Île-de-France
The restoration of Notre Dame
April 15, 2019, the flaming spire of Notre Dame Cathedral collapses. A gigantic fire has just destroyed one of France’s jewels of Gothic architecture. Although the entire edifice was feared, it survived, saved by the Paris fire department. Emotions ran high around the world, bringing Hugo or Disney to mind. Restoration work began as soon as the last embers were extinguished. Since then, archaeologists, art historians, masons and acoustics specialists have been working on the building, and the surprises have been many. This complex, fascinating and unprecedented project is now open to the public.
Notre-Dame de Paris, ©iStock
Parisian brasseries
At 6 a.m., it’s time to end the night over onion soup at Café République. A Parisian archetype, these restaurants, founded in the mid-19th century by... beer brewers, are open all day. A meeting place for artists and intellectuals, some of today’s most famous brasseries include Lipp, La Coupole and La Closerie des Lilas. Here’s an alternative in a working-class district of Paname: Bellanger, 140 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière.
The famous Brasserie de Flore, boulevard Saint-Germain, ©iStock
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir, writer and philosopher, winner of the Prix Goncourt, achieved worldwide acclaim with her celebrated Le Deuxième sexe. Published in 1949 and fiercely criticized on its release, the two-volume work is one of the major references of the women’s emancipation movement. A work that accuses and often questions: "How can we find independence in the midst of dependence? A must-read before "Me Too!
Mural portrait of Simone de Beauvoir. ©T. Ehrmann/Flickr
City of Science and Industry
Lovers of the exact sciences, this is for you! How the brain works, planetary revolutions, industrial techniques, the digital world... all the mathematical knowledge, past, present and future is presented here. Scientists regularly come here to present their work to the public. A huge museum, foreseeing a long day of discovery, it has a spherical cinema room allowing you to dive towards the stars, as if you were there.
The entrance to the Cité in Paris, ©iStock
Autumn Festival in Paris
Since 1972, the Festival d’Automne à Paris has been a major player in contemporary artistic creation. Interdisciplinary, demanding, often disconcerting, always fascinating, it welcomes the greatest artists on the international scene, from William Forsythe to the Arditti Quartet, from Luigi Nono to Tiago Rodrigues. For its founder, Michel Guy, "national borders can never be cultural limits".
Cosmic Drama, Philippe Quesne, ©M. Argyroglo
