Arts & Architecture in Paris is a fabulous opportunity to learn while you experience some of the most famous art, architecture, food, and history in the world.
What architecture will I see in Paris?
• Buildings as old as Notre Dame Cathedral, and as new as the Grande Arche, inside which the cathedral could fit, spire and all.
• Blocks and blocks of apartment buildings, sporting beautiful wrought-iron trim
• Buildings in which the wealthy and powerful once lived
• Other historic places, such as the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette awaited her appointment with the guillotine, or the Hôtel des Invalides, where Napoleon Bonaparte lies in multiple coffins, all nested inside one another
How about art museums?
• The biggest art museum in the world, the Louvre
• Other museums, such as the Musée d”Orsay and the Pompidou Center
• Your choice of museums such as the Picasso Museum, the Rodin Museum, the Musée Carnavalet, and others.
Anything else?
• The very place where the idea of a modern city took root
• Dramatic city lights, including the glittering Eiffel Tower
• Haunts of famous artists, writers, and composers
• Tombs of the noted and the notorious, in Père Lachaise Cemetery
• Strange modern sculptures at the Stravinsky Fountain and at La Défense
Anything outside Paris?
• Versailles, the palace of Louis XIV, the “Sun King”
• Chartres, with its huge cathedral, and world-famous expert, Malcolm Miller, perhaps even wearing his WSU sweatshirt as he explains the cathedral’s history, sculptures, and stained glass
• Your choice on our free day. People on past trips have gone to Fontainebleau, Bayeux, Auvers, and even Euro Disney.
What will I learn beforehand?
• Some landmarks of French history
• Basics of French architecture
• How to analyze paintings and sculptures
What’s the weather like?
• Not “Paris in the Springtime,” but better than Detroit
• Never below 30, and sometimes above 60; often sunny
What about food?
• A genuine French restaurant meal at our group dinner on the first night in Paris
• Many cafés, crèpe stands, pastry shops, chocolate shops, and restaurants. You can splurge at a restaurant, save money at sandwich stands and Chinese cafeterias, or just about anything in between.
• “The American Embassy,” McDonalds, if you must!
How do we get around town?
• Lots of walking
• The Métro
• Great city buses
Do I have to know French?
• No
• But it’s important (and possible!) to learn a few pleasantries beforehand, in order to be polite.
