Welcome to the Time Capsule Railway Hotel

Is it just me or is there something about precariously-positioned hotels called “The Belvedere”? Remember this one I found while ‘location scouting’ for Wes Anderson? Well, I’ve found another hotel by the very same name; an Art Deco pearl in the South of France and this one is a bona fide time capsule… Built by…

Inside the Time Capsule Fencing Club of Paris

I had been curious about what was behind the door of No. 6 Rue Gît-le-Cœur in Saint Germain for quite a while before I decided to Google it, half expecting to be disappointed by news that it no longer existed. To my surprise, a kind voice picked up at the other end of the telephone line. “Yes…

Searching for a Lost Wine Village in Paris

Parisians often talk about the great travesty that was the loss of Les Halles, a legendary food market in the heart of Paris, fondly referred to as “the belly of Paris”, a seemingly indestructible monument to the great tradition of French markets. It was demolished in 1971 and the hub of all food distribution in the city…

Wet Hot Parisian Summer: A Lost 1930s Nudist Utopia

In Physiopolis, life was better in the buff. Or at least in a bikini, which was as close as one could legally get to public nudity in 1930s Paris. It was here, on an isolated sun-baked island on the Seine, that a titillating new naturiste-nudiste (naturalist and nude) movement sprang forth. Gone were the days…

The Vault

From Paris to Provence in Under an Hour

Escape from Paris? Yes, sometimes even the truest Parisphile needs a little break from the romance of this concrete jungle in exchange for some country air. We arose early to the sun gently warming our toes peeking out from under the duvet and knew, this was our day to escape. But where to…? “Somewhere less…

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Our Zoom Date with a Paris Catacombs Explorer

Welcome to our Q&A with the fabulously entertaining Alexander J.E. Bradley – an artist and urban explorer whose mastery of the Paris catacombs has led us down many a rabbit hole (you may recall our trip to his underground catacombs cinema to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show one Halloween). If you missed the live…

The Paris August Survival Guide

It’s that time of the year again. Parisians close up shop for August to chase the last rays of summer outside la capitale, turning the city into a veritable ghost town. Tourists and locals alike are left wondering where on earth they can find an open boulangerie, where they can shop, dine, and make merry…

The Dismantling of Belleville: A Parisian Village Lost to the Wrecking Ball

Remember that beautiful Parisian village featured in the Oscar-winning 1950s short film The Red Balloon? Well we’re sorry to report that it was almost entirely levelled by the French government. The history of Belleville, the Parisian neighbourhood where legendary French singer Edith Piaf lived and called home, is a dazzling mix of folklore and fact,…

She Ruled Paris From Her Bed

The only place more frequented than the Eiffel Tower, according to 19th century Parisians, was the exalted mattress of the Valtesse de la Bigne. Her story is the quintessential rags-to-riches tale, albeit one that’ll make you blush, and clues to her influence over the era’s most powerful figures are still visible in Paris to this…

A Bucket List of Star Cities Scattered Across our Globe

Next to pasta primavera, star forts have to be one of the coolest things the Italians ever made. Dreamt up in the 15th century to withstand onslaught of a little something called cannonballs, today these hypnotic fortresses appeal to our contemporary imaginations like crossover creations of fantasy genres – Star Wars, but make it Medieval…