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

It turns out that spring is not just around the corner, in fact its been raining for days. Under grey skies Paris is a city for museums, or for a newspaper and a hot chocolate in a local café. There’s something to be said for the traditional French comforts.

Hearty, but cosmopolitan comfort is what you’ll find at the GranTerroir (30, rue Miromesnil 75008; Tel: 01 47 42 18 18; www.granterroirs.com). The GranTerroir is part of a new trend in Paris for more relaxed, convivial dining, that’s anything but dull. A bit like dining in a gourmet food or wine shop, the restaurant walls are lined with shelves stocked with everything from Burgundy, to honey to pesto. Diners sit at tables for two or larger family-styled tables, all in wood. I arrived for lunch with one of our THIS CITY photographers. The crowd was a mix of business and media types from the areas office and a few Brits. With Sylvie orchestrating the front of house, people are greeted like old friends. A small plate of sliced saucisson appears on the table as you read the seasonal menu (lots of choices for under 15 euros). We had the ravioli in a rich creamy pesto sauce, which while delicious left little space for dessert. Open lunch only. An address to consider if you are visiting the nearby Jacquemart-André museum and aren’t going to be eating in their dining room (another nice spot for lunch in Paris).