January 6, 2015 by Erin Dahl
With the holiday season coming to a close and wintery weather setting in, January can easily feel a bit drab. But fear not! There is plenty to do in Paris this month, and here are our favorites:
La Cinémathèque Française, Julien B.
Les Soldes: Ah, the twice-annual shopping extravaganza hits Paris again this year, starting this Wednesday. Still longing for that plush wool coat you didn’t get as a gift this Christmas? This is the perfect time to indulge.
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January 2, 2015 by Erin Dahl
It is hard to believe that yet another year has come to a close, and in ringing in 2015 we find ourselves both grateful for the year past and eager for all this new year will bring.
We at the HiP Paris Blog could not be more thankful for our wonderfully talented writers and photographers, as well as the continued support of our readers, all of whom make this blog what it is.
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December 3, 2014 by Erin Dahl
The holiday season has begun in Paris and while the usual lineup of seasonal pop-up events – from ice skating at Hôtel de Ville to the Christmas markets scattered around the city – are back, this December brings a handful of other wonderful events as well.
The Centre Pompidou recently opened a retrospective of cult American artist Jeff Koons’s work. The exhibition is on view until April 27 and features some of the Koons’s most iconic pieces, from a Michael Jackson sculpture to the ever-recognizable oversized balloon animals.
December 3 – January 25: The Cinémathèque Française kicked off a month-and-a-half-long series of screenings honoring American filmmaker John Ford. You can attend a screening of Ford’s Hollywood classics up until January 25th at the Musée du Cinéma in the 12ème.
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September 30, 2014 by Sylvia Sabes
Parc André Citroën
10% of all Parisians live in the 15th arrondissement, making it the most populous arrondissement in the city, with more citizens than the city of Bordeaux. They come because it’s easy, with spacious boulevards and lovely buildings. They stay because it is a vibrant neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of all the tourist sights, with great restaurants, excellent public transportation, and plenty of entertainment.
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August 20, 2014 by Sylvia Sabes
In France, cinema is the 7th art, as important as painting or literature, and like museums or libraries, movie houses play a key role in local culture. Netflix has not yet come up the Seine, and according to the Office de Tourisme there are 84 theaters in Paris with well over 350 screens. Going to the movies is an important activity for Parisians who often spend their Monday mornings discussing the films they took in over the weekend. There are remarkable theaters across the city, but the movie houses below offer audiences more than just a film.
Le Louxor
Le Louxor is an opulent 1920s architectural gem studded with Neo-Egyptian motifs and gilded mosaics. Recently renovated, the cinema screens modern blockbusters, but also houses an art gallery space and a stylish Art Deco bar with a view of Sacre Coeur. Once a month they feature the Université Populaire, a screening of a movie that has been chosen by a local celebrity who leads a discussion following the screening.
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January 11, 2013 by Tory Hoen
Is there anyone more radiant than a young Catherine Deneuve? The answer, my friends, is no. I confirmed this fact upon re-watching Belle de Jour, Luis Buñuel’s 1967 film in which Mme. Deneuve deftly juggles her housewifely duties with her day job (as a prostitute), all while looking like the classiest broad to have ever strolled/worked the streets of Paris.
In addition to the ridiculously awesome premise, this has got to be one of the most subtly stylish films of all time. There’s something about the integrity of Deneuve’s uniform—exquisitely tailored coats, simple shift dresses, polished pumps—that makes me pine for the days of visible sartorial effort, when putting yourself together meant you actually ended up looking like you cared—and that wasn’t a shameful thing. Continue Reading »
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June 4, 2012 by Erin Dahl
Fête de la Musique
June 21 brings the Fete de la Musique back for its 31st year. This year the festival celebrates 50 years of pop, and with a full lineup of gratuit concerts, there is certainly something for every taste.
Musique
June 5: Magnificat: Polychoral music at Notre-Dame de Paris. An extraordinary opportunity to enjoy a concert in one of the world’s most famous cathedrals. This show celebrates the works of famed composers Michael Praetorius and Giovanni Gabrieli, who drastically shaped the transition from Renaissance to Baroque music in Europe.
June 6: Brooklyn synth pop duo Chairlift is playing at La Gaîté lyrique. If ethereal harmonies (and the Apple ad featuring their 2008 “Bruises”) is your thing, this is your show. Continue Reading »
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June 9, 2011 by Tory Hoen
Woody Allen’s latest film, Midnight in Paris, is about – what else? Midnight in Paris! Inspired by her recent run-in with the director himself, Tory reminisces about how living the romantic, literary dream also means taking stock of the realities of life in the city of lights… -Geneviève
“I don’t deliberately make a film a year, but that seems to be what happens,” Woody Allen told me when I caught up with him at an event last December in New York. “Eventually I will stop working or keel over, but so far everything’s been going along fine.”
At the time, he had just wrapped Midnight in Paris, which headlined this year’s Cannes Film Festival in May (and is now in theaters in France and the United States). I had been anticipating this film ever since my friend caught a glimpse of the crew shooting on one of the quais last fall, and I was curious to see how Allen would interpret (or misinterpret) Paris.
In short, Midnight in Paris follows Owen Wilson’s character, an earnest American novelist, as he is unexpectedly lured into a magical world, populated by the likes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Dalí, Luis Buñuel, Man Ray, T. S. Eliot, and the list goes on. Late in the film, a spin through the Belle Epoque has Wilson rubbing shoulders with Gauguin, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec.
Like many of Allen’s films, the whole thing was pretty far-fetched, but I must admit, it totally captivated me in the watching. More importantly, it made me laugh at myself—if only because it played with so many of the stereotypes that lure starry-eyed Americans (myself included) to Paris. Owen Wilson’s literary-inspired naïveté struck a serious chord with me. It’s no coincidence that when I first arrived, I named my blog A Moveable Beast in honor of the bohemian, writer-ly existence I planned to cultivate. Continue Reading »
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