Tourism might be experiencing hard times, but you’ll always have Paris. At least this seems to be the mindset of the world’s top hotel companies. In the upscale neighborhood stretching from Trocadero to the Champs-Elysées, several beautiful new hotels have opened and more are on the way.

First, with two stylish boutique-sized hotels is Radisson SAS. They’ve opened a brand new property – Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan Hotel Paris Eiffel (86, rue de Longchamp, 75116; www.radissonblu.com) on the Place de Mexico, near Trocadero. The 38 contemporary rooms and 10 suites fit cleverly into a triangular-shaped Haussmann building plus its neighbor. Suites in the “point” of the triangle have views of the Eiffel Tower. There is also a restaurant and spa with small pool.

Radisson has also bought and revamped Le Dokhan’s hotel (117, rue Lauriston, 75116; www.dokhan.paris.radissonsas.com ), minutes from the Trocadero Metro. They’ve kept the sophisticated and very French Frederic Mechiche design for the 41 rooms and 4 suites, plus the Champagne Bar and an elevator fitted-out like a Louis Vuitton trunk.

In the luxury category, the Shangri-La group (www.shangri-la.com) opens its first Parisian palace hotel at no. 10 Avenue Iéna in Fall 2009. The historic 1896 mansion of Prince Roland Bonaparte promises 104 rooms of which 40 are suites. One of the hotel’s three restaurants will offer authentic Asian cuisine, something that’s been missing in Paris.

Designed by Christian de Portzamparc, is Marriott’s new 8-story Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel (39 Avenue de Wagram, 75017; www.marriott.com). The modern design between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place des Ternes, includes rooms with balconies and is topped by a roof terrace with views of Paris.

And designed by long-time Philippe Stark associate Bruno Borrione, is the new Crowne Plaza (64, Avenue Marceau, 75008; www.crowneplazaparischampselysees.com  or www.ichotelsgroup.com) opened last November with its mix of 19^th-century architecture and contemporary art and design.  No restaurant as yet, but there are plenty in the neighborhood.

The Pompidou Center hits a high note with the opening of two excellent and inspiring exhibitions: Calder The Paris Years and Kandinsky. I’ve never had a problem with being “challenged” by modern art, but still it’s nice to come out of an exhibition feeling simply content, even happy. The colors and amoebic forms of Kandinsky or the mobiles and Circus studies of Calder were never simplistic, but they did show that art could incorporate movement, across a canvas or literally through the air. Both spent time in Paris, with Kandinsky living in Neuilly-sur-Seine from 1934 until his death in 1944. Calder would come to Paris between the wars as a graphic artist. It was in Paris, that he began creating his wire figures, becoming the artist we know today. A 20-minute film within the exhibition shows Calder at work and gives good insight into his art.

I saw these shows on two separated days because there is so much to see. But if you try to do it all in one go (they’re on the same floor of the museum), you will find that there is an energy that comes from these painting and sculptures, making you want to see more.

Calder – Les Années Parisiennes, 1926-1933: Through July 20.

Kandinsky: Through August 10.

Open daily 11am to 9pm. Thursdays until 11pm. Closed Tuesday. Centre Pompidou, Metro Rambuteau or Hotel de Ville. www.centrepompidou.fr

Photo: Alexander Calder. Josephine Baker (IV) circa 1928. © Calder Foundation, New York/Adagp, Paris 2009

I left Paris for Brussels last weekend, and in 1.5 hours was in the land of fries with mayo, chocolate, comic books and of course René Magritte. The inauguration of Brussels’ Magritte Museum is June 2, making it all the more interesting to head for Brussels for a weekend or even for the day – easy to do with the high speed Thalys (www.thalys.com ) trains leaving Paris’ Gare du Nord on the half hour on weekdays.

What to do in Brussels?  Of course everyone heads to the historic Grand Place surrounded by ornate brick guild houses.  Nearby are beautiful glass-roofed galleries filled with endless chocolate and antique shops.

Out of the center of the city center, but a must for anyone interested in design and architecture is the Victor Horta Museum. It is located in his fully furnished home surrounding you with Art Nouveau detail and beautiful woodwork.  Unfortunately, the museum (a little bit of a walk from the Metro) is only open in the afternoon, so you need to manage your time.

And then there are the art museums, of the Place Royale, just above the old city. Here is where you find the Musée Royaux des Beaux Arts (Brueghel, Rubens; www.fine-arts-museum.be ), and down several levels, the 19^th-20^th century art collection (James Ensor). Almost next door, in its newly renovated building, is the Magritte collection. Brussels hopes this building will become a magnet for international tourists. I should say that one of their other very popular museums in the Comic Book museum. My children loved this place, but they also grew up in France with Tintin, Lucky Luke and others famed characters created by Belgians. I liked the Victor Horta designed building that houses the museum and pleasant café.

Brussels is full of good restaurants serving copious plates of seafood and local specialties (and yes, paper cones of fat and delicious French fries). I had lunch right next to the museums at the Museum Brasserie (3 Place Royale; you can enter from the sidewalk or from within the Beaux Arts museum; www.museumfood.be) and the food by chef Peter Goossens was excellent from the just-seared tuna to the perfect lamb. A fixed-price lunch menu makes it affordable, as does a three-course dinner menu at 35 euros. There is also a café inside the museum.

Quick note for Art Nouveau fans: I had always wanted to stay in Brussel’s Metropole Hotel but, in the end friends told me just to visit the café and lobby for a glimpse of the architecture, but stay someplace else. The website room photos were also discouraging. While the hotel still has it’s beautiful front desk and ornate café, it is very dark and needs a facelift.

In the end Brussels was a good destination for a short break. It was also very rainy! Beware that while top notch, hotels near the European parliament buildings are expensive during the week, when delegates on big budgets fill them up. 

Interesting that France’s 24-hour news channel, LCI, referred to the swine flu epidemic as the “Mexican flu” both in text and spoken news last night. Why pick on pigs, many of whom live in France, when you can blame a country across the ocean?  Actually, after the many very sad and serious televised images of farmers during the Bird flu epidemic and of course the beef bans during the Mad Cow scare, you can’t blame the pork lobby for being worried. Unlike, other viruses, however, people cannot get Swine  flu, from eating pork, a food the French love (jambon, saucisson). Still, seems the pressure might be on the media to head-off a pork scare. 

Finally a bright spot in another cool and cloudy Paris week. Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel in English) directed by Anne Fontaine came out April 22, and I was in the theater the next morning to check it out. The movie covers Chanel’s early life from the orphanage, to the beginnings of her Paris couture house. Along the way you see her determination to become someone unique, and her complete belief in her own taste and style. You also see where her signature looks come from: the Peter Pan collars, men’s shirts and jersey fabrics. The film is sprinkled with “fashion moments” as well as beautiful settings and a dashing hero. And, at the end, a very stylized, “ode-to-Chanel” fashion show for which the actual House of Chanel obviously opened its archives. Karl Lagerfeld is credited with designing the film’s star — a sometimes bratty Audrey Tautou — outfits.Overall, I liked the film, which will be released in the USA this Fall. I had read and enjoyed the biography by Edmonde Charles Roux, and I simply sat back and enjoyed the gorgeous images of country houses, horse races and the beach at Deauville. Not to mention some great clothes and excellent acting by Benoît Poelvoorde as Balsan.