date back to around 1870, when a Parisian […]