The Rough Guide to Paris (Travel Guide eBook) by Rough Guides

Author:Rough Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, France
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2023-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Fondation Louis Vuitton

8 av du Mahatma-Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, 16e • Charge (ticket includes entry to the adjoining Jardin d’Acclimatation) • http://fondationlouisvuitton.fr • MLes Sablons; rather than walk from the métro (10–15min) you could take the shuttle minibus (charge) from av de Friedland, just off place Charles de Gaulle (aka place de l’Étoile)

Rising amid the trees and greenery of the Bois de Boulogne is the dramatic, Frank Gehry-designed contemporary art centre, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, opened in 2014. It houses the collection of France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, head of the luxury goods empire LVMH. From the moment you approach the main entrance, above which gleams a conspicuous silver LV monogram, the impression is of an extravagant building conceived with no expense spared. The huge, abstract structure, dubbed the ‘cloud of glass’, consists of twelve glass ‘sails’, made up of three hundred and sixty panels, and sits surrounded by a moat of water. Evoking a ship buffeted by the wind (or possibly a giant insect), the glass sails jut out at odd angles, revealing here and there the dazzling-white inner walls.

Exploring the interior is fun; escalators take you down to the moat level (grotto) with its striking Olafur Eliasson installation of coloured glass, mirror and sound, while stairways spiral up to several roof terraces revealing unexpected vistas of the Eiffel Tower and La Défense. There are eleven galleries, some vast, some intimate, an auditorium (used for music recitals), a restaurant (Le Frank) and a bookshop. The building has an unfinished feel in places and there’s a lot of empty space, something which Gehry says is deliberate, seeing it as a work in progress, with opportunities for artists to interact with the space and install their creations. The Fondation mounts acclaimed temporary exhibitions and its permanent collection is shown in changing themed displays, including choice works by Rothko, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Richard Serra and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Parc de Bagatelle

Bois de Boulogne, 16e • Charge, free Nov–April • MPorte Maillot, then bus No. 244, which takes you to the entrance on allée de Longchamp; there’s also an entrance on route de Sèvres à Neuilly

The Parc de Bagatelle comprises garden styles ranging from French and English to Japanese. Its most famous feature, the stunning rose garden of the charming Château de Bagatelle, was designed and built in just over sixty days in 1775 as a wager between Comte d’Artois and his sister-in-law Marie Antoinette, who said it could not be achieved in less than three months. The best time for the roses is June, while other parts of the garden see beautiful tulips, hyacinths and daffodils in early April, irises in May and water lilies in early August. The park’s attractive orangery is the setting for candlelit recitals of Chopin’s music during the Festival de Chopin in late June (see page 311).

Jardin Shakespeare

Bois de Boulogne, 16e • Free • http://jardinshakespeare.com • MPorte Maillot

In the middle of the Bois de Boulogne, the Pré Catalan park is famous for its huge two-hundred-year-old copper beech tree and the prestigious Pré Catalan restaurant.

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