Paris Breaks

The Picasso museum - for art lovers Paris breaks

When the Picasso museum in Paris first opened it was launched as a “museum for Picasso’s Picassos,” and that’s exactly what it is. The French state acquired the world’s greatest Picasso collection in lieu of his family’s paying enormous inheritance taxes. So now 203 paintings, 158 sculptures, 16 collages, 19 bas-reliefs, 88 ceramics, and more than 1,500 sketches and 1,600 engravings, along with 30 notebooks - works spanning about 75 years of the artist’s life and ever-changing styles, are all on show to the public in a magnificent old setting.

The building - Hotel Sale houses the French Picasso collection

The beautifully restored Hôtel Salé means literally the “Salt Mansion” because it was built by a man who made his fortune by controlling salt distribution and taxes in 17th century France.

Picasso often lived in old houses, such as the Boisgeloup and Vauvenargues chateaux, and his workshop on the rue des Grands Augustins, Notre-Dame de Vie. So he would probably have have The Hotel Sale, one of the most beautiful in the Marais district, being the painter who once told Gertrude Stein: “I want an old house.” The building is named after its sponsor, Pierre Aubert, Lord of Fontenay, responsible for levying a tax on salt. The hotel, typical of the Marais, overlooks courtyard, surrounded by public passages, and a garden, was built between 1656 and 1659 by the architect Jean de Bouiller. The carved decorations, including the sumptuous staircase, were entrusted to the brothers Gaspard and Balthazar Marsy and Martin Desjardins.

By the end of the seventeenth century, the hotel was used by a variety of agencies. Embassy of the Republic of Venice, an institution for young people, and as a Central School of Arts and design. The latter purpose considerably changed the layout inside the building. In 1964, the City of Paris bought the Hotel Sale, which is now classified as a historic monument. From 1974 to 1984, the hotel has been refurbished and restored to much of its original condition. ( Pic by Daquella manera )

Picasso Museum Opening Times

From April to September : All days 9:30am-6pm except Tuesday when closed.

From October to March : All days 9:30am-5pm except Tuesday when closed.
( also closed on Dec 25 and Jan 1 )

Address of the Hotel Sale

5 rue de Thorigny, 3rd arrondissment

Nearest Metro station

St-Paul, Filles du Calvaire, or Chemin Vert

Addmission Prices

Admission 9.50€ adults, 7.50€ seniors and ages 18-25, free for children younger than 18

The paintings and exhibition

(Picture by jane vc. )
Many people go to Spain to see Picasso’s paintings but the range of paintings on show in the Picasso museum in Paris includes a remarkable 1901 self-portrait, The Crucifixion and Nude in a Red Armchair, Le Baiser (The Kiss), Reclining Nude, and Man with a Guitar, all painted at Mougins on the Riviera in 1969 and 1970. Also the wicked Jeune Garçon à la Langouste (Young Man with a Lobster), painted in Paris in 1941. Several intriguing studies for Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which shocked the establishment and launched cubism in 1907, are also on display. Because the collection is so vast, temporary exhibits featuring items such as his Studies of the Minotaur are held twice per year. Also here is Picasso’s own treasure trove of art, with works by Cézanne, Rousseau, Braque, Derain, and Miró. Picasso was fascinated with African masks, many of which are on view. So a tour of the museum will lead the visitor to understand the man and his art by putting the different phases into context. Cubism didn’t come from nowhere, you can see how Picasso and his peers where fasciniated by primitivist art and how those imported artifacts influenced his own revolutionary artistic style.

This short film set in the 18th arrondissement of Paris is called “Audition” by Laura begins with picturesque street scenes around Avenue Rachel in the 18th arrondissement

Olive Street Films 

Paris, 4* Holiday Inn Paris La Villette, 2 nights from £139.00pp
Available on selected dates from 1st July
Located opposite the museums of music, science and La Grande Halle within direct reach of the main historical monuments, cultural and shopping areas of Paris.

This month of May marks the 40th anniversary of the events in Paris which have become known as the “Students Revolt” but was actually much more than that. Looking back at the full picture, below it is a period when the whole of France, not just Paris, breaks with slow, gradual reform and is on the verge of creating a whole new society based on common ownership and worker participation. General de Gaulle was for a time, convinced that the game was up for capitalism in France, and possibly all of Europe.

But the trades union leadership, although ‘communist’ by name called on their workers leaders on theshop floor to end their occupations and handed control back over to the bosses.

In the aftermath of France ‘68 the authorities clamped down on youth culture with an increased police presence in the capital with the CRS riot police walking around in groups of six or ten with machine guns slung over their shoulders and this continued into the 1970s right up until the creation of the Partie Socialiste and the eventual coming to power of an initially radical President Mitterand, which was a direct result of the tumultous events in Paris and the rest of France during the spring of 1968.

Diagram credit: Clare Doyle, author of “Month of Revolution”

Le Buci

Originally uploaded by Andyroberts

Le Buci is the name of the restaurant bar you can see in this picture which was taken from the hotel room in le Petit Trianon which is one of my favourite hotels for Paris breaks. The road streching into the distance leads to Pont Neuf and La Samaritaine while to the right is the rue St Andre Des Arts with leading to place St Michel.

So this is downtown Paris, the latin quarter, left bank, rive gauche.

It’s a lively area with plenty going on at night but not just for tourists. Lots of people actually live here. To the left there are some fabulous seafood stalls and restaurants. and to the far right, the famous pub St Germain and the main Boulevard St Germain with the cinemas and metro station at Odeon.

You can get here by RER metro from Gare du Nord in about twenty minutes so quite doable for overnight Paris breaks.

Flickr: Discussing All Night Shoot to Paris

Originally uploaded by AndyRoberts

Paris is probably the most photogenic city in the world so any photographer would want to spend some free time in the Parisian streets, especially Londoners. Keen photographers who congregate on the Flickr photosharing site have formed into groups for arranging meetups and photoshoot events and the London Flickr group is one of the best organised. Now they’re even making arrangements to take a trip to Paris together, taking advantage of the special Eurostar deals for clubbers.

Instead of dancing the night away in some ‘boite de nuit’ they’ll be walking along the banks of the Seine in the middle of the night then catching the early Eurostar home in the morning. Perhaps some of them on the first visit will fall in love with the city, as many do, and want to return again and again for longer Paris breaks than just a quick overnighter.

Passengers on the Eurostar to Paris these days are just as likely to be Parisians going home for a break as visiting Londoners. The number of French people living and working in London has exploded in recent years, fueled by demand for their skills in the finance sector, and a preference for setting up business in a less regulated environment. An estimate came up in a report about the two Mayors of the twin capitals, with London elections on Thursday May 1st and a visit from Ken Livingstone’s Parisian counterpart:

Mayor of Paris comes out to support Ken - from Pink News

It is estimated that over 300,000 French people live in London, all of whom are eligible to vote in the election on May 1st.

Pont Neuf

Originally uploaded by juliaclairejackson

The Pont Neuf is my favourite bridge in Paris for a number of reasons. It’s beautiful to look at from all vantage points, and there are great views of the Seine from on the bridge itself.

It’s located as an extension of the Rue Dauphine not far from the Hotels and cafes I like near the Odeon metro station and Boulevard St Germain, so that’s convenient for crossing the Seine from the Odeon direction or getting home early by hopping off the Metro at Pont Neuf and walking across the bridge instead of changing trains at the busy Chatelet intersection.

But the best reason is because you can go down the steps from the busy road above and enter a nice quiet spot to relax down by the river. On a sunny afternoon there will be a small crowd of people just sitting around enjoying the cool breeze, the view and the tranquility of the trees and small garden, away from the busy city above.

It’s also quite spectacular at night to see the buildings along the banks of the Seine all lit up as you cross the bridges on a warm evening. In the distance you will catch the lights at the top of the Eiffel tower as well, although they are a bit silly these days with colours and flashing.

Sacre Coeur, Paris

Originally uploaded by Andyrob

The Sacre Coeur has become one of the iconic landmarks of Paris, because of its unusual eastern style architecure, white stonework and the location at the top of la butte de Montmartre.
But as a ‘must see’ destination for short Paris breaks I’d have to give a few warnings. There’s not so much to do or see as you might think. The interior of the church is dark, because the stones from which is was made have the peculiar characteristic of being white only when exposed to sunlight. And the church is not really that old.

On the other hand the view from the top presents one of the few opportunities to look out over Paris, spot the eiffel tower, chatelet, Montparnasse tower, the Opera and the rest of the parisian skyline.

So on a sunny day it may be worth climbing all the steps for the view and the sense of being outdoors above the city. There is a funicular railway which is sort of part of the metro system but last time I was there it was closed for safety reasons, a bit like La Samaritaine.

rest2.jpg

Originally uploaded by jaycross

Another top restaurant associated with a railway station - le train bleu is at Gare de Lyon, boulevard Diderot, 75012 Paris. Tel.: 01 43 43 09 06 or 08 26 10 07 86

The decor is “Belle Epoque” with gilded arches and ceiling, all decorated with beautifully painted scenes from the French regions which are served by the mainline station.

The original blue train was a luxury express which took British aristocrats from Calais to the Mediterranean Cote d’Azur ( Calais-Mediterranee Express ) with blue sleeping cars.