Whatever else you might have heard about Toulon, you should be aware that it has a gorgeous nineteenth century opera house — one of the largest opera houses in France outside of Paris. The Toulon Opera aka Théâtre Municipal was inaugurated in 1862. A few years ago it was beautifully Read More …
The Reims Opera House was originally called the Grand Théâtre when it was first built in 1873. It was severely damaged in World War I. After several years’ delay it was rebuilt by two architects named François Maille and Louis Sollier, who kept the original façade but redesigned the interior Read More …
My original intention was to ride around Paris on the Vélib’ bikes during the day and just come out to Versailles for the evening performance at the Royal Opera, but it turned out to be such a rainy day that all my Paris plans ‘fell into the water’, as the Read More …
In case you are wondering why there is a car with its back end jacked up in front of the opera house in this photo, rest assured that nobody is lying under the car trying to fix it. The car is in fact on display because its manufacturer is one Read More …
From its beginnings as a defensive fortress in the 13th century, the Château of Maintenon was gradually transformed by various owners into a comfortable aristocratic residence. Françoise d’Aubigné, the future Madame de Maintenon, bought the entire estate, including the château, land and farms, in 1674, with money given to her Read More …
One of the features of Madame de Maintenon’s school in its early years was that the girls were allowed to perform plays, to improve their public speaking abilities and expose them to great literature. This was common practice in boys’ schools at the time, but was unheard of in girls’ Read More …