The Paris Apartment

19/09/2026

French sushi. You're welcome. 🥖

19/09/2026

At first glance, the Church of the Madeleine doesn't even look like a church. With its 52 Corinthian columns and grand classical design, many visitors mistake it for an ancient Roman temple. That's because it was originally planned for a very different purpose.

Construction began in 1764, but the French Revolution brought work to a halt. When Napoleon came to power, he abandoned the original plans and ordered the unfinished building to become a Temple of Glory dedicated to the soldiers of his Grand Army. After his fall, the project changed once again, and King Louis XVIII decided it would finally become a Catholic church. The building was consecrated as the Church of Sainte Madeleine in 1842, nearly 80 years after construction had first begun.

Inside, the atmosphere is completely different from the imposing exterior. The high vaulted ceiling, monumental sculptures, and impressive pipe organ create one of the most striking interiors in Paris. The church has also hosted the funerals of some of France's most celebrated figures, including Frédéric Chopin, whose funeral Mass was held here in 1849 before he was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Standing at the end of Rue Royale, directly opposite Place de la Concorde, the Madeleine is often overshadowed by Paris's more famous churches. But its unusual history, shaped by revolution, empire, and monarchy, makes it one of the city's most fascinating landmarks.

📍 Church of the Madeleine, 8th Arrondissement, Paris

Did you know this iconic Paris church was originally designed to celebrate Napoleon's army rather than serve as a place of worship?

18/09/2026

La Train Bleu

18/09/2026

Paris just gave one of its most historic landmarks a striking new look. Since September 9, 196 flags have been standing around the July Column at Place de la Bastille, and every single one was sewn from old, used clothing.

The column itself has stood since 1840, marking the spot where the Bastille prison once stood before it was torn down during the French Revolution. It also honors the Trois Glorieuses, three days in July 1830 when Parisians rose up and forced out a king.

Now, for Paris Design Week, artists Claire Renard and Jean-Sebastien Blanc have wrapped that same column in a flag for every country recognized by the United Nations, 195 in total, plus one white flag added as a symbol of peace.

None of the fabric used was new. Every flag came from clothes that had already been worn once, a choice meant to show how much can be reused instead of thrown away. When the installation comes down on September 20, the flags will not be tossed either. Each one will be auctioned off. Until then, it is completely free to walk around Bastille and see all 196 flying in person.

17/09/2026

Worth a look.

Some French villages are beautiful enough to make you want to plan an entire trip around them. These are 12 of my favorites (first comment 👇)

17/09/2026

Paris has no shortage of beautiful places, but these 10 historic sites feel truly unforgettable. They show the stories, beauty, and timeless charm that make the city worth seeing at least once in your life 😍

17/09/2026

Art made of tiles in the Gare in Quimper.

17/09/2026

This is the Musée Carnavalet, built inside two Renaissance mansions in the Marais, the Hôtel Carnavalet, constructed in 1548, and the neighboring Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, added in 1989.

For nearly two decades in the 17th century, the Hôtel Carnavalet was home to Madame de Sévigné, the writer famous for her prolific letters chronicling Parisian life. She lived there from 1677 until her death in 1696.

The idea for a museum came later, during Baron Haussmann's massive rebuilding of Paris in the 1860s, when officials worried entire neighborhoods were vanishing under demolition crews. The city bought the mansion in 1866 specifically to preserve what was being lost. It didn't actually open as a museum until 1880, after the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune delayed the project for over a decade.

Today, the collection holds more than 625,000 objects tracing Paris from prehistoric times to the present, spread across more than 100 rooms, and the permanent exhibition has stayed free the entire time.

16/09/2026

After 18 months of restoration work, Paris is about to reveal one of its most dramatic monuments in its original colors for the first time in decades.

The fountain sits right on Place Saint-Michel, at the edge of the Latin Quarter, where Boulevard Saint-Michel meets the Seine. Built between 1858 and 1860 under Napoleon III, it stands 85 feet tall and 49 feet wide (26 by 15 meters), shaped like a triumphal arch. At its center, a bronze archangel Michael is caught mid-battle, sword raised, pinning a devil beneath his feet. The sculptor, Francisque Duret, based the pose on a famous Raphael painting hanging in the Louvre.

City workers have spent the past year and a half cleaning the sculpted decorations, restoring the stonework to its original color, and rebuilding the water system and basins from scratch, at a cost estimated around 3 million euros. It is the biggest restoration the fountain has seen since it was classified a historic monument in 1926.

Once the scaffolding is gone, the water should be flowing again within weeks, giving the Latin Quarter back one of its most recognizable meeting points. Generations of Parisians have used "Saint-Mich" as their default spot to meet friends before heading into the neighborhood's cafes and bookshops.

16/09/2026

Wow!

La Fermette Marbeuf in the 8th arrondissement has a story worth knowing. It opened in 1898 and became famous for its Art Nouveau dining room, now protected as a historic monument. The walls are lined with delicate floral tiles and mirrors that were rediscovered in the 1970s after being hidden for decades behind plaster.

The restaurant was created for the 1900 Paris Exposition and quickly became a symbol of Belle Époque style. Architect Émile Hurtré and ceramic artist Jules Wielhorski designed the space to celebrate light, color, and the joy of dining.

If you visit, ask to sit in the original “Salle 1900.” It’s one of the few remaining rooms in Paris where you can still dine beneath the same glass canopy that once dazzled visitors over a century ago.

📍 Paris, 8th arrondissement

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