Just got the information on this year’s edition of  “La Nuit des Musées.”  On Saturday May 17, most Paris museums will be open to either 11pm or as late as 1am – for  free. The idea is to get more people to experience culture. And for those who are already up on their art, to try something new, like watching craftsmen at work at the Musée de la Monnaie (demonstrations from 7pm to 11pm).

For the full schedule see www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr.

Some of the interesting night-openings include a sound and light show under the dome of the Invalides from  9:15pm to midnight; video projections and “flashlight” garden visits from 7pm to 1am at the Musée Rodin; visit the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou  to 1am; Japanese music played in the rooms of the Musée Guimet from 7pm to 12:30am; visit to the Musée des Arts Decoratifs plus extracts of Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odysee; visit amongst the storytellers at the new Africa Art museum, Quai Branly; and much more. Set out around 6pm and see several sites.

I have been on vacation. You can read about my trip to Venice under “Travel.” 

I stopped in for a coffee at the Hotel Le Meurice to take advantage of the Wifi and checkout the Philippe Starck “re-looking.” Starck was brought in to give the lobby and restaurants of the distinguished and très cher hotel a revamping in terms of furniture and colors. To reawaken “Sleeping Beauty.” The effect is a more dynamic mix of unique antiques and unexpected pieces like a three-legged table with elegant gold shoes on each foot, that work very well together.

One of the big changes is that Starck brought in his daughter Ara to paint a sort of draped ceiling canvas over what used to be called the Winter Garden. When the hotel reopened in 2000, they were proud to have found an original Gustave Eiffel glass ceiling over this space. Now they’ve re-baptized the room the “Dali” and brought in Starck junior to cover the same ceiling. Yes, it is dramatic and modern and yes, it makes sense to use Dali – a long time hotel resident – as inspiration (without going over board). Still one wonders how long the canvas will stay in place – I’d like to see how the old glass ceiling works with the new Philippe Starck furnishings. But that’s just me.

Don’t forget that Le Meurice is home to one of Paris’ best chefs – Yannick Alléno. Only 38 years old he already earned two Michelin stars. I’ve eaten in his restaurant for lunch, one dinner and even a special Fourth of July luncheon and every time was heaven.

Le Meurice. 228 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Tel: (33) 1 44 58 10 10. www.lemeurice.com

To follow up on my last post – I’ve been to see the Marie-Antoinette exhibition at the Grand Palais and definitely recommend it. It was crowded, but there were enough surprises – architectural plans used to build her hamlet retreat and even a sketch in her own hand, drawn when she was a young princess in Austria, that kept my interest.

Not for the faint hearted, this is a very complete exhibition – two floors of royal portraits, upholstered chairs, porcelain, and alabaster-covered furniture. Some of the pieces are stunning but the crowds can make for some tight corners as you try to navigate a series of display “rooms” which I’m assuming are meant to makes us feel as if we are in the queen’s private apartments. The style of painting used in the many royal portraits is rather stiff, until you get to the later portraits of Marie Antoinette and her children by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun.

Still, this is a not to be missed exhibition for anyone who appreciates looking at historic fabrics, exquisite antiques and again, porcelain. Marie Antoinette had a love of flowers and they show up as a motif on everything from wood panels to teacups. There’s even a sample book of fabric swatches used by one of her dressmakers, and a beautiful painted stage set from one of her open-air performances.

NOTE: You might want to read Antonia Fraser’s excellent biography Marie-Antoinette – The Journey, before your visit – it will help you place the names and faces in their historic and tragic context.

Judging by the newsstands, Paris fashion and news magazines can’t get enough of the very photogenic Carla Bruni. Bruni quoted as saying things like, “I’ll do my best,” is of course the ex-supermodel turned singer-songwriter who married French President Nicholas Sarkozy. She is the youngest, and certainly the best-dressed, first lady the French have had in a long time.

A lot of ink has been spilled over Bruni’s illustrious youth and many men friends. The French prefer to say that she had many “lovers” rather than, “she got around.” In France a woman of a certain age can speak of her past loves with impunity. And as the couple met and married after the election, the French people didn’t get to voice their opinions one way or the other. Miss Bruni just is. What can you do but offer your best Gallic shrug?

The whole situation of French power brokers playing match-maker to the President reminds me of an interesting book I reviewed a few years back called the Grandes Horizontales: The Lives and Legends of Four Nineteenth-Century Courtesans by Virginia Rounding.

Read the Review

Also, in the news is perhaps France’s most famous first lady, Marie-Antoinette, who is the subject of spring’s blockbuster exhibition at the Grand Palais. Running from March 15 to June 30, the exhibition will feature paintings, furniture and decorative arts, that reflect not only the life and times of Marie Antoinette but the importance of the court as a patron of the Arts. Meanwhile you can rent Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film on the doomed queen, which is itself like one long tableau, beautifully filmed with luscious gowns and pastries but not much drama.

Marie-Antoinette. March 15 to June 30. Open 10am -10pm, except Thursday, closes at 8pm, closed all day Tuesday. Grand Palais. Metro Champs-Elysées Clemenceau. www.rmn.fr