History

Poison and water boarding in the 17th Century On July 17th, 1676 Marie Madeleine Marguerite D’Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers, was tortured and forced to drink 16 pints of water, after which, (perhaps unsurprisingly!) she confessed to...

The extraordinary partnership of Matisse and Lydia Delectorskaya started inauspiciously enough in 1930 when she was hired to take care of his invalid wife Amélie. Matisse had married Amélie in 1898. He had been born...

The Museum of Immigration in the 12th arrondissement is re-opening the summery pop-up café on its esplanade. From May 17 to October 7 visitors can relax at the “Palazzo”, which is equipped with beach...

In the world of fashion brands, Louis Vuitton handbags and accessories are the pinnacle of luxury. Few know that the man who created this billion-dollar empire was descended from a large, humble, working-class family...

Polish film Cold War (Zimna Wojna), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, premiered at the 71st Cannes Film Festival to great acclaim. After, it was quickly nabbed by Amazon for the film’s U.S. distribution rights. We first...

"I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely." --Josephine Baker (1906-1975) With total lack of inhibition - leading the way for the likes of Tina Turner, Lena...

Every uprising, revolt or revolution in France draws inspiration from the previous one, so technically all can be traced back to the Jacquerie, a revolt by French peasants in the early summer of 1358,...

In 1989, the then mayor of Paris, and future president of France, Jacques Chirac, awarded Miles Davis the Grande Medaille de Vermeille. If Davis had ever doubted he was Paris’s beloved, adopted son, this...

The charm of Paris is a flirtatious mixture of history and modernity, the old and the new paired to perfection. The Louvre, which formed an axis for the city’s renovation during the Haussmann years,...

Most people, when they think of Champagne, think of the area around Reims and Epernay, where the famous labels—Taittinger, Veuve Cliquot, Moet Chandon, and so on—are bottled, and from whence champagne is shipped all...

In May 1924, Zelda, Scott and their daughter Scottie decamped from America to Paris. The extravagance of their lifestyle in the U.S. in the previous four years had left the Fitzgeralds in debt both...

Corey Frye, also known as “A French Frye in Paris,” spends much of his days pounding the cobblestones in Paris as he leads tours around the city. Along the way, he spots wonderful panoramas, cafés,...