Something for the Holidays

I will be away from Paris for around 10 days, but for those who will be in the city over the holiday period, here are a few suggestions of things to do. Consider it a kind of 'best of' of recent suggestions.

If you are in Paris on Christmas or New Year's Day, you will note that the city doesn't stop like certain other cities (London..). It is possible to take a Metro, go to restaurants, the cinema or the theatre and even visit the Eiffel tower. However, most of the large museums are closed on both days.

Musée des Arts Forains
A collection of 19th century fairground equipment you can actually play with and ride on. Open exceptionally until Jan 2nd

53 Avenue des Terroirs de France, 75012, M° Bercy
http://www.pavillons-de-bercy.com/EN/museum-fairground-art.html

Ice Skating
The main ice rink is situated in front of the Hotel de Ville, but note also that there are a free 'winter sports' activities organised at the Stade Charlety in the south of the city.


Everyday life in Paris during the Occupation
Not very festive perhaps, but fascinating nonetheless, this exhibition of photos and posters shows how the inhabitants of Paris lived when their city was occupied between 1940 and 1944.

Free entry
Réfectoire des Cordeliers
15, rue de l’Ecole-de-Médecine 75006

Brune, Blonde
Do gentlemen prefer blondes? This exhibition at the Cinemathèque Française investigates the subject of how the cinema (as well as painters, photographers and sculptures) has represented blondes, brunettes and redheads, and how hair has become a theme apart in film. Mixing film extracts, television clips, photographs and paintings, the exhibition is an aesthetic triumph.

See the trailer for the exhibition.
Visit the virtual exhibition!

Until January 16th 2011
Cinemathèque Française
Rue de Bercy, M° Bercy


La France vu par Raymond Depardon
Raymond Depardon, a film maker, photographer and documentary maker, has spent the last few years travelling round France taking photos of an 'ordinary France'. As he explains, "I visited very different places, with very different stories. I’ve made it a rule to keep a distance from the subject which allowed me to consider regionalistic specificities and try to tell our common story of everyday life." The result is a series of photos detailing an invisible(!) France populated with industrial estates, car parks and banal shops and houses. It's about as far from the touristic picture book cliché as you can get, but it is a real France and not without its own beauty.

Click here for a film of the exhibition.

Until January 9th, 2011 Bibliothèque nationale François Mitterrand
Tuesday - Saturday from de 10am to 7pm, Sunday from 1pm to 7pm 7€/5€


Winter in the city
During the snowiest winter I have ever known in Paris, what could be more seasonal than a selection of photos of cities in winter? Photographer Christophe Jacrot has chosen three cities, Paris, New York and Chicago, and snapped them in their coldest winter dress. The result is striking (see a sneak preview here).

"Hiver en villes"
Galerie de l'Europe, 55 rue de Seine, 75006
Until January 8th, 2011

Attraction at the 104
Ever since its creation in 2008, the 104 arts centre has struggled to find an identity and an audience. It hasn’t been helped by the fact that it is so large and therefore contains so much unused space, but this is slowly changing. Now that the inevitable cafes, restaurants and shops have been installed, all that has been needed is a significant event, and the team at the centre hope that ‘Attraction’ will provide just that. Based around the creations of artists linked to the centre, it will feature circus, burlesque, visual art, music and even a giant merry go ‘square’! Only one significant problem remains though. With it being such a large open space, it tends to be rather cold there!

104 Rue d'Aubervilliers, M°Stalingrad