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L’île Saint Louis
Friday, September 23rd, 2011 | Paris monuments | No Comments
Paris is full of charming corners, l’île Saint Louis is one of them!
In the center of Paris, in the 4th arrondissement, l’île Saint Louis is located upstream of l’île de la Cité. These islands of the Seine are both natural, only l’île Aux Cygnes is artificial.
L’île Saint Louis, with its parallelogram shape, is smaller than l’île de la Cité and has an 11ha surface. It is connected to the 2 banks of the Seine by 4 bridges and is connected to l’île de la Cité by the Saint Louis bridge.
The most beautiful buildings of the île Saint Louis was made by Louis Le Vau, a famous French Architect. He came to the island with his family at the end of 1630’s and managed the construction of private yards and in 1644 he built the church Saint-Louis-en-L’île which is the only one on the island. In 1664, the housing development was almost achieved. Two forms of population lived there: wealthy tradesmen and craftsmen who lived inside the island or people from a higher standing such as nobles and bourgeois who preferred to live on the banks of the island in town houses. Because of the number of these huge houses, the island was called “l’île des Palais”, “the Island of Palaces”. L’Hôtel Lambert, built by Louis Le Vau, is the biggest town house of the island and is situated quai d’Anjou.
Since 1725, the island has been called l’île Saint Louis because of Louis IX, called Saint Louis. According to legend, he used to pray on the island and took the cross with his knights in 1269 before the 8th crusade. This expedition was fatal because he died one year later in Tunis.
Today, many famous people live on the island, as the journalist and writer Claude Sarraute, the singer Brigitte Fontaine or the couple Jamel Debbouze and Mélissa Theuriau.
Finally, if you want to taste the best Sorbets and Ice Cream of Paris , go to Berthillon in the Saint Louis en L’île street !
Find an hotel in Paris:
Hotel Best Western Aurore***
Hotel Alexandrie***
Hotel Gare de Lyon***
Hotel Best Western Premier Louvre Saint Honoré****
Hotel Best Western Ducs de Bourgogne****
Paris Plage 2011
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 | About Paris, Main events | No Comments
Every summer in Paris, the banks of the Seine are crowded! For this 10th edition, the town hall worked twice as hard so that Paris is going to be turned into a real beach resort! There will be 10 times more sand than last year to create the necessary dunes.
During one month, from July 21st to August 21st people who can’t afford going on holidays will have a beach to rest! Indeed Paris Plages offers a lot of entertainments for everyone: cultural activities, sports and nautical activities.
On the voie Georges Pompidou (from quai du Louvre to the Bridge d’Arcole) you will see a 1 km beach! Moreover, around the Basin of la Villette, parisiens and tourists will find: pool, petanque game (famous French game of boules), dance and taichi lessons etc.
New activities for 2011: concerts, tales and photo contest.
Paris Plages will be opened everyday from 8 am to 12 am. Enjoy a relaxing moment, lying on a deck chair, under a palm!
Find an hotel in Paris:
- Hôtel Best Western Premier Louvre Saint Honoré****
- Hôtel Best Western Ducs de Bourgogne****
- Hôtel Best Western France Europe***
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain
Monday, July 4th, 2011 | Paris monuments | No Comments
If you are looking for some cultural tips for your next trip to Paris, why wouldn’t you go to the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain?
Since 1984, the Fondation Cartier has tried to promote new French or International contemporary artists with different kind of events: exhibitions, shows, acquisition and events such as the well know “Soirées Nomades”… Besides, the foundation is present on all fronts by highlighting sculpture, video, sound, design or photography. The own collection of the foundation gathers all the contemporary culture since the 80’s century, with more than 1000 pieces from 300 different authors, and is particularly interested in other cultures: American, African and Asian.
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain was created in 1984 by Alain-Dominique Perrin. First located in Jouy en Josas, the foundation moved to Paris at 261, Boulevard Raspail in 1994. In this 1200m² building designed by Jean Nouvel, 3 floors are dedicated to the exhibitions. The transparency and the plays on volumes and walls of this architecture are pretty interesting too. By the way, the museum is surrounded by a garden landscaping by Lothar Baumgarten.
Until September 25th, the Fondation Cartier welcomes the Voodoo Exhibition by Jacques Kerchache. Voodoo sculptures will be showed off so we can learn about this culture. Movies, pictures and notes will be there to help us understanding these West Africa valuables.
Come to the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain to discover this great bulding or learn more about the fascinating Voodoo culture!
Find an hotel in Paris:
Hotel Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse***
Hotel Sèvres Montparnasse**
The Opera Garnier
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 | About Paris, Paris monuments | No Comments
The Opera Garnier is one of the most famous buildings of Paris, built in the Second Empire. It is located in the center of Paris, in the 9th arrondissement. With its large proportions and its very central location, on the Place de l’Opéra, the Palais Garnier is an unmissable monument of the French capital! It was called Opera of Paris before the opening of the Opera Bastille in 1989.The Opera Bastille was created to relieve the activity of the Opera of Paris. From that time, it is named after the name of its architect: Charles Garnier.
The Opera Garnier is one of the largest Opera House in the World! Its construction took over 15 years and required 73 sculptors and 14 painters. The project of the Palais Garnier was part of the great reconstruction of Paris initiated by Emperor Napoleon III and the Baron Haussmann during the Second Empire.It was opened in 1875 and has been listed as an historical monument in 1923. This luxurious building, dedicated to dance and operas has impressive rooms such as the Grand Foyer and the Grand Escalier. The ceiling of the theatre was painted by Marc Chagall in 1964 and represents famous composers.
Finally, if you look at the façade of the Opera, the huge cupola reminds us of an Emperor’s crown. Napoléon III wanted a monument to his image, as imperial as him!
Do you like honey? You’ll be amused to know that beehives have been installed on the roof of the Opera since 1982! If you want to taste the “Honey from Paris “, the price is 15€ for 4.2oz.
You can visit the Opera every day from 10am to 5pm. Visits can be with or without a guide.
To continue your visit of Paris, we recommend you to follow the boulevard Haussmann. There, you will find the Grands Magasins, Paris famous department stores “Le Printemps” and “les Galeries Lafayette”. In le Printemps, go upstairs and give yourself a gourmet break at the restaurant “Déli-cieux”. You’ll enjoy this moment with a fabulous panorama of Paris!
Find an hotel in Paris:
Best Western Premier Opera Diamond****
Best Western Premier Opera Opal****
Where to stay in Paris – Authentic, Original and unique hotels!
Thursday, March 17th, 2011 | Hotel industry, How to ..., Uncategorized, What about our hotels | No Comments
Beside its official Book Inn France Website, Paris Inn is also the editor of the hotel reservation portal Hotels Grand Paris. This destination Website gathers quality independent hotels located in Paris. Thanks to the involvements of several independent hotel owners, people get the opportunity to discover and explore an exclusive selection of authentic, original and unique accommodations on Hotels Grand Paris.
For more than a year now, Hotels Grand Paris meets the expectations of thousand people willing to get the best of their Parisian stay and looking for hotels with personality. A new version of Hotels Grand Paris was released beginning 2011 to provide a more comprehensive overview of the various accommodation and location options in Paris. The website features now a nice “where to stay in Paris?” page with informations about the different districts of Paris. 6 district Web pages were also added with contextual content and hotel list: Hotel Opera Paris, Hotel Champs Elysees Paris, Hotel Saint-Germain Montparnasse, Hotel Louvre Marais, Hotel Gare de Lyon and Hotel Wagram Batignolles.
New authentic, original and unique hotels and evolutions are scheduled for 2011, so do not hesitate to visit Hotels Grand Paris and send us your feed-back!
