Palais Granvelle is a sixteenth century Renaissance palace was built from 1534 and 1547 on the Grand Rue, the main street in the center of Besançon. At that time the Franche-Comté and Burgundy did not belong to France, but were ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). His Read More …
The Musée du temps (Museum of time) in Besançon has a series of monumental tapestries devoted to the life of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), who was also the King of Spain, Prince of the Netherlands and King of Sicily. The tapestry in my first photo is called Read More …
This major art museum in Toulouse was founded during the French Revolution and is still located in the old Augustinian Convent, which was constructed beginning in the fourteenth century. By the sixteenth century Toulouse had more than 25 religious orders (depending on what you count as what), not only the Read More …
When I go to art museums I am always glad to see paintings on themes that I ‘know’ because they have also been made into operas. I noticed four of these at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Bordeaux. (Have I overlooked any?) The one in my first photo is Read More …
The Musée d’Aquitaine is a large museum of the history, culture and ethnography of the Aquitaine region, which includes the department of the Gironde and the city of Bordeaux. After exhibits on the pre-history of the region, the museum has a large section on Bordeaux in the Gallo-Roman period and Read More …
The CAPC is Bordeaux’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The initials CAPC stand for Centre d’Arts Plastiques Contemporains, which was the museum’s official name when it was founded in 1973. They have since changed the name slightly, but kept the old initials. The CAPC is located in an old warehouse near Read More …
Boulogne-Billancourt is the largest suburb of Paris, which makes it the second largest city in the Île-de-France, after Paris itself. Although I am not a big fan of 1930s architecture, I must admit that Boulogne-Billancourt (pronunciation here) has an unusually high concentration of public and private buildings from that decade. Read More …
The date usually given for the end of World War II is either May 8 or May 9, 1945, shortly before or shortly after midnight, which is when the German High Command signed the surrender papers in Berlin. A day before, on May 7, lower ranking German officers had already Read More …
It’s an easy one-hour bicycle ride from Strasbourg to the museum “The Secrets of Chocolate” in Geispolsheim. There you can learn all about the history of chocolate and how it is made from cacao beans. Admission as of 2018 is € 9.50 for adults, which is somewhat steep for such Read More …
The Avignon city tourist office at Square Agricol Perdiguier is just a five-minute walk from the central railroad station, straight ahead through the Porte de la République and along the main street Cours Jean Jaurès. This is the starting point for their guided walking tours (in French, usually) of the Read More …