Paris on a budget: Museums with free admission

by Anna Brones on

In an attempt to make art accessible to everyone, in January, the French government embarked on a 6 month program which opens up several of Paris’ museums free to the public. That means that you have until June 30, 2008 to take advantage of free admission to some of the city’s best museums.

Here are the six museums that are participating:

Musée Guimet – National Museum of Asian Art
Musée Cluny – National Museum of the Middle Ages
Musée des Antiquités Nationales de Saint-Germain-en-Laye – National Museum of Archeology
Musée National de la Renaissance d’Ecouen – Everything from Renaissance sculpture and paintings to furniture
Musée des Arts et Metiers – Houses the collection of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, which was founded to preserve scientific instruments and inventions
Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace – National Museum of Air and Space

If you are a student, you can also have a pretty complete weekend of Parisian art thanks to the French Ministry of Culture. Four well-known Paris museums are enticing the younger crowd, ages 18-25, with free admission one night a week. This means you can check out the Centre Pompidou (Wednesday nights), the Musée d’Orsay (Thursday nights), the Louvre (Friday nights) and the Musee du Quai Branly (Saturday nights) without spending a penny — except for your Metro ticket.

Eiffel Tower will get an upgrade next year

by Justin Glow on

Next year, in celebration of the Eiffel Tower’s 120-year birthday, the iconic structure will get a temporary, upgraded observation deck made of carbon kevlar.

“Our project will extend the top floor plate of the tower by grafting a high performance carbon Kevlar structure on it. The structure will be temporarily bolted to the slab without requiring any modification of the existing structure. It will expand the usable floor area from 280 m2 to 580m2. The extension is composed of 2 slabs connected to the third floor deck as well as the upper level used as an apartment of Mister Eiffel (a space provided for temporary resting of Gustave Eiffel).”

This is pretty cool, I guess. And what I mean by that is I can’t think of anything snarky to say about it. You win this time, Paris.

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[Via Neatorama]

European Independent Film Festival in Paris

by Anna Brones on

If you’re in Paris this upcoming weekend, you might want to check out Écu: The European Independent Film Festival, taking place at la Bibliothèque Nationale de France on March 14-16, 2008. Showcasing filmmakers in eleven different categories, the festival aims to promote independent film from not only Europe but the whole world.

The coolest thing about the festival is that it is free, which helps to reduce barriers between independent film makers and their audiences. You do however have to reserve a seat in advance.

With over 100 films to choose from, you might have a hard time making a decision on which one to go see. Thankfully you can watch trailers to all of the films on Écu Interactive — also helpful if you’re not in Paris but want a little taste of what’s going on.

American Airlines guide to Paris

by Anna Brones on

You probably don’t need another guide to Paris, but this month’s American Airlines Milestones Parisian overview is just too amusing to pass up. Besides a helpful section of what’s going on in Paris, there is a funny video guide to the city of lights. My favorite line from the clip:

“Behold the world’s most famous museum, the Louvre. Home to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and that cute picture of dogs playing poker.”

Check out the “Backstreets” video for some humorous tips on all the typical Parisian things to find around the city. As the guide bites into a crepe full of Nutella, he intelligently points out, “Crepe. Or as they say in Paris…. Les crepes.”

And the video is complete with romanticized accordion music. You don’t have to use the site as your guide to Paris, but at least check it out for your own amusement.

Do chocolate spa treatments leave you sticky?

by Jamie Rhein on

After writing about the chocolate hotel room fantasy weekend and the chocolate spa treatments at the Hotel Hershey, I wondered about others. The idea of a chocolate treatment makes me feel sticky. I have had massages with oil. Those left me feeling slick. Jeannette of Intelligent Traveler who wrote the original post about the Godiva/Hotel Bryant fantasy weekend left a comment on my post that she has had a chocolate wrap and there is a temptation to lick oneself. I can see that.

I have never felt tempted to lick myself after a massage that involves regular massage oil. This chocolate beauty treatment has me curious about its merits. These treatments have been around awhile. In this 2005 article posted at FoxNews.com, Samantha Jonas-Hain writes about her chocolate body tour that took in Hershey, Pennsylvania as well as Ajune Spa (see Godiva Chocolate Body Wrap) and Charm Beauty Salon in Manhattan.

Jonas-Hain interviewed people who attested to the benefits of doing more than eating chocolate. For example, one person said that caffeine stimulates the circulatory system and tightens the skin. One benefit, another said, is that if you use chocolate as a beauty treatment, the smell alone can satisfy your cravings for the good stuff. You might not eat it which can help keep the weight off. So you see, don’t eat the Godiva chocolate you received for Valentine’s Day. Melt it and use it as a facial.

Here are some other places for chocolate spa treatments I came across.

The Spa at Norwich Inn – Norwich, Connecticut. Three chocolate inspired treatments from which to choose.

Four Seasons Hotel George V – Paris. Check out the chocolate body scrub or the chocolate body wrap.

Relâche, the Spa at Gaylord Opryland® Resort & Convention Center, Nashville, Tennessee has a chocolate spa treatment in February only. Hurry.

Poets Cove Resort and Spa— Pender Island, British Columbia – For treatments with yummy sounding names.