France
Recent Articles
Hotel de Sully
While exploring the historic Marais district of Paris, I wandered into the quiet courtyard of the Hôtel de Sully. Hidden behind an elegant entrance on the bustling Rue Saint-Antoine, this seventeenth-century mansion offers a peaceful retreat from the crowds and provides a glimpse into the lives of the French aristocracy before the Revolution. The Hôtel […]
Chateau de Chambord
While staying in Paris, we took a day trip into the Loire Valley, a region of France known for its picturesque countryside, charming villages, vineyards, and magnificent châteaux. It is an area that truly looks as though it belongs in a fairy tale. Of all the castles we saw, Château de Chambord is perhaps the […]
Voltaire in Pantheon
During our visit to the Pantheon in Paris, I took this photo of Voltaire, one of the leading figures of the French Enlightenment. Born in 1694, he was a writer, philosopher and outspoken advocate for freedom of thought and religious tolerance. His ideas challenged the institutions of his day. The statue stands near the entrance to the […]
Gravesites of Vincent and Theo Van Gogh
When we traveled as a family, we would try to find places that would spark the interests of our daughters. During a vacation in Paris, one of these special excursions was a train ride to the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent Van Gogh spent the final weeks of his life and created many of his most famous paintings […]
Hommage au Capitaine Dreyfus
This bronze monument honors Alred Dreyfus, whose wrongful conviction became one of the significant political controversies in modern French history. Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French Army, was falsely accused in 1894 of passing military secrets to Germany. Based on forged documents and influenced by widespread antisemitism, he was convicted of treason, publicly stripped of […]
Hall of Mirrors
There are certain places that almost define a first trip to France, and the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles is certainly one of them. Walking into this magnificent gallery for the first time feels almost surreal. The scale, chandeliers, mirrors, gold detailing and endless reflections create an atmosphere that photographs cannot fully capture. Built […]
Claude Monet’s House
Visiting the home of Claude Monet in Giverny was an important experience of our trip to France with our daughters. For anyone who has seen Monet’s painting over the years, traveling to Giverny feels like stepping directly into his artwork. It was a journey we especially wanted to share as a family because his paintings had already […]
Home of Victor Hugo
The home of Victor Hugo offers a rare opportunity to step directly into the life of one of France’s greatest literary figures. This apartment is where Hugo lived from 1832 to 1848, some of his most productive and significant periods of his career. It was here that he wrote, entertained and lived as a central figure in […]
Joan of Arc Statue
This gold statue of Joan of Arc in Paris is the Equestrian Statue of Joan of Arc, located in the Place des Pyramides. Created by sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet in 1874, this gilded statue depicts Joan of Arc on horseback, holding her banner as she leads forward. The gold leaf covering catches the light in a way that […]
Eiffel Tower
There are certain landmarks across the world that have become instantly recognizable. Once you see them, you know exactly what they are and often where they stand. That is certainly true for the Eiffel Tower. The first time we visited Paris, of course we did what first-time visitors do: we took the ride up the […]
Sacre-Coeur Cathedral
Rising above the rooftops of Paris from the summit of Montmartre, the domes of Sacre-Coeur dominate the skyline. From almost anywhere in the city, the basilica’s white stone catches the light by day and glows softly at night, anchoring the northern horizon. The church was conceived in the emotional aftermath of France’s defeat in the […]
Arc de Triomphe
Few landmarks instantly signal a visit to Paris quite like the Arc de Triomphe. It appears again and again in family photographs, historic parade scenes and images of victory marches. Standing at the western end of the Champs-Elysees, the great arch stands where French history unfolded. The story of the Arc begins in 1806, when Napoleon […]
