A few steps from the Hotel de la Motte Picquet, in the seventh arrondissement, is America’s oldest church built outside the territory of the United States. It was created in 1857! This beautiful church welcomes english-speaking Protestant Christians, like the  large American community in Paris but also the faithful from Anglophone countries or tourists visiting the capital. Open every day, the church offers a beautiful office on Sunday. Believers can attend one of the three masses:

-9am: the contemplative communion service

-11 am: the traditional service with choir or soloist

-1:30 pm: the contemporary service

The church can be visited of course outside of the prayer time, from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 12pm and from 1 pm to 10:30 pm, on Sunday from 3 pm to 7:30 pm. If you are interested, the American Church is involved in a large number of works and organizes a wide range of religious and cultural events (the program is available on the website www.acparis.org)

The American Church in Paris

65, quai d’Orsay

75007 Paris

M ° Invalides

From 9 October 2013 to 13 January 2014, the magnificent museum in the Tuileries Gardens will host a beautiful exhibition of their works thanks to the collaboration of the Olmedo Museum in Mexico City.

Frida and Diego in 1932

Like their tumultuous passion, their paintings reveal the intensity of their artistic commitment. This unique exhibition is an opportunity to share their visions, compare their styles and discover their obsessive love for Mexican earth.

The painting of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is unique, an explosion of colors,  of patterns of the Mexican cosmogony and of autobiographical elements, especially related to its evocation of spinal problems pain.

The man who was twice her husband from 1929-1938 and then from 1940 to his death, Diego Rivera (1886-1957), is the world most famous Mexican painter with its incredible frescoes about the Mexican history and culture, testimony of his strong political commitment.

Diego and Frida by Frida Kahlo, painted in 1931

This exhibition is certainly not to be missed!

Frida Kahlo / Diego Rivera. The art fusion. From 9 October 2013 to 13 January 2014.

Musée de l’Orangerie

Jardin des Tuileries

M ° Concorde

Information by phone : 01 44 50 43 00
or by mail : information@musee-orangerie.fr

Open every day except Tuesday from 9am to 6pm
Full price: 7,5 €
Reduced entrance fee: 5 €

Berthillon : french excellence

The winter was particularly long and harsh this year but timid rays of sun begin to warm the streets of the capital. Parisians do not hesitate and the smallest rise of temperature sees the café terraces repopulate instantly. The Hotel de la Motte-Picquet, always willing to share with lovers of Paris  the best gourmet addresses  recommend today the café Berthillon. This salon de thé is dedicated to the tasting of the most famous ice cream in Paris (craftsman since 1954).

Every morning you can enjoy a hearty breakfast: hot chocolate, tea « Mariage Frères », toasted bread, pastries … Thereafter, up to 8pm, discover their special ices: peach « Melba », pear « Belle-Helene », strawberry, « Vacherin ». A rainbow of perfumes delight your eyes and your taste: tiramisu, gingerbread, Earl Grey tea, amaretto, honey nougat, Creole and even foie gras!

Café Berthillon

31 Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île

75004 Paris

M°7 Pont Marie or M°1 Saint Paul

Ph : 01 43 54 31 61

Every day but tuesday, from 10am to 8pm

Athletes can smile, the mythical Marathon of Paris is approaching … Departure Sunday, April 7, 2013 for 45,000 runners from around the world, as nearly half of the riders are not French! However they are all trained as it is almost impossible to browse the 42,195 km route without an extensive preparation.

More than 40,000 participants and thousands of spectators

For runners and spectators alike, it is also an opportunity to discover Paris without cars in the immediate proximity of the most beautiful places of the capital.

If the final itinerary is still being developed at the time when the Hotel de la Motte-Picquet write these lines, it traditionally starts from the Champs Elysées avenue, then the race crosses Paris to the Bois de Vincennes and back along the Seine to the Bois de Boulogne to complete avenue Foch.

A moment unique in the heart of Paris

Inscriptions are now closed. The brave athletes redouble their efforts in preparatory training.

The Hotel de la Motte-Picquet wishes good luck to all competitors and hopes that the weather will be beautiful to anjoy a great show.

On the 10th of February 2013, the Chinese community of Paris celebrates the New Year under the sign of the snake.

The snake, one of the twelve signs of the Chinese Zodiac

On this occasion, Paris is adorned with silks, red and dazzling lights of flares! Parisians and travelers in transit, do not miss those days of celebration!

A unique celebration in the heart of Paris

Program of celebrations:

Sunday, February 10, 2pm: Grand parade from the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville and Parade in the 13th district

From February 11 to 16 : concerts, workshops, makeup, lion dance in the Marais (see programming in the CityHall of 3rd)

Saturday, February 16 : Vietnamese New Year celebration at the Unesco House (a few steps from the Hotel de la Motte-Picquet !) with dancing, tastings …

Sunday, February 17 : Grand parade in Belleville, songs, dances

Costumes, makeup and music make the event exceptional

You will discover with delight the fantastic City of Fashion and Design / The Docks! An unique architectural creation by Jakob + Macfarlane gives a modern visual along the bank of the Seine.

The Cité de la Mode by night

The City proposes to expose the ultimate in contemporary creation and therefore complements the fashion museum Galliera currently closed and more oriented on classic retrospectives of wearable art. Now, the city hosts also, after the exposition Balenciaga  of the museum Galliera, a large installation on the theme of the model, an opportunity to reflect on the status of the top model,on  beauty and on the mediatization of fashion muses.

Photo in a fashion shoot, 1951

On three different levels, fashionistas around the world can learn about the latest pieces from young designers in bold thematic exhibitions dedicated or around a wall of images. Shops at the forefront of design and inventiveness turns spaces-museums to fill the desires of original purchase: concept store, pop-up store for the fashionable boutiques of innovative ultra …

But the city is above all a place to live. Coffee praline former offers a choice of delicious hot drinks and teas. Two restaurants, Wanderlust and Moon Roof officiating where promising young chefs share the limelight to delight our taste buds. Finally, it is at the top of the city that has installed the Nuba festive club and avant-garde of the Parisian night.

City of Fashion and Design / The Docks

34 Quai d’Austerlitz, 13th district

M ° Gare d’Austerlitz, Quai de la Gare

Exposure mannequin-body fashion: from 16 February to 19 May 2013

Open from 10am to 8pm (12am to 8pm for shops and coffee)

Tuesday to Sunday

Nighthawks, 1942

A major retrospective of the work of Edward Hopper is in this very moment at the Grand Palais. American painter born in 1822 and died in 1967, he represents in his naturalistic paintings, the beauty and melancholy of the American society after the war.

Cafeteria, 1927

The first part of the exhibition presents a panorama of artists who have inspired Hopper including his scenes of Paris, the city of his formative years.

His mature works expressed in different media-watercolor, oil painting, etching- the loneliness inherent in a society that has lost its innocence.

They illustrate the conflict between an idealized past and a colder modernity.

Particularly strong, his paintings are stretched to many mirrors the contradictions of our own society.

A rare exhibition which ends on 28 January 2013, so do not delay.

Grand Palais

3 avenue du Général Eisenhower

75008 Paris

M° Franklin-Roosevelt or Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau

Closed on Tuesday.

From 10am to 8pm every other day, 10pm on Wednesday and Saturday

(Closed at 6pm the 24th and 31st of december 2012)

Gas, 1940

All the love's locks on the bridge - Hotel de la Motte Picquet

Today, the Hotel de la Motte-Picquet is happy to tell its guests more about a lovely practice that has been underway for about five years : the installation of locks on the Pont des Arts. Our dear guests from all around the world frequently ask us what is the meaning of all these locks hung at the gates of the most famous bridge in the capital.

The Pont des Arts-Hotel de la Motte-Picquet

It was in 2008 that the « locks of lovers » began to appear. It seems that this tradition comes from Germany where lovers are used to seal their love on the bridge of Cologne before throwing the key into the Rhine in symbol of eternal union.
In Paris, the small padlocks often bear the name of the lovers written in marker or engraving, as well as the date on which it was magically closed.

The names of the lovers are written on the locks - Hotel de la Motte Picquet

We recently received great pictures of our guests, friends now, who wanted to keep a memory of this unique moment :

If the CityHall of Paris admits that this tradition may eventually pose a problem for the conservation of the bridge, it likes this pretty habit that begins to swarm on the Pont du Double and, more recently, on the Pont de l’Archevêché, at the foot of the Cathedral Notre-Dame.

So, to all the romantic, the Hotel de la Motte-Picquet wishes all the happiness of the world and a wonderful time in the City of Love!

The Pont des Arts in the City of Love - Hotel de la Motte Picquet

The cold is back in the capital and gloves are welcome. The days are getting shorter and the night begins each day a little earlier. This finding could depress us without the excitement of Christmas and New Year approaching ! As every year, our eyes are about to be dazzled by the amazing illuminations of Paris.

Circles of light in the trees

Illuminations
Wednesday, November 21 at 6pm, the Franco-German actress Diane Kruger will open the lights, in the presence of the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë. It will take place precisely, at number 115 on the Champs Elysées. Once again, be prepared to be surprised by the originality of the creation in Paris! Huge circles of colored light seem suspended in the night in the capital.

Champs Elysées, M ° Champs Elysées-Clemenceau

Around the Hotel de la Motte-Picquet, the streets discover their most beautiful lights also: Avenue de la Motte-Picquet of course, but also the rue Cler and rue Saint Dominique will be illuminated from this date and until early January 2013.

Windows of the Grand Magasins
Traditionally, the windows of the famous department stores will delight young and older.
In the Galeries Lafayette, six  amazing windows designed by Louis Vuitton will present « The Ball of the Century », a beautiful string of bears, dolls, pandas and flamingos! Cinderella welcomes you for a photo souvenir and let’s admire a magical tree decorated by Swarowski as valuable as monumental!

Galeries Lafayette

Swarowski Christmas Tree

In the Printemps Haussmann, the show will be provided by 74 dolls and balloons!

Printemps Haussmann

Galeries Lafayette
40 boulevard Haussmann, 9th
M ° Chaussée d’Antin
Monday-Saturday: 9:30 am to 8pm. Thursday to 9pm

Printemps Haussmann
64 boulevard Haussmann, 9th
M ° Chaussée d’Antin
Monday-Saturday: 9:35 am to 7pm. Thursday to 10pm

Christmas tree
What is Christmas without a Christmas tree? This year, it is a beautiful Swiss tree of 35m high that will challenge the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde.M ° Concorde

Illuminated parisian Christmas market

Every evening, children can watch Santa’s departure by sleigh to the North Pole (several departures per night. the schedule is available at the market) and have the opportunity to submit their letter of wishes in his mailbox.

Christmas Village
From 16 November 2012 to 6 January 2013
Every day from 10am to 11pm, until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Small chalets of the christmas market

Other lovely traditional markets are scattered throughout the capital and the most tempting offer of regional products from all over France :

Saint Germain Market
Boulevard Saint Germain, 6th. M ° Saint Germain
December 6, 2012 to January 2, 2013

Market Trocadero
Place du Trocadéro
From December 13 to January 6

Market Notre Dame
Parvis de Notre Dame. M ° Saint-Michel
From 15 to 23 December 2012

Market Montparnasse
Montparnasse commercial center. M ° Montparnasse-Bienvenue
From 5 to 30 December 2012

Alsatian Market Gare de l’Est
Outside the station. M ° Gare de l’Est
November 30 to December 15, 2012

Alsacian treets at the market