Sit-down Saturday

 

 

Scrolling away the morning in a Paris café.

 

Festival Friday

  

All this weekend:

 

Live music, dancing, street food, wine...

 

 Place des Abbesses 

 Montmartre 

 

Seafood lovers 

 Fête de la coquille Saint-Jacques and Saint Vincent 2026

 

January 24 - 25 

 

INFO

 

 

Thursday threesome

 

 Candlelit secrets.

 

Below: three masterpieces by Georges de La Tour

Le Nouveau-né / The Newborn (c. 1645–1648); Les Joueurs de dés / The Dice Players (c. 1650–1651); Le Jeune Fumeur / The Young Smoker (c. 1646)  

 

 

Musée Jacquemart-André

 158 Boulevard Haussmann 75008

 

 

 Georges de La Tour

 Ends February 22, 2026

 *** 

Anyone who's ever come across the dark paintings of Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) won't forget his work, and today he stands as one of the most captivating and enigmatic figures of French Baroque painting.

Born in the small town of Vic-sur-Seille in Lorraine, La Tour spent much of his career in nearby Lunéville, where he achieved considerable success, and even earned the title "Painter to the King" under Louis XIII. After his death he fell into near-total obscurity - ironically the same obscurity that had become his trademark - only to be dramatically rediscovered in the 20th century when in 1915 a German art historian published a groundbreaking article identifying several unsigned or mislabeled works as La Tour's, pulling him (literally) back from the shadows.

La Tour’s name is synonymous with chiaroscuro and tenebrity. His nocturnal compositions, illuminated by the soft glow of a single candle or hidden light source, combine profound realism, an almost meditative stillness. Far from the dramatic theatricality of Caravaggio (whose influence reached him indirectly), La Tour’s somber luminosity creates an atmosphere that feels deeply intimate. - BPJ

 

Window Wednesday

The cat sees everything but says nothing.

Treeful Tuesday

 

 

Paris, where the Christmas decorations outlast your New Year's resolutions. 

Mocha Monday

Expresso yourself... One macaron at a time.

 

Sit-down Sunday

 

 

Keeping cool under the heat lamps of a Left Bank terrace.

Maison Sauvage
5 rue de Buci 75006

Sitting pretty

 

 

Innovative interiors, cutting edge furniture, decorative arts.... Meet the designers.

 

Paris Is My Living Room Dept.

 

*** 

Paris Design Week 2026 

Ends Monday January 19, 2026 

 

IN THE CITY / MAISON&OBJET 

Fève Friday

 

Galettes des Rois - each with its hidden fève and paper crown - continue to reign in bakery windows across Paris all month long.

 

Three Kings Day / l'Épiphanie

 January 6 

  

Thursday threesome

 

 

Lumières et prières

 Three chairs keep silent watch in Paris's oldest surviving church.

 

Wheel Wednesday

 

 

La Grande Roue de Paris, the giant Ferris wheel, just before sunset.

 

Monday Monday

 A gift shop called "Monday" is closed on Monday.

 

Snowful Saturday

 

 

Snow in Paris is a rare and fleeting treat. As soon as we heard more was due Wednesday morning (it had snowed the night before), we were up and out early. 

 

Photos: along the quais of the Seine

 

 

 

Forgetful Friday

 

It would appear someone forgot something in a French coastal village.

 

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Easy trips from Paris

 

Thoughtful Thursday

 

"Summer evenings" (re-post) recalls warmer days of carefree picnics, tango classes, live music, late sunsets... and the Eiffel Tower.

 

Above: L'Homme / "The Man" (sculptor Pierre Traverse) seems to be gazing, deep in thought, at the Eiffel Tower 

 

***

 

 With over 50 million tourists clamoring for Eiffel Tower photos each year, the vast majority flock to two or three vantage points resulting in countless near-identical images, and this is one of them. Writer Guy de Maupassant used to publicly declare that he despised the Tower, yet would lunch there daily so he "didn't have to look at it"... (a clever excuse to provide him with both panoramic views and the perfect alibi?). Personally, like the statue, I prefer to enjoy the Tower from somewhere outside because once inside, you simply cannot see it, and will (literally) be missing the point. - BPJ

 

 

White Wednesday

 

Paris wakes up to an Impressionist dreamscape.

Treeful Tuesday

 

 

Treefuls of fresh snow and a café's warm glow make a perfect winter postcard.

Mocha Monday

 A café crème, a pot of tea, a drizzly morning, a quiet port. 

 

Paris - La Rochelle +

3 hours (or less) from Paris