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Paris


 Entertainment


Theatre, Opera, Museum


Paris is a cultural leader in entertainment, music, media, fashion, and the arts. Tickets can be extremely expensive, but discount tickets may be available the day of the performance at the Kiosque Place de la Madeleine (2nd arrondissement) and at the Kiosque Gare Montparnasse (14th arrondissement).

Theater

Théâtre du Châtelet ((Théâtre Musical de Paris)) - Built on the site of a châtelet, this theatre was designed by Gabriel Davioud. It seats 2,500 people and is home to the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

Théâtre National de la Colline - (20th arrondissement) Founded in 1951, this is a National theatre. It is leftist with occasional performances with English subtitles.

Comédie-Française - Founded in 1680, this is considered the world's first national theatre.

Odéon (Théâtre de l'Europe) - The Odéon has two theatre spaces and hosts foreign-language productions.

Théâtretre 14 Jean-Marie Serreau - (20, avenue Marc Sangnier 75014 Paris) Classics come alive in contemporary plays.

Théâtretre du Rond Point - (2 bis, avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 75008 Paris) This is a landmark in the contemporary-theatre landscape. It is run by director and writer Michel Ribes.

Théâtre Paris Villette - (75019 Paris) Contemporary French theatre near the Grande Halle.

Vingtième Théâtre - (7, rue des Platrières, 75020 Paris) Plays, dances, storytelling and music in this small theatre hidden by the Rue de Ménilmontant.

Théâtre 13 - (103 A, boulevard Auguste Blanqui, 75013 Paris) This venue offers plays, concerts, singing, dancing, and a cabaret.

Théâtre de la Ville - (2, place du Châtelet, 75004 Paris) Modern dance and world music can be found here. It is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century at Place du Châtelet.

Théatre Silvia Monfort - (106, rue Brancion, 75015 Paris) This amphitheatre offers a 15-metre-wide, 7-metre-high stage.

A theatre guide is available on Théâtre On Line.

Opera

Opéra Garnier - An elegant 1,979 seat opera house built from 1861 to 1875, this venue is named after it's architect, Charles Garnier. It has also been known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra. It is one of the most famous opera house in the world and a symbol of the city. Partially replaced by the Opera Bastille, it now primarily holds ballet performances.

Opéra Bastille - Built in 1989, this modern opera house seats 2,700.

Orchestra

l'Orchestre de Paris - The French orchestra performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.
Performances will be held at the Philharmonie de Paris in the future. Construction has been repeatedly postponed, but should be completed in early 2014.

Museums

France reveres its historical monuments and artifacts and Paris holds some of the finest of it's treasures. The museums of Paris are a must-see destination as are the priceless pieces that lie inside.

Note that all national museums (except the Grand Palais) allow free admission to their permanent exhibitions on the first Sunday of each month. However, they can also be quite crowded. Also note that large bags are not allowed within most museums and must be checked. Cameras are allowed in most museums, but may not be allowed in some exhibits. Flash is usually prohibited.

Musée du Louvre
Address: 36 Rue du Louvre
Tel.: 33 1 40 20 53 17
Admission: Tickets for the Permanent Collections €11
Hours: Open everyday (except Tuesday) 9:00 to 18:00; late hours Wednesday, Friday til 21:45
Simply known as the Louvre, this is one of the world's largest and most famous museums and is a historic monument. It is the most visited art museum in the world. There are 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century in the 60,600 square metre venue. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre), a fortress from the late 12th century.

Musee de l'Orangerie
Address: Jardin des Tuileries
Tel.: 33 (0)1 44 77 80 07
Admission: €7.50
Hours: Everyday (except Tuesday) 9:00 to 18:00
Art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. The museum was designed to house the impressive Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet. The museum also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau, Alfred Sisley, Chaim Soutine, and Maurice Utrillo.

Centre Georges Pompidou
Address: Place Georges Pompidou, 4th arrondissement
Tel.: 33 (0)144 78 12 33
Admission: €11-13
Hours: Daily 11:00 to 21:00
A modern complex amidst the classic beauty of the Beaubourg area, this is the largest museum for modern art in Europe. It is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974 who inspired the museum. The Centre Pompidou has had over 150 million visitors since 1977. The museum also includes a cinema and library.

Musée d'Orsay
Address: 1, rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris
Tel.: 33 (0)1 40 49 48 14
Admission: €9
Hours: Daily (except Mondays) 9:30 to 18:00; late night on Thursdays until 21:45
Housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, this building was once the Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It has the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist in the world with works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

Musée National Picasso
Address: Hotel Sale, 5 rue de Thorigny
Tel.: 01 42 71 25 21
Hours: Closed for Renovation until 23 August 2010
Dedicated to the work of the artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), this museum is currently closed for renovation, but is set to re-open summer 2013.

Catacombes de Paris
Address: 1, avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy 75014 Paris
Tel.: 01 43 22 47 63
Admission: €8
Hours: Daily (except Monday) 10:00 to 17:00
The Catacombs of Paris (or l'Ossuaire) is an underground ossuary, used to store the exhumed bones from the overflowing Paris cemetery. The ossuary holds the remains of about 6 million people and has been a tourist attraction since the early 19th century (briefly closed in 2009).

Musée Rodin
Address: 79, rue de Varenne - 75007 Paris
Tel.: 33 (0)1 44 18 61 10
Admission: €6
Hours: Daily (except Mondays) 10:00 to 17:45
Opened in 1919, this museum focuses on the works of French sculptor Auguste Rodin. While living in the Villa des Brillants , Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop from 1908 and donated his collection of sculptures (along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir) to the French State on the condition that they turn the building into a museum dedicated to his works.

Musée Marmottan-Monet
Address: 2, rue Louis-Boilly 75016 Paris - France
Tel.: 33 1 44 96 50 33
Admission: €10
Hours: Daily (Closed on Mondays) 10:00 - 18:00; Tuesdays until 20:00
Over 300 paintings of Claude Monet are on display in this museum. The works of Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are also exhibited.

L'Hôtel national des Invalides
Address: 129 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris
Tel.: 0810 11 33 99
Admission: €9.50
Hours: Daily (except lst Monday of each month)
The National Residence of the Invalids is an impressive complex of museum of arms and armor from the Middle Ages and contains the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Musée du Luxembourg
Address: 19 rue de Vaugirard 75006 Paris
Tel.: 01 40 13 62 00
Admission: €12
Hours: Daily 10:00 – 20:00; until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
Located in the east wing of the Palais du Luxembourg, this was the first public painting gallery in Paris. It now shows paintings by a range of artists from Nicolas Poussin to Jacques-Louis David.


13/02/2013

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