| Upcoming Events and Year round ideas: |
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Friday Nights and Sunday Afternoons
Rollerblade Through Paris! Take to your skates through the City of Light every Friday of the year. Starting at 10pm at the Gare Montparnasse an average of 4,000 skaters glide through the streets for three hours, covering 25-30km (14-18 miles) and finishing back at the Gare de Montparnasse around 1am. The organizer welcomes everyone with the ability to brake and control their skates properly: www.pari-roller.com.
Sunday afternoons: Tour for beginners. A circuit of approx. 20 km over 3 hours. For more information visit Rollers & Coquillages.
Every Sunday
Music for Children: Every Sunday except French school holidays, the Cité de la Musique offers children the chance to develop their love of music, play with instruments and sing. There is a French story hour that turns music into fantasies, even a family workshop.
Daily except Mondays
The catacombs of Paris were the ancient limestone quarries which built Paris. When the cemeteries became a health hazard to the City in the in the 1700’s and 1800’s, after the main cemetery burst its boundaries and flooded homes and basements in Paris with bodies, the quarries were used to replace them. These dank underground passages are filled with spooky bones; macabre quotations are carved into the stone. Not for very young children, but perfect for most adolescent boys. The walk takes about 45 minutes and bring a jacket even in summer.
Daily Bike Tours of Paris
A young American couple founded Fat Tire Bike Tours several years ago and have never looked back. They are designed for children and adults alike; they provide rain gear, child seats and everything you need. I can’t think of a better way to get to know Paris than to start with one of their tours. They have expanded to include some other excellent tours. Most tours begin at the Eiffel Tower so getting there couldn’t be easer.
Daily bike Tour; Night Tour; Versailles, Monet’s Gardens, D-Day Beaches, Wine Tasting, Segway Tour of Paris, Women’s Tours, Classic Walking Tour.
Parc de la Villette
La Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie houses the excellent Explora permanent exhibition, covering everything from outer space to microbiology, with interactive exhibits and demonstrations. There is a real submarine in the grounds - the 400-tonne Argonaute. The Géode, stainless steel sphere, houses a dome ceiling to give extra depth of field. It is the first screen of its kind in France and one of only 160 throughout the world.
Every Sat, Sun & Mon
Les Puces
Visit the Puces at Clignancourt, the world's finest flea and antique market. From mundane collectibles to priceless antiques you can find everything here.(patty pull off a picture from our site)
Read more on our site.
Daily
Come Fly With Me
The world's biggest tethered balloon is based a short distance from our neighborhood, at the André Citroën Park in Paris. View Paris from 450 feet up until Dec. 2007. That is equivalent to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. It is connected to the ground and operated by a hydroelectric winch.
Every Night of the Year
The easiest and most memorable part of your trip to Paris is to simply stay home in our apartments with a view and enjoy the magic light show on the Eiffel Tower every ngiht for ten minutes after dark. Many families have sent pictures of their children as they beg to stay up for just one more hour to ‘Watch The Eiffel Tower Dancing’.
March:
Great Wines Fair
Held at the same time as the Bibliophile Fair in the Carrousel du Louvre, this is a rare opportunity to see the finest grand vins of France, representing over 100 chateaux, collected in one place.
Coffee Show
The Carrousel du Louvre hosts an exposition of the world’s finest coffee producers, includingtastings of over 300 blends.
April:
Paris Marathon
This foot race commences with a food festival featuring spaghetti bolognaise, then proceeds around the monuments flanking the Champs Elysées.
Impressions of Impressionism: Wice
April 6 - Sunday April 9, 2006
Banlieues Blues
The Paris Blues Festival in the suburb of Seine St. Denis.
Foire de Paris
French Home and garden show at the Porte de Versailles.
May
Annual Jazz Festival
Bands and jazz events in the Park Floral every weekend.
The Great Paris Steeplechase
The Hippodrome Auteuil hosts this famous annual horse race.
June:
French Open
Le Golf National course in the suburbs of Paris hosts this famous annual tournament towards the end of June.
Le Carré Rive Gauche Antique Fair
The antique art dealers of Paris display selected objects on the rue de Bac along the Seine, an annual event which includes a cruise that stops at selected points of interest.
Paris Air Show
Le Bourget Airport in Le Bourget, Ile-de-France hosts an exposition for the aerospace industry that features the latest air and space travel technology.
Fête de la Musique
Paris hosts musicians from all over the world who perform in a variety of venues around town on June 21, the longest day of the year, in this annual celebration of music.
Midsummer Fireworks
A beautiful fireworks show is presented at the Ile Saint Louis, and watched from the Quai Saint Bernard on the evening of June 24, the shortest night of the year, in honor of St. John the Baptist.
Chopin Festival
The music of Chopin is celebrated at the Orangerie de Bagatelle until mid-July.
Napoléon, Walking in the Steps of Greatness
June 22 to 25: WICE
Summer Clothing Sales
The sales! Usually half price, everywhere from late June into August.
Choral Music Festival
Late June to early September: The Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Pres and Eglise Saint-Louis-en-L’ile present choral music, including gospel and spiritual as well as traditional and classic church works. Held throughout the summer, from late June to early September.
Paris Gay Pride Parade
The annual festival of the gay community, with live entertainment, refreshments and assorted festivities extends from Republique to Boubourg along the Champs Elysees in the Marais distict.
July:
Paris Haute Couture
All of the famous fashion designers of Paris display their latest creations on the runways of various venues at this annual event.
Bastille Day
The most important holiday in France on July 14 to celebrate the storming of the Bastille.. Dancing, military parades and ceremonies, and most of all, the incredible fireworks in front of the Eiffel Tower, most of which you can be viewed with first class seats from our apartments.
Quartier d’Eté and Paris Plage
July and August are excellent times to visit Paris, when most of the town is on vacation, and a number of dance and music festivals are held around the city for those who remain. The banks of the Seine near the Pont Neuf are converted to a beach with musicians, acrobats and evening events.
Cinema Festival and Dancing
Classic films are shown at the Parc de la Villette most evenings at sunset; bring a picnic, dance to live orchestras and bands from around the world.
Garden Tours
The Parc Andre-Citroen, Parc de Bercy and the famous Pere-Lachaise Cemetery created by Napoleon offer guided walking tours of their beautiful gardens in English and French. Learn about the history of Paris and its culture in July and August.
Choral Music Festival
August:
Paris Plage:
Enjoy the sunbathing beach along the Seine, near the Hotel de ville.
Cinema Festival and Dancing:
Parc de la Villette; movies at sunset, picnic and dancing to live orchestras.
Garden Tours:
Walking tours of beautiful gardens in Paris.
Classical Music Festival
The Parc Floral hosts the Festival Classique au Vert open-air concerts presented by orchestras from all over the world during August and September weekends. Call (33) 55 94 20 20 for more information.
Choral Music Festival
| French Lessons: |
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Year Round Courses and School: All of the below are easy to get to from our apartments either by bus, metro or even via an enjoyable walk. Most offer classes that start on Mondays as well as individual tutoring. All require placement tests to assess your level in order to place you in the appropriate class.
Alliance Francaise:
The granddaddy of language courses with weekly programs, individual tutoring etc.
101, boulevard Raspail; an direct bus or a very nice walk.
Accord:
One of the larger language schools in Paris located on the right bank near les Grands Magasins. Weekly programs at all levels with a placement test to assess your level. A nice walk, or direct bus from our apartments. Accord sponsors the teen and adult summer intensive programs in July and August.
ILF:
Flexible daily, weekly courses for groups or individual tutoring. Walking distance from our apartments, located near the Arc de Triomphe.
Institut Parisien:
Short walk from our apartments, plus some fascinating Discovery Workshops such as Gastronomy and the French ‘Art de Vivre’, Paris the World’s Fashion Capital and more! Seems very dynamic.
Ecole Eiffel:
Located near Montparnasse; 6 levels of courses offered weekly. Placement test before each course. As above, courses start every Monday.
Berlitz:
One of the most well known schools. 38 avenue de l´Opéra. Telephone: 01 44 94 50 00
Conversation Groups:
Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group
Parlor Times -- 3 Times A Week at the Opéra or in the Marais. One of the longest lasting English/French conversation groups.
| French Lessons Or Conversation Groups: |
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WICE:
This is one of my favorite resources in Paris and I strongly recommend you have a look at their Art History and other programs to see if there is something going on during your stay. It is a non profit organization run by English speaking women. For a reasonable joining fee they sponsor fascinating History and Art tours, language and conversation classes and much, much more. Conversation group.
| Summer French Courses for Children and Adults: |
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July and August:
Weekly French courses for teenagers intensive courses for adults and French for families. This seems to be one of the most organized school and the location is at the end of our Metro Line 8, near Balard: ACCORD Ecole de Langues. Courses from July 3rd to August 18th. Starting dates every Monday for all levels, except July 2nd, July16th, July 30th, and August 12th for complete beginners. € 310/week.
July:
The American School of Paris has a summer extension program from late summer through July. It is an excellent program with lots of sports and activities. French courses are offered for the last two weeks of the program – different courses for lower, middle and upper school children. It gets high marks from the parents who have sent their children there. Email for more information.
The Montesori School at the American Church on the Quai d’Orsay (5 minutes walk from our apartments) offers weekly classes in French for children aged 3 to 6. July 4 to July 29, 9 am to 1pm. Recommended by many of our guests. American Church, 65, quai d'Orsay (7e). Telephone: 01.45.55.13.27
| The Rodin Museum |
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Daily except Mondays:
The Rodin Museum is a gem in every way, featuring more than 500 of Rodin’s sculptures in a beautiful 19th century mansion with large garden – amazing to find in the middle of this bustling City. The museum was built in the early 1700’s, passing through several hands including a sad period when it was stripped of all ornamentation by a Mother Superior of the Sacred Society of Jesus in the 1800’s. It was inhabited by a number of Impressionist painters, actors and sculptors including Rodin, Matisse, Isadora Duncan, Cocteau. It was bought by the State in 1911 and Rodin agreed to donate his private collection to the State by turning the home into a Museum. This is the largest collection of his masterpieces in the world, including The Kiss and The Thinker.
Rodin was inspired by people and their emotions, wanting to perfectly express them in sculpture. As he said: "simple true gestures showing the evidence of life." He began in the 1870s with traditional sculpture but quickly broke with traditions of the idealized forms on pedestals to ‘greater than life’ and was able to touch us all with the expressions. He exaggerated sizes of figures and limbs to show greater human expression from love, joy, sadness, doubt, despair and anger. Simply walk through at your own pace and read life into his amazing work. Walk through the Gates of Hell and you will see the anguish of the figures carved on them.
There are over 8000 drawings by the sculptor and only a portion are displayed, rotated every three months. There are also works by Rodin’s lover, Camille Claudel, who was an accomplished sculptor in her own right, as well as several paintings.
Visit the museum on a sunny day because the gardens are exquisite and include several masterpieces such as The Thinker and Gates of Hell. You can also visit the Garden separately for 1 € which has an outdoor café that is wonderful to sit at on warm sunny days.
| Our new Gigondas Apartment: |
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From time to time we receive requests from groups and families who would love to celebrate a special reunion in Paris. Last year, we were lucky enough to find an enormous apartment which can sleep up to 9 people, our Gigondas apartment. It is a modern apartment and was designed to resemble a luxury ship from the 1930;s with rounded ceilings and lots of wood. It is a block from the Champs du Mars Gardens and the Eiffel Tower. It is very spacious and features two amazing things: a private terrace you can enjoy on sunny days and views of the Eiffel Tower from the kitchen, three of the 5 bedrooms and even the skylights in the living room. Click here for more pictures and description. If you are planning a special trip to Paris, whether a reunion, an all girls week, a cooking week, a gourmet trip or, as one group of guests, a board meeting, keep our Gigondas apartment in mind.
| Côte de Nuits Apartment: |
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Sometimes, an apartment has such great bones that it just comes together as if by magic. This was the case with Côte de Nuits, a two bedroom apartment that can sleep up to 6 people. The beautiful caramel colored parquet floors were restored to their original beauty, the original white marble fireplace was polished and the sun comes shining through four sets of French doors to the long living room and master bedroom. We found the headboard at an antique market in Italy and its dark wood blends beautiful with the aqua/green silk curtains.
We fell in love with the corridor of French doors that open out onto the balcony and the direct view of La Grande Dame de Paris, the Eiffel Tower.
There is lots of seating with comfortable sofas that we have made for us in Italy. They are excellent as they transform into twin beds at night, giving a good night’s sleep. The guest bedroom is charming with carved wooden headboards that we had made for the apartment.
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