The Cognacq-Jay Museum has nothing to do with Hennessy, Remy Martin, Courvoisier, or Martell. Rather, it was named after Ernest Cognacq (1839-1928) and his wife Marie-Louise Jaÿ (1838-1925), the founders and first owners of the Samaritaine department store on Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Cognacq and Jaÿ both grew up Read More …
Some time ago, on a whim, I typed “7 rue des Rosiers Paris” into Google Maps, just to see the building where I had lived for two months in 1962 and for a month and a half in 1966. I was surprised to find a listing at this address for Read More …
This house in the Marais district of Paris is where I lived for two months in the autumn of 1962, and again for a month and a half in the autumn of 1966. I learned of this place from a handwritten notice that was taped to a light post nearby. Read More …
Hippophagy, meaning the eating of horse meat, wasn’t even legal in France until 1866, although there was a black market for horse meat long before that, especially in times of crisis. According to the French historian Sylvain Leteux, horse meat lost its taboo status and became a popular food in France Read More …
This museum in the Marais district of Paris is devoted to Jewish artworks and historical artifacts, mainly from France but also from other European countries and from North Africa. Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside the museum, but some of the artworks and religious objects can be seen on the museum’s Read More …
On my last evening in Paris in June 2006 I was walking to the Opéra Bastille, feeling somewhat sorry for myself because I had already turned in my bicycle to the rental place, and would have to leave Paris the next morning. I was walking through the Place des Vosges, Read More …
Victor Hugo was 35 in the year 1837, when this bust was sculpted by his friend David d’Angers. By that time, Hugo had already published his novel Notre-Dame de Paris (known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), as well as several volumes of poetry and plays such as Hernani Read More …
Louis XIII (1601-1643) has not gone down in history as one of France’s outstanding kings. He was not a popular swashbuckler like his father, Henri IV, nor was he an awesome long-lived Sun King like his son Louis XIV. At age eight-and-a-half Louis XIII became king when his father was Read More …
From the southwest corner of Place des Vosges, at house number 5, there is a small passageway leading to the back garden of the Hôtel de Sully. This is a Hôtel in the old sense of the word, mean a stately and elaborate private residence. It is named after its Read More …
This free museum in the Marais district belongs to the City of Paris and is devoted to the history of the city from its earliest beginnings to present times. In addition to documents, statues and antique furniture, the Musée Carnavalet also features hundreds of original paintings that illustrate various epochs Read More …