Paris Breaks

eurostar breaks to Paris

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Contents
Paris breaks in the 7th
Paris Break Dance
The Picasso museum in Paris

Paris breaks in the 7th

July 18th, 2009 · No Comments · art, paris-breaks

The chances are that nearly all first time Paris breaks cover the 7th arrondissement, largely because of the iconic Eiffel Tower which dominates both Paris itself and the idea of Paris so it’s an aspiration which simply has to be fullfiled. Whether you actually go up the tower, and how far is another question. Many people such as myself have never bothered to do it, put off the queues, the crowds, the cliche, the costs but no doubt the view from high up is breathtaking, and the experienc of riding those 19th century lifts or else walking up a ridiculous number of steps.

eiffeltower Paris breaks in the 7th eiffeltowerinfog 150x150 Paris breaks in the 7th

Paris 7th Arrondissement – Eiffel Tower and also the Musée D’Orsay

Apart from the greatest tourist attraction of all, the 7th arrondissement on the Left Bank dis largely a district of smart residences and dull offices. The Eiffel Tower of course is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world, but many Parisians especially in the immediate neighbourhood hated it when it was unveiled in 1889 as a temporary exhibition for the World Fair. There are many other Parisian monuments in the 7th too, such as the Hôtel des Invalides, which contains Napoleon’s Tomb, the Musée de l’Armée, and the fantastic Musée d’Orsay, the world’s premier showcase of 19th-century French art and culture, housed in the old station termial building – the Gare d’Orsay. There’s much hidden charm here in the 7th as well, such as the Rue du Bac, which was once home to the real Three Musketeers and to James McNeill Whistler, who moved to no. 110 after selling Mother. Auguste Rodin the father of modern sculpture lived at what’s now the Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, until his death in 1917.

MuseedOrsay parisbreaks Paris breaks in the 7th

Both the Rodin museum and the Musee d’Orsay are essential visits for art lovers on Paris Breaks in the 7th arrondissement, and did you know you can also walk all the back to the latin quarter just by following the Boulevard St Germain which starts in the 7th, or take the batobus which stops just outside the Musee d’Orsay.

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Paris Break Dance

April 23rd, 2009 · 1 Comment · art, latin quarter, paris, paris-break, video

I can watch this Paris Break Dance video because the music is bearable and the Paris sights he’s break dancing to are familar and well photographed. The style is slightly dated, referring back to 1990′s dance music perhaps, but very french and at least not based on aggressive posturing.


Paris Break
Uploaded by Ekiprod

As well as the most famous Paris landmarks such as Tour Eiffel there is some great footage of parts of the Latin quarter so try and watch the whole video and see how many Parisian arrondissments you can recognise.

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The Picasso museum in Paris

July 6th, 2008 · 4 Comments · art, marais, museums, 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 Hotel Sale - home of the picasso museum in ParisThe 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

the paintings at the picasso museum in Paris (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.

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