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The Marble Courtyard boutique opens at the Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux - Grand Palais are pleased to offer visitors to the Palace a refurbished retail outlet at the heart of the tour. The three members of A Paris chez Antoinette Poisson worked with the interior design studio Supercraft to design the layout of the Marble Courtyard boutique, under the supervision of Frédéric Didier, chief architect of Historic Monuments in charge of the Palace of Versailles.
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Top French Cities - Saint-Etienne at a glance
Design maven Saint-Etienne will hold its 11th Design Biennial, curated by American Lisa White from March 21 through April 22, 2019.
Top French Cities - Versailles at a glance
For more information, visit the Versailles Tourism Office at www.versailles-tourisme.com.
City region: Paris Ile-de-France
Population & what they are called: 85,461 inhabitants (2014 census), called Versaillais
Access from Paris:
by road: about 30 min (13 miles)
by train: about 30 min
Famous native daughters & sons:
Agnes Troublé, fashion designer, founder of Agnès B
Stéphane Audran, actress
Bruno and Denis Podalydès, brother actors
Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):
Because of the Château de Versailles, the town of Versailles was the capital of France from Louis XIV's reign until the French Revolution.
In history, Versailles is known as a place where important treaties were signed, such as the Treaty of Paris (1783), which ended the American Revolutionary War, and the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I.
Notable sites:
Palais de Versailles – the opulent ensemble that includes the Palace of Versailles, the Trianon Palaces, Marie Antoinette’s Estate, André le Nôtre gardens and the park (en.chateauversailles.fr)
Potager du Roi – the huge vegetable gardens used to fill the table of Louis XIV (potager-du-roi.fr)
Académie Equestre Nationale de Versailles – an equestrian show like no other, with horses and riders from the National Equestrian Academy (www.bartabas.fr)
Top annual events:
Le Mois Molière – a theatre and music festival promoting the renewal of popular theatre (moismoliere.com)
Versailles Jazz Festival – a music event focusing on jazz (versaillesjazzfestival.fr)
Most notable museums:
Galerie des Carrosses (Grande Écurie) – a collection of horse carriages, mostly from the 19th century, located in the Great Stables
Salle du Jeu de Paume – a museum about the French Revolution
Musée Lambinet – the museum of the city of Versailles, located in an 18th-century mansion
Culinary specialties:
Macarons Marie Antoinette at www.versailles-tourisme.com
Chocolat objects, like the shoes of Louis XIV at www.versailles-tourisme.com
delicacies inherited from the court of the kings of France: biscuits, sweets, chocolates and other sweets..at La Varenne www.versailles-tourisme.com
Local wines & spirits:
- Beers from Versailles at Atelier Saveurs www.versailles-tourisme.com
Shopping:
Marché Notre-Dame – on alternating days, good for food and household goods
Quartier des Antiquaires – aka the Quartier de la Geôle, antique shops set in a cluster of small streets around the old bailiff’s offices
Cour des Senteurs – an olfactory trail enabling visitors to discover the world of scents and perfumes
Most popular night spots:
Baradoz – pub with a good range of Beligian beers, whiskies and wines, plus excellent cheeses
Montbauron – a bar-brasserie with a good selection of drinks
O’Paris – a surprisingly charming fusion of Irish and French traditions
Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):
Grand Musical Fountain Shows – glorious walks through France’s most amazing gardens during which the fountains and jets are active in time with great classical music (chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/en)
parks – palace and municipal parks account about 50% of the city and are easy to reach for a run, bike ride, boat ride or moment of calm
theater – a good number of stages (Opéra Royal, Théâtre Montansier, Centre de Musique Baroque, La Royale Factory), several associated with the palace, mean there is always good theater and music being performed
Local industries:
Craftsmen – Versailles and its surroundings welcome more than one hundred craftsmen working in different disciplines: luthiers, creators cabinetmakers ...
Specialized Higher Schools – School of architecture, National School of Landscape, International Institute of Perfume and Cosmetics, school of mural art, school of Fine Arts, Regional Music Conservatory
In Pop Culture:
A Little Chaos (Les jardins du roi) – the 2015 film directed by Alan Rickman in which Kate Winslet plays a fictional landscape gardener and Rickman plays King Louis XIV
Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons dangereuses) – the Oscar-winning 1988 historical drama by Stephen Frears starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer
Top French Cities - Le Havre at a glance
For more information, visit the Le Havre Tourism Office at www.lehavretourisme.com.
City region: Normandy
Population & what they are called: 172,807 inhabitants (2014 census), called Havrais
Access from Paris:
by road: about 2 h 15 min (125 miles) via the A13 autoroute de Normandie
by train: about 2 h 5 min by intercity service from the Gare Saint Lazare
Famous native daughters & sons:
Jean Dubuffet, artist
Raymond Queneau, poet and novelist
govy, artist
Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):
- The high standard and historical importance of Auguste Perret’s post-war reconstruction architecture in the city center of Le Havre was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Notable sites:
Eglise Saint-Joseph – 12,768 pieces of glass set in an octagonal tower light up this modern church to dramatic effect
Maison de l'Armateur – the 18th-century, relic-filled mansion of the architect in charge of constructing Le Havre's fortifications and fountains
Appartement Témoin – a historic show apartment to help understand how architects and designers aimed to rehouse the locals after 80% of the city was destroyed in World War II
Top annual events:
moZ’aïque – a world music festival with performers from Le Have and around the world (mozaique.lehavre.fr)
Dixie Days – a jazz festival that takes place on the beaches of Le Havre
Fête de la Mer – a popular festival of events and celebrations revolving around one theme: the sea
Most notable museums:
Musée d'Art Moderne André Malraux (MuMa) – the second largest collections of impressionist paintings in France set in a masterpiece of modern museum architecture (muma-lehavre.fr/en)
Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle – the thousands of objects on display represent only a part of the original collection, much of which was destroyed in World War II (museum-lehavre.fr)
Maison du Patrimoine Atelier Perret – the place for anyone keen about Perret’s work and the architectural principles on which his concrete masterpieces were built
Culinary specialties:
cream – a staple of Normandy cuisine, so much so that identifying a food as “Normande” usually means it has cream in it
apples – grown in abundance throughout Normandy and a primary ingredient in meals and desserts, as well as drinks
seafood – the sea’s bounty, used to great effect in Normandy cuisine, especially oysters, scallops, lobster and sole
Local wines & spirits:
cider – produced in Normandy in large quantities and very often drunk with meals as a substitute for wine or beer
Bénédictine – A famous herbal liqueur beverage produced in Fecamp, near Le Havre
Paillette beer – once enjoyed throughout France (and said to be as old as the history of bread), it had disappeared for a while but now flows again
Shopping:
Docks Vauban – Bernard Reichen’s transformation of a 19th-century warehouses into a retail and leisure complex of shops, restaurants and cinemas
Espace Coty – the major downtown shopping center
Place des Halles Centrales – the central covered market for food and local products
Most popular night spots:
Le Volcan – the city's first Maison de la Culture, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, which is now home to one of France’s national theaters (levolcan.com)
Quartier de l'Eure – a revitalized former industrial district now known for, among other things, smart bars
Quartier des Halles – a district busy with bars like the well-known Black Café
Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):
beach – just steps from the center, more than one mile of beach is a local favorite for both exercise and relaxation
Jardins Suspendus – a hilltop Vauban fortress transformed into gardens full of flowers and trees from different continents
Bains des Docks – Jean Nouvel’s design of this aquatic center creates a sensation of calm and well-being enhanced by the natural light
Local industries:
port services – Le Havre is the second largest French industrial seaport in trade volume and 50th largest port in the world, as well as cruise companies’ preferred stop on Europe’s Atlantic facade, and home to the two marinas of Ocean Gateway and Port Vauban
petrochemicals – the Le Havre region has more than a third of French refining capacity and provides about 50% of the production of basic plastics and 80% of additives and oils with more than 3,500 researchers working in private and public laboratories
In Pop Culture:
Impressionism – the light and water of the port of Le Havre and the Seine estuary inspired many painters, including Claude Monet, whose 1872 painting Impression soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise) gave its name to the Impressionist movement
Le Havre – an award-winning 2011 movie, written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, about what happens when an African boy who arrives by cargo ship is protected by an aging shoe shiner
Un chien andalou – the ground-breaking, still-discussed, surrealistic short film from 1929 by Luis
Top French Cities - Amiens at a glance
For more information, visit the Amiens Metropole Tourist Office at www.visit-amiens.com.
City region: Picardy / Hauts-de-France
Population & what they are called: 132,479 inhabitants (2014 census), called Amiénois
Access from Paris:
by road: about 1 h 40 min (90 miles) via the A16 autoroute L'Européenne
by train: about 1 h 10 min by an Intercity service from the Gare du Nord
Famous native daughters & sons:
Jules Verne, writer, city councillor
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, politician, former Minister of Education
Emmanuel Macron, politician, President of France
Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):
The 1918 Battle of Amiens was a key Allied victory at the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive that helped bring an end to World War I.
The many canals throughout Amiens have long given it the nickname “little Venice of the north.”
Notable sites:
Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens – a jewel of Gothic architecture, the tallest of the 13th-century churches, the largest of its kind in France and the largest cathedral in the world by interior volume
Maison de Jules Verne – the house where Verne lived and composed more than 30 novels
hortillonnages – floating gardens set in a natural reserve of marshland and surrounded by a grid network of manmade canals
Top annual events:
La Rue Est à Amiens – an international festival of street theatre (larueestaamiens.com)
Chroma – a dazzling summer sound-and-light show projected on the facade of the Notre-Dame cathedral
Marché de Noël – the largest Christmas Market in northern France (marchedenoel.fr)
Most notable museums:
Maison de la Culture d'Amiens (MCA) – focuses on exhibiting contemporary art (maisondelaculture-amiens.com/en/)
Maison de Jules Verne – the house where Verne lived and composed more than 30 novels
Culinary specialties:
pâté de canard d'Amiens – duck pâté in pastry, where the filling is is a mix of spiced duck meat (meat, fat and liver) and sautéed mushrooms and onions
la ficelle Picarde – an oven-baked cheese-topped crêpe with ham and mushroom filling
macarons d'Amiens – almond-paste biscuits that were favorites of Catherine de Medici who introduced them in the 16th century
Local wines & spirits:
La BlueReide – the blue beer of Amiens, and the first blue beer brewed in France
beer – look out for other local beers brewed right in the Somme, the département in which Amiens is located
Shopping:
Grande Réderies – held twice a year (spring and autumn), the second largest largest flea markets in France
Marché sur l'Eau – every Saturday morning, a farmers market of food and flowers along the quays of the river
Rue des Trois Cailloux – a major shopping street whose numerous boutiques attract both tourists and locals
Most popular night spots:
La Lune des Pirates – a contemporary music venue set in a former banana warehouse of the Belu Wharf
Le Nelson – a relaxed lounge atmosphere in the heart of the Saint-Leu district
Le Rétroviseur – a recreated 1930s brasserie atmosphere
Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):
Parc Saint-Pierre – adjoining the hortillonnages, a large landscaped park right in the heart of the city
Saint-Leu district – narrow streets with historical names and colorful medieval houses that attest to a time before today’s art galleries, boutiques and antique dealers
canal towpath – fresh air and friendly biking right alongside the Somme and the famous hortillonnages
Local industries:
soaps and detergents – in Amiens, Proctor & Gamble owns one of the largest factories in the world for laundry and house cleaning products
Amazon – in response to rising demand, the American company opened its largest facility in France in Amiens in September 2017
Dunlop – the American tire company projects production of 4 million tires out of the Amiens factory in 2018
In Pop Culture:
Zic Zacou – a local band that for more than 35 years has struck a balance between street art and stage-show
comic art – a whole generation of Amiens designers and writers make the city an important creative centre of the 9th art, and the annual Rendez-Vous de la Bande Dessinée d'Amiens is one of the most important comics festivals in France
The Keepers (La Tête contre les murs) – a 1959 film drama about an institutionalized man who airs questions about how society defines and treats mental illness
Top French Cities - Tours at a glance
For more information, visit the Tours Tourism Office at www.tours-tourism.co.uk.
City region: Loire Valley / Centre-Val de Loire
Population & what they are called: 136,125 inhabitants (2014 census), called Tourangeaux
Access from Paris:
by road: about 2 h 30 min (150 miles) via the A10 autoroute l'Aquitaine
by train: about 1 h 10 min by TGV from the Gare Montparnasse
Famous native daughters & sons:
Honoré de Balzac, novelist
René Descartes, mathematician and philosopher
Olivier Debré, artist
Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):
- In the garden of the Palais des Archevêques (now the Musée des Beaux-Arts), aka Jardin François Sicard, is a huge cedar tree said to have been planted by Napoleon, as well as an alcove with a stuffed elephant who escaped from a circus and had to be shot.
Notable sites:
Vieux Tours – medieval district, one of the best preserved in France, with many half-timbered buildings and the busy Place Plumereau
Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours – begun in the 12th century but not completed until the Renaissance
** Basilique Saint-Martin – a Neo-Byzantine church that is the final resting place of Saint Martin
Top annual events:
Vitiloire – a public Loire Valley wine salon involving more than 150 wine makers (vitiloire.tours.fr)
Tours et ses Francos Gourmandes – as a Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie en Val de Loire, Tours knows how to celebrate food
Florilège Vocal de Tours – one of the most important international choral singing competitions, fittingly held in Tours, a center of traditional music (florilegevocal.com/en/)
Most notable museums:
Musée des Beaux-Arts – located in the former Palais des Archevêques, a little bit of everything in this fine arts museum, from Rubens to Rembrandt and Mantegna to Monet (mba.tours.fr)
Centre de Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré (CCCOD) – focused on contemporary art, especially the work of Olivier Debré, an important abstract artist (cccod.fr)
Musée d'Art Contemporain du Château de Tours – a display of contemporary paintings, photography, pottery, sculpture in an old castle
Culinary specialties:
rillettes and rillons – meat cooked in fat until it is tender, then shredded and cooled to form a paste; the latter is a confit of cooked diced pork covered in a fat spread
cheeses – especially the white and creamy Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, made from full fat goat's milk
nougats de Tours – a cake made from sweetened dough, almond paste, candied fruits and apricot jam
Local wines & spirits:
- Touraine AOC wines – part of the third largest wine region of France, with whites (sweet, dry and bubbly) like Vouvray and Montlouis, rosés like Noble-Joué and Chinon rosé, and reds such as Chinon, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
Shopping:
markets – the Carreau des Halles de Tours is the twice-weekly market heart of the city, while the Marché Velpeau is the Sunday go-to with more than 180 vendors
Quartier Colbert and Rue Scellerie – everything from antiques and books (Rue Colbert) to fashion, design and food (Rue Scellerie)
Quartier Nationale – Rue Nationale is the number one commercial strip of Tours
Most popular night spots:
Place Plumereau – surrounded by bars, cafes and restaurants and a pedestrian zone with even more
Le Temps Machine – a leading performance hall and events venue
bars – like Le Dago'Bar (wine bar), The Pale (Irish pub) and Le Winchester (cafe by day, music bar by night)
Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):
banks for the Loire – an ideal place for running, pedaling and pausing in the local guinguettes (open-air restaurants)
city parks – La Gloriette, les Prébendes, Jardin des Beaux Arts (aka Jardin François Sicard, read the unique fact above), Jardin Botanique account for just a few of the 1,500 acres of green space so central to life in Tours
bicycling – much-traveled and much-loved signed bike routes along the Loire (cycling-loire.com)
Local industries:
Cité de la Création et du Numérique – a former industrial zone called Mame, converted into a facility supporting creativity and technological innovation, start-ups, research and development labs, new technology incubators and a fine arts school (mame- tours.com)
Cosmetic Valley – the largest and most important business cluster specialized in the production of perfumes and cosmetics consumer goods
In Pop Culture:
Le Bleu des Villes – a 1998 movie about a meter maid in Tours who takes control of her life
Le Temps Machine – an artistic and cultural project designed to bring together a broad cross-section of performers... and their fans (letempsmachine.com)
Festival Terres du Son – a laboratory of experimentation and sensitization about enjoying good
Major 2020 developments:
- In 2000 a 170-mile stretch of the Loire Valley and the sister region of Western Loire were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from Sully-sur-Loire in the Loire Valley to Chalonnes-sur-Loire in the Western Loire.
Top French Cities - Toulouse at a glance
For more information, visit the Toulouse Tourist Office at www.toulouse-visit.com.
City region: Occitanie
Population & what they are called: 466,297 inhabitants (2014 census), called Toulousain
Access from Paris:
by road: about 6 h 30 min (420 miles) via the A20 autoroute l'Occitane
by train: about 4 h 10 min by TGV from the Gare Montparnasse
by plane: about 1 h 20 min to the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
Famous native daughters & sons:
Abdelilah Chouari, breakdancer world champion
Claude Nougaro, singer
Bernard Werber, writer
Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):
Toulouse is nicknamed La Ville Rose (The Pink City) due to the red-brick façades seen all across town.
The 38 stations of Toulouse’s metro system are unique in that they all house works of contemporary art.
Notable sites:
Capitole – the 18th-century home of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), Théâtre du Capitole (opera house) and the Salle des Illustres (a display hall of 19th-century masterpieces by local artists)
Basilique Saint-Sernin – the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, containing the most beautiful pipe organ in the country
Couvent des Jacobins – a significant monastic building and the city's red brick jewel of Meridional Gothic architecture
Top annual events:
Festival Tangopostale – tango and Argentinian culture take over the city with performances, concerts, workshops and numerous cultural events (tangopostale.com)
Rio Loco – a lively open-air festival combining world music, visual arts, cinema and international cuisine (rio-loco.org/en)
Siestes Electroniques – free festival of electronic music in an open-air garden (les-siestes-electroniques.com)
Most notable museums:
Cité de l'Espace – a unique museum and park centered around space exploration (cite-espace.com)
Musée des Augustins (Musée des Beaux-Arts) – France's second oldest museum, with a large collection of European paintings (augustins.org)
Les Abattoirs (Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain) – a modern art museum built into the area's old slaughterhouse (lesabattoirs.org)
Culinary specialties:
saucisse de Toulouse – a special sausage composed of diced pork with no additives or preservatives
cassoulet toulousain – a slow-cooked stew of white haricot beans, duck confit and saucisse de Toulouse, served in a traditional earthenware pot
garbure – a hearty and thick peasant soup of cabbage, pork and a mix of other ingredients
Local wines & spirits:
wines of the Southwest – over 300 grape varieties, 14 named geographical areas and 29 protected appellations all regrouped as “vins du Sud-Ouest,” including the Candie estate within Toulouse and the nearby Fronton vineyard
crème de violette – a liqueur with taste and color of violet blossoms
Shopping:
Quartier de la Daurade – the best place for vintage and second-hand shops
Marché Victor Hugo – the biggest covered market, with restaurants on the first floor
Quartier Saint-Etienne – antique shops fill the little streets of neighborhood around the Saint-Étienne Cathedral
Most popular night spots:
Quartier des Carmes – one of the most active and dynamic neighborhood, with a vibrant range of popular bars and tapas restaurants
Place Saint-Pierre – a main nightlife area with many bars full of students
Rue Gabriel-Peri (near Jean-Jaurès Metro) – a good cluster of nightclubs, concert halls and bars
Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):
Canal du Midi – crowds of walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers take move along its banks every day
Garonne riverbank – a great place to observe the city skyline or step into a floating guinguette for a bite to eat in summer
Jardin des Plantes – a 200-year-old sculpture garden for people in search of nature
Local industries:
- aerospace industry – home to one of the world’s largest aeronautics manufacturers, Airbus, as well as the Galileo positioning system, the SPOT satellite system, the Aerospace Valley and more
In Pop Culture:
The Musketeer (D’Artagnan) – the 2001 film by Peter Hyams with Catherine Deneuve, shot in the Salle des Illustres of the Capitole
Lemming – the 2005 movie by Dominik Moll about love and betrayal
The Frozen Dead (Glacé), by Bernard Minier – a thriller novel, the first of the series involving Commandant Martin Servaz, a Toulouse city cop