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Paris City Breaks with Museum and Restaurant

July 29th, 2009

Paris City Breaks to the 7th

In this post I am advocating Paris City Breaks to the 7th Arrondissment with the Quai Branly Museum and restaurant.

Quai Branly Museum

The building that houses the Quai Branly Museum collection was designed by Jean Nouvel and is considered a work of great architectural art by some and but a monstrosity by others. That’s just part of the controversy surrounding the very existance of the Quai Branly, but dont let that put you off – you need to make up your own mind and a short Paris City Break makes an excellent opportunity to do so. The museum complex comprises of four buildings. The main 600-foot-long building sits on stilts, parallel to the Seine, and is covered with 30 multicolored cubes protruding from it at random intervals. Upon entering the museum, visitors soon learn that there are small exhibitions located in each of the suspended colored boxes. The other four buildings include a theatre for contemporary performances and concerts, a bookstore, and a casual restaurant that looks out over the gardens and Eiffel Tower and a more formal rooftop restaurant. The landscaping was designed by Giles Clement and includes 15,000 plants intermingled with LED straws that periodically change colours, and winding paths for visitors to walk as they contemplate their experience. Much of the criticism regarding the treatment and display of the Quai Branly’s controversial collection, centres on precisely these kind of “effects” as well as the dubious ethics involved in the aquisition of the colonial artefacts in the first place.

For the visitor to Paris on a short city break, Quai Branly still makes for a fascinating visit. The architecture is both appealing and engaging, though not an easy building to look at, requiring thought and an appreciation of daring architectural design. Similarly, the Quai Branly’s collection of compelling objects which, yes, should certainly be returned to their countries of origin is thought-provoking. But due to a lack of appropriate signage and contextual explanation, getting the most out of your visit requires some prior knowledge of the subject matter and a willingness to take notes and research the pieces later. Or you could opt for an audio-guide tour of the permanent collections (adults, family, couples) and still have time to take a look around the book shop at the end of your visit with beautiful books, reference books on the primitive arts, posters and postcards.

How to get there:

Entry to the museum is via rue de l’Université or via Quai Branly. Metro Iena then walk across the Seine via the Passerelle Debilly bridge

Paris City Breaks Restaurant Review

Possible the most well anticipated part of each day during Paris city breaks is the excuse for dining out in the city famous for its Parisian cuisine. so Paris City Breaks brings you a short review of the Quai Branly’s restaurant, which is called Les Ombres – “the shadows”. The menu is excellent and offers earthy but smart dishes expertly prepared in surroundings that are delightful. Soups are flavoured with herbs and seafood. Game meats, pates and specialities such as foie-gras are served with appropriate trimmings, and the tender lamb with pasta is sublime. I wouldn’t order the flottante though, that’s a rather silly dessert. The restaurant Les Ombres is right at the top of the Quai Branly, and so it looks out over the Eiffel Tower, making for a spectacular view. Yes, it’s a bit pricey, but well worth it if you’re only in Paris for a short city break and have limited opportunities to make the most of all the fine restaurant opportunities.

When to visit Quai Branly on Paris City Breaks

If you have a spare 2 hours on a Sunday, attend the Forum, which is a question time on the central mezzanine of the permanent collections – 1 hour, all audiences, every Sunday at 3pm. More than just a questions-and-answers session, this is the opportunity to discuss the artefacts and your personal experience of the museum. Free entry, limited places.

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Tags: Aquisition Architectural Art Architectural Design Artefacts City Break Colored Boxes Controversial Collection Cubes Eiffel Tower Existance French Context Giles Jean Nouvel Les Ombres Monstrosity Museum Visitors Paris City Prior Knowledge Quai Branly Museum Random Intervals Restaurant Paris Rooftop Restaurant Stilts Straws Work Of Art

Paris City Breaks by Eurostar

July 21st, 2009

Paris City Breaks By Eurostar in 2 hours 15m

There’s really no comparison when it comes to Paris City Breaks from the UK, the only way to go is by Eurostar. The high speed rail line delivers passengers direct from London’s St Pancras Station to the Gare du Nord inside the city of Paris.

Paris City Breaks in the past

In times gone by the main way to get from England to Paris was by the ‘boat train’ which meant a whole day’s travelling and a lot of waiting around on railway stations and harbour quaysides. The ‘Night Ferry’ was particularly excruciating – but cheap! Or you could take a car over on the ferry and drive yourself to Paris, but many UK motorists felt intimidated by the Parisian style of negotiating roundabouts and traffic jams, and the crazy double parking. Then at last a tunnel was built under the English Channel connecting the British Isles with mainland Europe. It took long enough to get it all finished and went way over budget but at last it was possible to get on a train in London – Waterloo station in those days, and get off in Paris city. The only snag was the journey down through Kent which proceeded at a snail’s pace through endless commuter stations. Once through the tunnel though, the train raced through France at breakneck speeds

Eurostar Paris City Breaks

Now at last we have Britain’s first High Speed Rail line from St Pancras Station, out through Stratford in East London alongside the Thames in Essex and then down through Kent to the Channel Tunnel. Paris City Breaks by Eurostar are much quicker and more convenient than flying, city centre to city centre. The journey onboard the Eurostar is pretty comfortable too. You’d never guess you were travelling at over 300Kph by the ride, as you watch the trucks and cars on the parallel French motorways seeming to crawl along while you sail past. The speed and convenience of Eurostar travel opens up new opportunities for short Paric city breaks, such as the overnighter or even the day trip, though I would always advise staying a few nights in Paris if you can possibly spare the time, to settle in and really get to know this fabulous city.

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Posted in Paris City Breaks

Tags: Boat Train Breakneck Speeds British Isles Channel Tunnel City Of Paris East London Eurostar Paris French Motorways Gare Du Nord High Speed Rail London Waterloo Station Mainland Europe Night Ferry Paris City Paris Paris Railway Stations Roundabouts St Pancras Station Traffic Jams Uk Motorists

Paris City Breaks – 2nd Arrondissement

June 2nd, 2009

Going to Paris for a quick city break? Don’t forget the 2nd Arrondissement, the equivalent to The City in London

Paris City Breaks to the 2nd Arrondissement – La Bourse

The Paris 2ieme is where the Bourse stock exchange lives. The district lies on the right bank, between the big Boulevards and the rue Etienne-Marcel. “Everything that exists elsewhere exists in Paris,” wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables, and this district proves it to be the case, for example much of the eastern end of the arrondissement Le Sentier is devoted to wholesale outlets of the Paris rag trade district, where thousands of items of clothing are sold in bulk to buyers from clothing stores throughout Europe.