Sun King Sunday

 

Today is the last chance to see the magnificent Savonnerie carpets in a unique exhibition,

"The Rediscovered Treasure of the Sun King"

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 The Savonnerie carpets, a gargantuan undertaking commissioned by Louis XIV in the late 1660s for the floor of the Grande Galerie (a.k.a. the Grand Gallery) in the Louvre Palace, was an ambitious project that involved creating 92 hand-knotted wool carpets, each approximately 9 meters (about 30 feet) wide. It was designed to cover the entire length of the gallery, 440 meters long, making it one of the largest such undertakings in history. Though the project took about twenty years (roughly 1668-1688) to complete, the carpets were never installed in the Louvre as intended. Louis had shifted his focus and court to Versailles in 1682, abandoning major renovations at the Louvre, so the pieces were put in storage, later dispersed as diplomatic gifts, sold during the French Revolution, or repurposed elsewhere. Only about 41 survived, with 33 remaining fully intact today. 

This special exhibition titled "The Rediscovered Treasure of the Sun King" ("Le Trésor retrouvé du Roi-Soleil"), brings together about 30 of these historic carpets on public display for the first time in over 350 years making it a limited, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see them reunited. - BPJ

Grand Palais 
3 avenue du Général Eisenhower 75008 

 Ends Sunday February 8, 2026

Below: from above 

 

Thoroughfare Thursday

 

 

Once noisy with cars, this Marais street has been transformed into a pedestrian haven. 

  

Market Monday

Christmas magic takes over Place de l'Hôtel de Ville.

 

 Best Christmas Markets 

 Marchés de Noël 2025 

 

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 Right now, Christmas markets dot the capital and here, in front of the main City Hall, as joyful children carouse on the carousel of the “Forêt Enchantée," it's surreal to imagine that long ago this very spot in front of Place de l'Hôtel de Ville - once the infamous Place de Grève - was for centuries the stage of gruesome public executions. Despite cozy twinkling lights, merry music, crêpes, arts and crafts, roasting chestnuts and pure festive cheer, Parisians have not forgotten (nor will they let you forget!) the echoes of its grim history. From molten lead to mulled wine, Paris, you’ve come a long way. - BPJ

 

Window Wednesday

A glimpse through history.

Restaurant Le Procope

 

Tuesday towers

 

 

Stunning view of Notre-Dame's towers upon turning the corner

from Rue Galande

 

 

 

Franquette Friday

Used in a Woody Allen film to create romantic allure, this nostalgic café-restaurant helms the historic crest of Montmartre, once hosting personnages like Van Gogh, Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne and Zola.

Holy history

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, perched on a hill behind the Panthéon, was started in 1492, the year Christopher Columbus completed a perilous gamble across the Atlantic and landed in "The New World." 

 

Savory Saturday

 

 

Stepping into Le Procope, Paris’s oldest café founded in 1686 by Sicilian visionary Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, is stepping into a living museum of revolutionary ideas and literary brilliance. And it's a pretty fine restaurant, too.

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Nestled in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, this iconic spot was the beating heart of the Enlightenment, where Voltaire sipped his legendary 40 cups of coffee a day, Diderot penned Encyclopédie entries, and Benjamin Franklin hashed out alliances that shaped nations. Its walls, adorned with 1830s “Liberty Equality” wallpaper - and even one of Napoleon’s hats - echo the French Revolution’s fervor. This is where Robespierre and Danton conspired, and where the Phrygian cap of liberty made its debut. It became a hub for intellectuals like Voltaire and Rousseau, fostering Enlightenment ideas.

Today Le Procope serves up classic French dishes like Boeuf Bourguignon and Baba au Rhum (above) alongside a storied past, crystal chandeliers and wrought-iron balconies (listed as historical monuments), casting a spell over intellectuals, artists, and curious diners alike. - BPJ

 Below: upstairs, tables and rooms can be reserved for private groups

 

 

Le Procope 

13 rue de l'Ancienne Comédie 75006

 

Midnight Monday

 

 

Le Lapin Agile, at night.

 

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It's midnight in Paris, and had this been the 1860s, this quiet Montmartre venue, once a lively cabaret, would be in full swing, with patrons reveling both inside and out. When it first opened its name was Au rendez-vous des voleurs ("Where Thieves Meet”) and then, about 20 years later, its walls adorned with portraits of notorious murderers, earned it the name Cabaret des Assassins. Legend has it that this name arose after a gang of robbers broke in, killing the owner's son during a failed robbery.

 

Was Pablo Picasso a patron, as the title of Steve Martin's play, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" suggests? An oil-on-canvas by Picasso (Au Lapin Agile) dated 1905 and painted during his Rose Period, includes a contemplative self-portrait of young Pablo - he's the harlequin - who was a regular. The work fetched $40.7 million at Sotheby’s on November 27, 1989, making it one of the priciest paintings ever. By 1905, the Lapin Agile’s owner, Frédéric Gérard, tapped the 25-year-old artist to paint something for the club’s walls, offering him free meals and drinks as payment. Picasso, never one to say no to a deal, whipped up Au Lapin Agile - and the rest is art history. - BPJ

Sunday squeeze

 

 

The Rue du Chat-Qui-Pêche - Street of The Fishing Cat - is the narrowest street in Paris.

Until a narrower one comes along.

 

 

 

 

Museum Monday

 

A fascinating look at the history of Paris including its origins as Lutèce during the time of the Romans and reaching all the way back to prehistory, as told by the river Seine.

 

 

Archaeological Crypt of the île de la Cité

(Parvis Notre Dame Cathedral/Place Jean-Paul II)

 

***

 

 Exhibition:

The Seine: Recovered Objects from Prehistory to the Current Day

 

 

Divine design

Though many of Paris' churches were destroyed during the French Revolution, many have survived.

 Above: inside l'Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés w/its elaborate pulpit 

 

Spiraling

 

The colimaçon (spiral staircase) inside former home/studio now museum of symbolist Gustave Moreau (1826-1898).

 

 Musée Gustave Moreau

14 rue de La Rochefoucauld 75009

 

 

Passing through

 

The 2nd arrondissement belies a labyrinth of passages dating from the 1800s.

 

Church search

 

Three-quarters of the churches in Paris were burned down during the French Revolution leaving few survivors, most notably Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Chapelle and the Basilique Cathédrale de Saint-Denis where the kings and queens of France repose, now all well-known touristic sites. (Despite its byzantine aspect the Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre did not appear until 1914).

Today there are many lesser-known churches sprinkled throughout the city that deserve a detour, easily found by searching their whereabouts on a map of Paris. Most are active but some are former churches, cloisters, and ecclesiastical buildings, all worthwhile to discover for their history, architecture, and beauty. - BPJ

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Recommended:

 Église Saint Paul-Saint Louis

 Église Saint-Jean de Montmartre

 Chapelle Nôtre-Dame-de-la-Médaille-Miraculeuse 

 Église Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois

 Église Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais

Èglise Saint-Médard de Paris

 Basilique Nôtre-Dame des Victoires

Basilique de Sainte-Clotilde

Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre

Église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre

Église Saint-Sulpice

Église Saint-Séverin

 Église Saint-Eustache

 Église Saint-Seraphin-de-Sarov

 Église de la Madeleine

Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Le Panthéon (originally Église de Sainte-Geneviève)

Collège des Bernardins

 Église des Billettes and its medieval cloister w/exhibitions, concerts

 

 

Dining out

 

 

 

Perfect weather made this picturesque pop-up garden restaurant in the heart of the Marais district a perfect choice.

 

 

- Closed Mondays -

10 a.m. - 2 a.m. daily

RESTAURANT FABULA

 

 Musée Carnavalet

- Museum of the History of Paris -

23 rue de Sévigné 75003

 

Making tracks

 

 

 

Quiet moment at a remnant of La Petite Ceinture (the little belt) railroad line that surrounded Paris and was abandoned when the metro system came in (1900), today a lively eating/drinking/gathering spot come weekends.

 

 

Le Hasard Ludique

 128 avenue de Saint-Ouen 75018

(entry through small station house) 

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"Les mecs c'est comme les trains: si tu rates le premier, to prends le deuxième!" - old French saying

 

Standing watch

 

A statue of Sainte Geneviève stands guard at what was once the edge of the city. To her right, windows of starred restaurant La Tour d'Argent overlook Notre Dame Cathedral and Île de la Cité beyond.

Rue du Trésor

Fellow journalists-bon vivants have an apartment on this cobbled "Street of the Treasure," so named after a cache of coins dating from the 14th and 15th centuries was discovered during its construction.

 

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Merci Monique et Stéphane

Marking history

Oar-shaped historical markers throughout the city harken to the Parisii, a Celtic tribe who settled on the banks of the Seine 3rd century BC.