Paris - Galeries Lafayette - 9me

 Plate LXXXII – Galeries Lafayette… 

If I remember things correctly the retail hierarchy in French starts with the kiosque (a stall or kiosk), rises through the boutique (what else but - a boutique?), the magasin (a store) and then top of the food chain - the grand magasin (a departmental store).

And the grandest of the grands magasins must surely be Galeries Lafayette.

Another magnificent Parisian example of Art Nouveau era architecture, the highlights of the main store building are without question the incredible stained glass domed ceiling and the elaborate staircases which you can ascend to rise through the ten floors of retail space offered by the Galeries. Comparable, in my experience, only to Harrods in London the store offers an incredible array of quality merchandise from home furnishings through books and electronics to fashion items and food. Many of France’s best known brands are to be found here including Lalique and Baccarat - and a particularly pleasurable find for me was Etains du Manoir. I have a partiality for the practicality of pewter over the eternally tarnishing qualities of silver. A small Manoir rose bowl bought from the Galeries reminds of my time browsing the wares on the Boulevard Haussman.

The Galeries, started in 1893 as a small fashion store by Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, purchased the lot at 1 Rue La Fayette from where the name derives, and went on to acquire the present Boulevard Haussman site in 1905. The architecture of the present main building was commissioned by Bader from Georges Chedanne and Ferdinand Chanut and was completed in 1912. Galeries Lafayette today has stores in Berlin, New York and Dubai, as well as owning French retail chains like BHV, Monoprix and Prisunic.

A luxury spa for those requiring some retail therapy!

Paris - Grand Palais - 7me

Plate XLVIII - The Grand Palace…

I must confess to not giving the Grand Palace the attention it deserved during my first trip to Paris. It was, like Notre Dame, the Comédie Française, and so many European attractions I have visited, also undergoing extensive repairs and renovations.

Built for the Paris exhibition of 1900, despite it’s magnificence it remains overshadowed as a Paris landmark by its predecessor from the exhibition of eleven years earlier – the Eiffel Tower. A façade of classical stone construction, and Art Nouveau glass clad ironwork, the exhibition hall suffered damage from deteriorating eroding ironwork in June 1993. The nave was closed in November of that year. Listed as an historic monument in 2000, extensive structural repairs continued until 2005, and façade restoration continues. The Palace has been saved.

I mentioned the Eiffel Tower, perhaps an unfair comparison but perhaps not considering that the Grand Palace consumed some 500 tons more steel in its construction than the tower, and began with a universal briefing that it should outdo its 1889 rival. The decorative sculptures commissioned for embellishment of the palace are decidedly baroque in style, the most notable being George Récipons quadrigas placed on the corners of the main façade.

A major three year programme to expand the facilities, doubling the floor space, was announced in 2008, meaning that Paris’s premier exhibition venue will regain its crown and set an international benchmark for facilities of this nature.

I must go back and see.

Paris – Notre Dame Rose Windows - 4me

Plate XXX - Notre Dame, the Rose Windows...

Arguably the three most remarkable features of Notre Dame are the organ, the bells and the stained glass rose windows. Look out for the stylized souvenir glass jewellery pendants of the windows sold in shops in the vicinity of the Cathedral. Many are pure tourist tat but others, available at the better jewellery shops, are exquisite in their detail.

This outside view of the south transept windows was taken from the Rive Gauche. An exterior view, although giving a good indication of the size of the lower window, gives little indication of the magnificence of the colour and light when seen from inside the church.

Since childhood I have been a lover of the art of the stained glass artisan; I finally incorporated some lead-light windows in the design of the first house I had built. Although my personal preference is for work in the style of LC Tiffany and the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts exponents of the work, I have untold admiration for the secular works of the European practitioners, many dating back as far as the Middle Ages. Not only are the designs remarkable, but the hand-painted detail of the faces and the figures of subjects is exceptional. Notre Dame and the nearby Sainte Chapelle offer the aficionado a master class in design and technique.

Paris - Metropolitain - 1er

Plate XVI  - Metropolitain - Rue de Rivoli ...

My favourite period of design has to be the early twentieth century for the simple, linear strength of Arts and Crafts and the nature inspired shapes of Art-Nouveau. Notable features of many entrances to Paris Metro stations are the graceful Art-Nouveau iron and glass forms decorating the stairs and pavements surrounding the subway openings. Designed by Hector Guimard at the turn of the (20^th) century the design must have been a refreshing change to the prevailing over-ornamented classical style of the time. Reminiscent of dragonfly wings and eyes, the green verdigris finish was considered more German than French, making these the latest controversial additions to the Parisian landscape. And yet we would not imagine the city without them today. I cannot see these entrances without sensing the presence of Toulouse Lautrec or Aristide Bruant, and hearing somewhere the sounds of an accordionist.

This particular entrance in the Rue de Rivoli is in one of my best loved parts of the city. The Louvre Museum is, of course, one of the most well known landmarks in the area, but do not miss the Museum of Decorative Arts, seen in the background of this image. For those visitors interested in acquiring a few antiques of their own (jewellery being a speciality of many dealers), the nearby Louvre des Antiquaires is well worth a visit of at least a few hours, but be warned to leave your wallet and credit-cards behind unless you intend buying, for the temptation will otherwise prove irresistible. Trust me.