Paris User’s Guide

Abbey Bookshop. 29, rue de la Parcheminerie 75005 Paris
Tel: 01 46 33 16 24
Open Monday to Saturday 10:00am to 7:00pm
Metro lines 4, 10 (St-Michel or Cluny La Sorbonne)
Canadian books and literature

Attica. 106 boulevard Richard Lenoir 75011 Paris
Tel: 01 49 29 27 31
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00am to 7:00pm
Metro lines 5, 9 (Oberkampf), 3 (Parmentier)
Language bookstore

The Book Cellar. 23, rue Jean de Beauvais 75005 Paris
Tel: 01 46 34 62 03
Metro line 10 (Maubert-Mutualité)

Photograph of George Whitman owner of Shakespeare & Co. (photo courtesy of Shakespeare & Co.)

Brentano’s. 37, avenue de l’Opéra, 75002 Paris
Tel: 01 42 61 52 50
Metro lines 3, 7, 8 (Opéra), 7, 14 (Pyramides)
Open Monday to Saturday from 10:00am to 7:30pm; Sunday 10:00am to 7:00pm
Anglo-American literature, art books, magazines and newspapers

Galignani. 224, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Tel: 01 42 60 76 07
Metro lines 1 (Tuileries), 1, 8, 12 (Concorde)
Open Monday to Saturday, 10:00am to 7:00pm
Anglo-American literature, art books, guide books, magazines and newspapers.

Gibert Jeune. 10, place St-Michel 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 43 25 91 19
Metro line 4 (St-Michel)
Open Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 7:30pm
Anglo-American literature sold on second floor.

The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore. 22, rue Saint-Paul 75004 Paris
Tel: 01 48 04 75 08
Metro lines 7 (Sully-Morland), 1 (St-Paul)
Open Monday 10:00am to 6:00pm; Tuesday to Saturday 10:00am to 7:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Anglo-American bookstore with large children’s section

San Francisco Book Co. 17, rue Monsieur-le-Prince 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 43 29 15 70
Metro lines 4, 10 (Odéon)
Open Monday to Saturday 11:00am to 9:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm to 7:30pm
Anglo-American used bookstore

Shakespeare & Co. 37, rue de la Bûcherie 75005 Paris
Tel: 01 43 26 96 50
Metro lines 10 (Maubert-Mutualité), 4 (St-Michel)
Open daily 10:00am to 11:00pm
Legendary Parisian bookstore selling Anglo-American literature

Tea and Tattered Pages. 24, rue Mayet 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 40 65 94 35
Metro lines 10, 13 (Duroc)
Open daily 11:00am to 7:00pm
Anglo-American bookstore and tea room

Village Voice Bookshop. 6, rue Princesse 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 46 33 36 47
Metro line 10 (Mabillon)
Open Monday 2:00pm to 8:00pm; Tuesday to Saturday 11:00am to 8:00pm
Anglo-American literature, poetry, philosophy, literary criticism and periodic literary events

W.H. Smith. 248, rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris
Tel: 01 44 77 88 99
Metro line 1, 8, 12 (Concorde)
Open Monday to Saturday 9:00am to 7:30pm; Sunday 1:00pm to 7:30pm
British-owned bookstore - literature, travel guides, magazines, children’s books, non-fiction

From weddings to births, special events and new homes, luxuriously designed stationery makes an exquisite statement for your special event.

Paris Delices Recommends:

Armorial - Cassegrain
Just like royalty!
Armorial has created exceptional stationery for Parisians seeking authenticity and quality, since 1948. From engravings of your residence on family paper to hand engraved ex-libris, each item is meticulously designed by the company’s talented craftsmen.
Address: 26, avenue Victor Hugo 75016 Paris
Tel: 33 1 45 01 29 22

Benneton Graveur
Old world elegance!
Since 1880 the family owned Benneton Graveur designs, with old-world sophistication, some of the world’s finest engraved stationery. With their delicate craftsmanship, this house continues to attract the intellectual and fashion elite.
Address: 75, boulevard Malesherbes 75008 Paris
Tel: 33 1 43 87 57 39

Calligrane
Understated elegance!
Located on the Pont Louis Philippe, Calligrane is one of Paris’ largest distributors of eclectic paper, most notably Fabriano from Italy. Complementing the paper, one finds a large selection of designer office accessories and writing tools.
Address: 4-6 rue du Pont Louis-Philippe 75004 Paris

Cassegrain - Vendel
Make a statement!
This traditional Parisian engraver creates some of the capital’s most stylish embossed stationery. Synonymous with elegance and grace, a Cassegrain calling card is certain to impress even the most highly respected acquaintance.
Addresses:
Cassegrain - 422, rue Saint Honoré 75008 Paris
Tel: 33 1 42 60 20 08
Cassegrain – 18, avenue Mozart 75016 Paris
Tel: 33 1 42 24 97 77
Vendel Cassegrain - 109, boulevard Haussmann 75008 Paris
Tel: 33 1 42 65 28 92

Marie Papier
So fresh!
Marie-Paule Orluc’s high quality hand-made paper combines traditional techniques to create bright, whimsical bespoke notebooks, business cards, and announcements. Purchase a colorful blank notebook for the inspiring writer in your life.
Address: 6, rue Vavin 75006 Paris
Tel: 33 1 43 26 46 44

Papier Plus
Simple beauty!
Situated on the Pont Louis Philippe, Papier Plus specializes in albums and notebooks covered in thick toile. The boutique creates bespoke paper for a privileged clientele.
Address: 9 rue du Pont Louis Philippe 75004 Paris
Tel: 33 1 42 77 70 49

Cali - L’Espoir
April 14 to 16
Le Zenith. 211, avenue Jean-Jaures 75019 Paris

Lenny Kravitz - It’s Time for a Love Revolution
June 30 and July 2
Le Zenith. 211, avenue Jean-Jaures 75019 Paris

Alain Bashung - Bleu Pétrole
June 10 and June 11
L’Olympia. 28, boulevard des Capucines 75009 Paris

Kylie Minogue - X
May 6
POBP. 8, boulevard de Bercy 75012 Paris

Catherine Ringer - Singing the hits of Les Rita Mitsouko
May 12
L’Olympia. 28, boulevard des Capucines 75009 Paris

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
May 13
Le Grand Rex. 1, boulevard Poissonnière 75002 Paris

Marie Antoinette - March 15, 2008 to June 30, 2008

The figure of Marie Antoinette has always set tongues wagging : the ‘Austrian’ who loved lavish pleasures was also the ‘victim’ of the ceremonial of Versailles or again a ‘scatterbrained’ girl gorging macaroons. But what do we know about the historical character? This is the aim of the exhibition which traces the exceptional destiny of one of the last queens of France, from Schönbrunn to the Conciergerie.

To shed light on all the facets of the personality of Marie Antoinette, her education and action in artistic and political fields, over three hundred works have been gathered from all over Europe including an extraordinary set of paintings (Vigée Le Brun), sculptures (Lemoyne, Boizot and Lecomte)and objets d’art (Carlin, Riesener, Weisweiler).

Marie Antoinette was born in 1755, the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria. She was not intended to rule, but the hazards of European politics decided otherwise. A few months younger than the future Louis XVI, the little archduchess married the heir to the throne of France on the 16th of May 1770.

The girl who arrived in Versailles had been given a careful education, particularly in artistic fields. Like all her sisters, she could draw, act, dance and sing. She had developed her taste in the cosy cocoon of the imperial family taking her mother as an example. The Empress loved Oriental lacquer, Asian and French porcelain, mounted objects and pietra dura vases and had filled her apartments with them.

At Versailles, the Dauphine Marie Antoinette was adulated. Her beauty and vivacity were celebrated. When she became queen, interest in her person and manner of living was intensified. All the important events in her life were richly illustrated. Representations of her wedding ceremony and the festivities that followed and above all the births of her children and the public rejoicing they triggered emphasised her position in the court and the main role accorded to her : producing an heir for the kingdom.

Until the beginning of the French Revolution, Louis XVI and his ministers carefully kept the queen away from politics. So Marie Antoinette became a mirror of the arts of her time. Young, interested in fashion and new ideas, quickly wanting to escape from the etiquette of Versailles, she created, often with the attentive support of the Royal administration, sometimes escaping all control, refined surroundings which in some ways reflected her Austrian education. Receptive to modernity, she also evolved in her artistic choices, both in the decorative arts and in music or fashion and so, as the leading art patron in the realm, she helped develop a style which is now associated with her name.

Through her need for freedom, her desire to escape from the court and take refuge in a select circle, and through her extravagant nature which amplified the scandal of the necklace, Marie Antoinette quickly alienated her entourage.

As public opinion turned against her, the royal administration tried to project a noble, protective image of the sovereign by commissioning large portraits to be shown to the public at the salons. This probably echoed the Queen’s own preoccupations because she cared about her image. Drowned in the growing flood of pamphlets and satirical prints, these portraits were not understood.

The ‘Austrian’, cloistered in her ‘Little Vienna’, Petit Trianon, became the root of all evils. When the royal couple left Versailles for Paris in October 1789, they did not seem to understand what was happening. Little inclined to change their lifestyle, buffeted by conflicting political interests, clumsy in their attempts at reconciliation or flight, they crystallised hatred. The execution of Louis XVI made Marie Antoinette even more dignified. Her darkest hours, leading to the scaffold, transformed her as a woman. The myth was born.

Exhibition by the RMN, coproduced with The Château de Versailles

Curators :
Pierre Arizzoli-Clémentel, CEO, Etablissement public du musée et du domaine de Versailles.
Xavier Salmon, head of the Inspection générale des musées de France, Paris.
Art Director : Robert Carsen

Practical Information

Open every day except Tuesdays
Hours: from 10am to 10pm ; from 10am to 8pm on Thursday (last entry 45 mins before)
Admission: 10€
Concession: 8€

Access : M° Franklin-Roosevelt or Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau.
Audioguide : French, Japanese, English € 5

RMN Publications :
Catalogue.
Album and Petit Journal.

Contact : Réunion des musées nationaux, 49, rue Etienne Marcel, 75039 Paris, cedex 01
Gilles Romillat, press, tel 01 40 13 47 61, gilles.romillat@rmn.fr.

Article and images courtesy of the RMN.

Looking for the luxury experience of a lifetime, Seine Alliance is proposing private cruises upon their craftsmen designed Italian boats which replicate that avant garde nostalgic style “Riva“.

Located at Port de Grenelle, close to the Eiffel Tower, each boat can accompany up to 6 people. Sit back and enjoy a glass of champagne as you cruise down the Seine in royal silence on one of Paris’ first electrically propelled boats.

For more information…
Reserve your Seine Limousine on-line at the Seine Limousine site.
SEINE ALLIANCE / Seine Limousine. Paris Yacht Marina. Port de Grenelle 75015 Paris
Tel: 01 40 58 00 00

Cindy Glass - Shoes
Cindy Glass has recently opened her first boutique in Paris. Their philosophy “Feel touched, wanted, adorable and comfortable…at all times.”
Cindy Glass. 47 rue Charlot 75003 Paris
Tel: 01 42 77 60 66
Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:30am to 8pm

Dolls - Fashion
Soft denim, silky floral blouses, resort style Mediterranean beach, this Marais boutique is the perfect escape on dreary grey days.
Dolls. 56 rue Saintonge 75003 Paris
Tel: 01 44 54 08 21

Fanny Liautard - Wedding dresses, jewelry, lingerie
Fanny Liautard is favorably known for her made to measure bridal gowns of haute couture quality. Visits by appointment only will make any future bride feel like a future queen.

Fanny Liautard. 13 rue Saint-Florentin 75008 Paris
Tel: 01 42 86 82 84

Roberto Cavalli - Fashion
Cavalli chose to install his first boutique dedicated to his new line “Just Cavalli” on the rue Faubourg Saint Honoré. With a surface total of 600m2, his new collection is displayed on six floors.
Just Cavalli and Just Cavalli Cafe. 50 rue Faubourg Saint Honoré 75008 Paris
Tel: 01 42 66 25 68

Komplex - Fashion
This trendy concept store carries such popular brands as Dice Kayek, Nude, Trust Toilette and much more.

Komplex. 118 rue de Longchamp 75016 Paris
Tel: 01 44 05 38 33

Parvis de la Défense
With over 200 merchants selling local and exotic crafts, food and clothing, the Christmas market at the Parvis de la Défense is one of Paris’ largest.
For a truly unique experience, visit this market at night!

Address : Esplanade et Parvis de la Défense. 92800 La Défense
Open November 28, 2007 to December 29, 2007 - 10:30am to 7:30pm

Santa’s Christmas Village and market, Place Saint Sulpice
Address: Place Saint Sulpice Paris 6th arrondissement
Open December 6, 2007 to December 24, 2007 - 10:00am to 8:00pm

Christmas market, Maison de l’Alsace
Address : Maison de l’Alsace. 39, avenue Champs Elysées 75008 Paris
Open November 28, 2007 to December 29, 2007 - 11:00am to 8:00pm

Santa’s Christmas Village, Saint-Germain des Près
Address: Boulevard Saint-Germain Paris 6th arrondissement
Open December 5, 2007 to December 31, 2007 - 11:00am to 7:00pm

Photo courtesy of L’Internaute Magazine / Cécile Debise

Rudolf Noureev’s – The Nutcracker, Opera National de Paris, Bastille
November 14, 2007 to December 29, 2007

Many memorable Christams’s have often commenced with a winter’s pilgrimage to the Opera House to see the festive performance of Clara in Dumas’s highly acclaimed adaptation of The Nutcracker.

A ballet performed by the dancers of the Ballet of the Opera in two acts and fifteen scenes.
Musical Direction - Kevin Rhodes

L’Opéra Bastille. 130, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris

Click here for more information or to reserve your tickets.

December 7, 2007 to December 10, 2007
LE SALON SAVEURS DES PLAISIRS GOURMANDS

For those coming to Paris in search of the perfect gastronomic holiday gift, do not miss the delectable Salon Saveurs at the Espace Champerret. With over 400 exhibitors, the salon’s second edition is an appetizing display of traditional holiday delicacies - chocolate, champagne, wine, caviar, snails, foie gras, oysters, and truffles - from both France and Europe.

Open Friday 10:00am to 10:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 8:00pm and Monday 10:00am to 7:00pm

If you go…
Paris Expo Espace Champerret. 6, rue Jean-Oestreicher 75017 Paris

Tannhäuser - Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
December 6, 2007 to December 30, 2007
Discover Wagner’s provocative myth of two carnal impulses - profound love and sacred pleasure.
Romantic opera in three acts (1845)
In German

L’Opéra Bastille. 130, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris
Click here for more information or to reserve your tickets.

Alcina - Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759)
November 22, 2007 to December 26, 2007
Drawn from Ariosto’s Italian Renaissance epic poem, Orlando Furioso, Haendel’s opera is enchanting story of love, honor and revenge.
Opera in three acts (1735)
In Italian

Palais Garnier. Place de l’Opéra 75009 Paris
Click here for more information or to reserve your tickets.