Sources: Paris Convention and Visitors Office, Paris Mayor's Office
The following guide applies to April 2008.
Seasonal Events
- Banlieue Blues Jazz Festival:
Jazz fans will enjoy this annual festival, which features hundreds of jazz performances in the suburbs just north of Paris throughout April 18, 2008.
- Foire du Trone (Annual Fair)
Parents and kids can look forward to the annual Paris fair (Foire du Trône, which runs through May 17th and delivers all the traditional fun of a county fair, with Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and cotton candy included.
Arts and Exhibits
The Grand Palais is currently running a fascinating exhibition on the life of Marie Antoinette, the ill-fated last queen of France. This highly personal look at Marie Antoinette is sure to shed a different light on one of history's most reviled monarchs.
Through June 30, 2008.
Location: Grand Palais
3, avenue du Général Eisenhower, 8th arrondissement
Metro: Champs-Elysees Clemenceau
Information: 33(0)1 45 63 54 33
The recently opened private museum La Pinacotheque de Paris is currently running an unprecedented retrospective on the works of Man Ray, one of the early 20th century's most influential and groundbreaking photographers. Through June 1st.
Location: Pinacotheque de Paris
28 place de la Madeleine, 8th arrondissement)
Metro: Madeleine
RER: Auber
Information: 33(0)142680201
Visit the website
Camille Claudel is one of history's greatest sculptors; unfortunately, she has often been most remembered for her passionate relationship with mentor and fellow sculptor Auguste Rodin. This exhibit allows visitors to encounter Claudel's work in depth.
Through July 13th, 2008.
Location:Rodin Museum
79, rue de Varenne, 7th arrondissement
Metro: Varenne
RER: Invalides
Visit the website
"This exhibition at the IMA (Arabic World Institute) takes a look at Phoenician civilisation and art, represented above all by fascinating statuary and extremely sophisticated furnishings. The visit is [thematic], starting with geography (and city-States such as Byblos, Sidon and Tyre) and going on to the Phoenicians’ development and cultural exchanges with the peoples of the Mediterranean region. This absorbing display of coins, statues, earthenware and ivory objects brings the world of the Phoenicians alive for the modern-day visitor(...)" --Paris Tourist Office
Through April 20, 2008.
Location: Institut du Monde Arabe
1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 5th arrondissement
Metro: Jussieu
More information on the exhibit
A lesser-known master from the fauvist period, Vlaminck entered a period of intense experimentation at the outset of the second world war. This retrospective at the int(From the Paris Tourist Office): " Vlaminck, one of the biggest fauvist painters, on the intimate Luxembourg Museum is a must for enthusiasts of 20th century painting.
Location:Musee du Luxembourg
19, rue de Vaugirard, 6th arrondissement
Metro:Saint-Sulpice
RER: Luxembourg
For more information
(From the Paris Tourist Office): "For many, Patti Smith is a legend. No real rock child [is unaware] of this 70’s New York punk-rock muse. In a career [spanning] 30 years, the American star was sucessively a committed poet following Rimbaud and Genet and an internationally successful artist thanks to the song "Because the Night" (...)
The Fondation Cartier is presenting the public with “Land 250”, a large personal exhibition dedicated to the multiple aspects of the artist and musician Patti Smith’s artistic production. Poetry, drawings, photographs, films, and music show the manifold artistic fields explored by Patti Smith, and her rich universe".
Through June 22nd, 2008.
Location:Fondation Cartier
261, boulevard Raspail, 14th arrondissement
Metro: Raspail
RER: Denfert-Rochereau
From the Paris Tourist Office: "For the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his fashion house, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is staging the first Christian Lacroix exhibition. It brings together 400 clothing items, chosen according to themes or techniques that the couturier is fond of and that punctuate the history of fashion as well as his own haute-couture models."
Through April 6, 2008.
Location: LES ARTS DECORATIFS - MUSEE DE LA MODE ET DU TEXTILE
Palais du Louvre - 107, rue de Rivoli
Metro: Tuileries
