The Hidden Treasures of Paris

The Hidden Treasures of Paris Tour Itinerary 10–18 September 2012 The JohnsTon ColleCTion Travels Through Time Travels Through Time Cultural Studies and Tours Melbourne : (03) 9017 0897 Sydney : (02) 8205 7764 email : [email protected] www.travelsthroughtime.com The Hidden Treasures of Paris Tour Day 1 : The Parc Monceau Following our check–in to the Hotel Carlton’s in Paris, our discovery of the exquisite corners of Paris will begin in the afternoon with the Parc Monceau area, dear to 19th century writers such as Proust and Zola and members of the Impressionist circle, such as Gustave Caillebotte and Jean Forain. The Plaine Monceau belonged originally to Visits on this day include the Duc d’Orléans who had it landscaped as • Parc Monceau an English garden complete with follies. In • Musée Camondo the 1850’s under Napoleon III, it became the • Dinner at Petit Riche * real estate jewel in the Paris of the wealthy bankers and financiers such as the Ephrussi, the Rothschild and the Péreire who were creating the myth of Paris City of Light. Their ornate and sometimes bizarre mansions remain there today, still owned by the Parisian elite. A stroll through this secluded garden is like stepping back into a Proust novel. Moise de Camondo’s banking family came Auschwitz. A visit of this amazing collection to Paris from Istanbul and was known as has the poignancy of stepping into the life of a the Rothschild of the East. He was an art sophisticated family who in no way suspected connoisseur and a passionate collector of their fate. 18th century objets d’art. At the death of his We will return to our hotel and then set out son, he bequeathed the entire collection and down the Rue des Martyrs for our first dinner the mansion he had built to the city of Paris. together at the 19th century Petit Riche, referred His daughter and grandchildren died at to in Zola’s novel about the Parc Monceau. Follies at the Parc Monceau Front Page : Courtyard in the Musée Carnavalet 2 Travels Through Time 10 – 18 September 2012 Day 2 : Paris of the Romantics The morning will be devoted to an unusual and little explored history lesson about 19th century Paris; the cemetery of Père Lachaise. This was the first of the garden cemeteries opened up after the Revolution by Napoleon Bonaparte Visits on this day include in accordance with Romantic ideas about the • Père Lachaise cemetery departed sleeping in Nature. Most of his generals, • Headquarters of Société- scientists and artists were buried here and Père Générale Bank Lachaise became an outdoor history garden. • Musée de la Vie By the Second Empire every bourgeois who Romantique had a mansion on Monceau wanted an equally extravagant tomb here and so the history park became a confusion of the most extraordinary sculptures, monuments and effigies. From Molière to Delacroix, Victor Hugo to Pissarro, courtyard filled with roses and wisteria. It was Piaf and even Oscar Wilde, this is a fascinating originally an artist’s studio belonging to the journey through these permanent Parisians. fashionable painter Ary Scheffer and it was here Our guide is a specialist on Père Lachaise and that the great writer and cross dresser George Sand would pose for the painter Delacroix while will recount the amazing stories attached to the her lover Chopin and Liszt composed at the tombs and Paris. piano. George Sand’s collection gives a glimpse After lunch at a little bistro nearby we return of the lives of the artistic elite that lived in this to the Boulevard des Italiens for a private visit arrondissement. of the headquarters of the Société Générale We will walk back to the hotel through the 9th bank with its amazing Art Nouveau interior and arrondissement and visit a handmade chocolate staircase which is usually closed to the public. shop as well as a tiny perfume boutique started Our afternoon will be spent in the charmingly by a Duchess in the 1920’s. In the evening we named Musée de la Vie Romantique in a quiet will go into Montmartre for an absinthe! Detail at Père Lachaise Cemetery The Hidden Treasures of Paris Tour 2012 3 The Hidden Treasures of Paris Tour Day 3 : The Marais The quaint little streets and the chic boutiques of the Marais buzz with life on a Sunday. We will start our day at the little known Musée Cognacq–Jay, in a 17th century hÔtel particulier which houses the collection of art and decorative arts bequeathed to Paris by the founders of the Samaritaine department store. Like the Visits on this day include founders of other “Grands Magasins” such as • Musée Cognacq–Jay the Bon Marché, they felt they were an essential • Converted market of the element of the new Paris and had a philanthropic Enfants Rouges duty to their employees and customers and even • Musée Carnavalet set up exhibits in the stores. Clients would • Musée de la Poupée wander through collections of exquisite snuff • Louvre des Antiquaires boxes to get to the perfume counter. After lunch in the old converted market of the Enfants Rouges we will pop into the Musée Carnavalet to see some exquisite rooms of former 17th century mansions which were demolished but then rebuilt here. We will also see an entire art nouveau jewellery shop and Proust’s bedroom. To finish our day in the Marais we will wander Following afternoon tea at the quaint Loire into the Village St Paul and its winding lanes dans la Thèire we will explore the Musée de la of antique stalls and then go on to the grand Poupée. This charming little collection traces Louvre des Antiquaires. This elegant building the development of dolls from the 18th century was once a luxury hotel opposite the Louvre but onwards, when they were used for exporting now houses galleries and antique shops selling French fashions to the courts of Europe. everything from jewellery to Lalique vases. Musée Carnavalet 4 Travels Through Time 10 – 18 September 2012 Day 4 : Rueil Malmaison Today we will travel by private coach to the Château de Malmaison where Napoleon and Josephine spent the happiest years of their life together before he became Emperor and was consumed by ambition. Josephine characteristically overspent as she had the gardens redesigned in the fashionable English style, complete with winding streams, hothouse and garden theatre. It was here that she let Visits on this day include loose the emus, swans and wallabies brought • Château de Malmaison back from the Baudin voyage to Australia. • Island of the Impressionists at Chatou After their divorce Napoleon paid for • Musée de Sèvres Josephine’s continued interest in the cultivation • Ballet at the Opéra of roses. Her personality shines through in the Garnier * elegant rooms of the little chateau and in her collection of Sèvres porcelain and art work. We will lunch on the Island of the Impressionists in Chatou at the Auberge Fournaise made famous by Renoir’s Lunch of the Boatmen’s Party. If it is fine we will sit exactly where it was painted. In the afternoon we will continue on to the Musée de Sèvres with its magnificent collection This evening the Tokyo Ballet will be showcasing the development of hard porcelain in performing in the opulent Opéra Garnier, built the late 18th century under the patronage of the as the glittering centre piece of the City of Light royal mistress, Madame de Pompadour. by Napoleon III. Château de Malmaison The Hidden Treasures of Paris Tour 2012 5 The Hidden Treasures of Paris Tour Day 5 : Off the Beaten Track We will begin early at the quaint little market at Maubert–Mutualité on the Left Bank where you can buy everything from hand crafted Visits on this day include jewelley and silk scarves to pungent cheeses • Left Bank markets and glorious flowers. After a quick coffee at the • Canal St Martin turn of the century Mosque where we will be • Passage des Panoramas transported into the Orient, we will head up • Gobelins Tapestry W’shop the Rue Montorgueil which is packed with 19th century bars, bistros and food shops. We will • Drouot Auction Rooms thread our way through the tiny streets of the Sentier quarter up to two enormous triumphal arches which were originally gates given to Louis IV by the city of Paris to commemorate his victories. We will continue on to the Canal for a guided visit of the Gobelins Tapestry St Martin in the now trendy area of Republique. Workshops. These were established by Louis It is strange to see boats in locks a metro stop XIV in 1669 and produced tapestries initially or so from the Bastille. This tranquil quarter is for the royal palaces and now for the French now home to some of the cutting edge designer Government. We will visit the historic ateliers boutiques. Next we will head back down the and see the artists at work. boulevard to the Passage des Panoramas, one of the first covered passages to emerge at the end On our way home we will visit the Printemps of the 18th century. These passages invented the gourmet food store and admire the magnificent first browsing experiences as they housed little turn of the century stained glass domes of the boutiques and kept the customers out of the oldest part of the store which normally are out rain. Panoramas or static cinemas were set up of sight. to draw the crowds. Not far away is our lunch The Drouot Auction Rooms are the French destination, the Bouillon Chartier, a bustling equivalent of Southerbys or Christies.

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