Travel through Paris with R. Couri Hay. R. Couri Hay, a New York City-based publicist and founder of R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations. He started his career as one of the original contributing editors to Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine and went on to write for a variety of publications including Travel Squire and Social Life. Travels with Couri takes you on an adventure to some of the most premier resorts and locations around the world. Follow along with Couri as he shares some tips, tricks, and recommendations when traveling. From floating bars in Jamaica to art galleries in Berlin, Travels with Couri will inspire you to travel the world and become immersed in new cultures.
City of Light & Art
If you are eager to escape NYC and go to Paris for your bi-annual wining, dining, shopping and museum expedition, you will have to wait awhile before you can fly direct. That said, you can book a flight to London but you will need to quarantine at Claridge’s, St. James, Rosewood or the Goring for two weeks; then you can go to France! Once in the city of light, you will find a buffet of interesting activities unlike anywhere else. Every season offers a different perspective, and once you get situated at the Ritz, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, or the Four Seasons Hotel George V, you’ll find yourself effortlessly drifting from museum to restaurant and from the luxury stores of Avenue Montaigne to the Champs-Elysees. One realm in which this elegant, walkable city outshines perhaps any other is in its cultural offerings. Art, music, dance, opera, theater and more is everywhere; the treasures to be found in its world-famous museums are unparalleled. You could easily spend a week exploring the art scene in Paris and barely scratch the surface. And with countless world-class exhibitions from around the globe making stops in Paris, there is always something new to see no matter how many times you visit. As the saying goes, Paris is always a good idea. After closing for several months due to the pandemic, most of Paris’s museums reopened by early July, but now require advance booking of time-stamped tickets online, to avoid crowds at check-in and throughout the galleries. Patrons are required to wear face masks while on the premises, naturellement.
Christo at Centre Pompidou
The Pompidou reopened to the public on July 1 with a stellar retrospective dedicated to Christo and
Jeanne-Claude’s Paris projects. Originally scheduled to open on May 13 but scuttled by the pandemic, the exhibition is especially poignant as Christo passed at age 84 on May 31, 2020. This don’t-miss show through October 19 explores the couple’s decade-long project to wrap the Pont-Neuf, as well as their Parisian period from 1958–1964. The exhibit was originally scheduled to coincide with Christo’s newest monumental work, wrapping the “Arc De Triomphe”; however, that project has been moved to Sept. 18 – Oct. 3, 2021. Christo explained, “For me, the real world involves everything: risk, danger, beauty, and energy.” He concluded, “The work of art is a scream of freedom.” Before he left this Earth, Christo hoped and instructed that all the projects he and Jeanne-Claude had planned but not completed should be done posthumously.
Francis Bacon
Centre Pompidou had a masterful exhibition by Francis Bacon last year which examined the literary influences on his work. The Irish-born Bacon possessed an immense collection of books and said that literature was his “imagination material.” “I need to visualize things that lead me to other forms, that lead me to visualize forms that lead me to other forms or subjects, details, images that influence my nervous system and transform the basic idea,” said Bacon, who was always maddeningly vague about what influenced his paintings. You can see works by Bacon in Paris at the Musée Cantini, Musée National d’Art Moderne and the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain.
The Louvre
In Paris, special exhibitions are abound and even the most skeptical art lover will find their niche. The Louvre reopened to the public on July 3. Two special exhibitions slated for October 2020, “Body and Soul: Italian Renaissance Sculpture from Donatello to Michelangelo” and “Albrecht Altdorfer, a German Renaissance Master” have been postponed until January, 2021. Few artists have universal appeal like Leonardo Da Vinci, which The Louvre celebrated with an unprecedented retrospective in 2019, the 500-year anniversary of his death. Considered a genius with interests in science, invention, architecture, mathematics, music, literature, botany and geology, Da Vinci is most famous as apainter. His masterworks include the Mona Lisa, permanently displayed in the Denon Wing of the Louvre, and the long-lost Salvator Mundi, which famously sold for a record $450 million in 2017. “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen,” Da Vinci said. Whether there’s a blockbuster exhibition or not when you visit, the Louvre’s permanent collection is supreme. Don’t forget the magnificent Richelieu sculptures, and the main galleries, which house some of the most important paintings in the world. louvre.fr/en.com
“The Ceiling” by Cy Twombly
The Louvre in itself is a work of art and the beautiful ceilings are responsible for craning the necks of visitors. Those magnificent, ornate ceilings extend throughout the museum, as befits what was the castle of the French kings until 1682, when Louis XIV decamped and made the Palace of Versailles his royal residence. The Louvre served various purposes until 1793, after the French Revolution, when it was declared a museum. The Louvre contains three especially famous ceilings, permanent works commissioned by the museum. In 1850, Eugene Delacroix created “Apollo Slays the Python” for the gilded ceiling of the Apollo Gallery, and in 1953 Georges Braque’s “The Birds” made its nest on another ceiling, in the former king’s antechamber. In the Salle des Bronzes Antiques, not far from the Mona Lisa, you’ll find “The Ceiling,” created in 2010 by Cy Twombly, the first American artist to be invited to add a permanent work to the Louvre, one of France’s most cherished monuments. It is said that the Twombly commission, which depicts a blue sky with floating spheres inscribed with the names of Greek sculptors, was part of an effort by the museum to integrate contemporary art into the historic space.
Musée de l’Orangerie – Monet’s Water Lilies
The Musée de l’Orangerie reopened on June 22, with only Claude Monet’s Water Lilies accessible through the summer of 2020. Rather you’ve seen them before or not, I urge you to visit the Musée and get lost within Monet’s gorgeous Water Lilies compositions. Installed to the artist’s specifications, the exhibition aims to immerse the viewer as you are completely surrounded with the Water Lilies in two oval rooms. Monet even took into consideration the natural light provided by the glass roof – the space was originally a greenhouse for citrus trees – so the works are positioned from west to east to take advantage of the way in which the light travels through the course of the day.
Magritte, Modigliani, Rousseau & Cezanne
On September 16, the “Giorgio de Chirico, Metaphysical painting” exhibit opens through December 14. Originally scheduled for April but delayed by the pandemic, the exhibit explores the many influences on Chirico’s work, from avant-garde artists of his era to the cultural and literary circles of Paris. From Feb. 10 – June 21, 2021, L’Orangerie along with Musée d’Orsay will present “Magritte in Full Sunlight: the Renoir Period,” which explores Rene Magritte’s post-war work that was heavily inspired by Renoir. For the first time, it will compare the work of both artists, as well as more contemporary pieces by Picabia, Jeff Koons, and others. The lower level of Musée de l’Orangerie contains a superb collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works, with masterpieces by Renoir, Picasso, Modigliani, Maurice Utrillo, Cezanne, Rousseau and Matisse. As you pull yourself away from the Water Lilies, take time to stroll around outside, as the l’Orangerie’s setting is perfect, by the River Seine, and inside the Tuileries Gardens, one of Paris’s most beautiful parks. Stroll over to the newly renovated Hotel Ritz for a sublime lunch.
Musée d’Orsay: The Land of Monsters
Just across the Seine from L’Orangerie lies its sister, The Musée d’Orsay housing the world’s largest permanent collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings by artists including Renoir, Degas, Monet, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Manet, Cezanne and others. With work of such magnitude, a tour through the Musée d’Orsay serves as a graduate course in art history. La musée reopened in late June, extending two special exhibitions that were interrupted by the pandemic. “The Land of Monsters: Léopold Chauveau and “James Tissot: Ambiguously Modern” will both remain though September 13. At press time, the D’Orsay had a full slate of exhibitions planned, including Aubrey Beardsley scheduled for October 2020, Swiss Modernists for March 2021, and Impressionist Decorations for April 2021.
FIAC Art Fair
Every year, in the fall, from Oct 22nd – 25th the Grand Palais hosts the prestigious FIAC International Contemporary Art Fair, aka the Foire Internationale D’art Contemporain, which draws top galleries from around the world showing the works of the most innovative and influential artists working in modern art. As of press time, FIAC says that they are on schedule to hold the fair but if the pandemic takes a turn for the worse, a cancellation is still possible. The Grand Palais will undergo major renovations, which will allow FIAC to add even more than the current 199 booths, beginning in 2024. fiac.com
Hotel George V
The very best food and ambiance in Paris can be found at the Hotel George V and its celestial restaurant Le Cinq. With its impeccably designed and decorated interiors, the Hotel George V is a delight to the senses, even if you’re simply walking through the lobby, which adorned with magnificent, wildly creative floral arrangements by artistic director Jeff Leatham. At the end of October, a marriage of red lilies and green hydrangea flowers magnify the holiday spirit. At Christmas time, the lobby of this elegant Four Seasons Hotel is a virtual forest of Christmas trees; some are magically suspended upside down in black padded leather and mirrored boxes. They fly in 15,000 flowers each month from around the world for their inspired arrangements. fourseasons.com
Le Cinq’s Three-Michelin-stars
Le Cinq, the George V’s three-Michelin-star rated restaurant headed by Chef Christian Le Squer, is just as spectacular, yet it’s the cuisine that attracts gourmands from seven continents and takes your breath away. Le Cinq is a personal favorite of mine for a gourmet lunch; spontaneous dinner reservations are rare, so if you haven’t booked ahead have your concierge reserve you a banquette at lunch. The roasted ceps mushrooms scented with Chateau-chalon wine and the crispy sweetbreads are unparalleled; and if you’re there in November during white truffle season, consider yourself lucky, as the dishes which utilize them are to die for. Your palette will land in Valhalla from the first inspired amuse-bouches to the moment the waiters lift off the silver domes to release the sublime aroma of white truffles wafting from a gold-leaf lined bowl filled with a savory broth. restaurant-lecinq.com
Caviar Kaspia
A fun choice for dinner is Caviar Kaspia—a great place to have a party in their private room which holds up to 32 people. The main course here is the titular caviar served in generous scoops on a baked potato, which is absolutely scrumptious. I also recommend the salmon served on a pancake, or the crab salad, all washed down with vodka and champagne. A Paris institution since the 1920s, Caviar Kaspia offers a luxurious, old-world Russian experience in a sumptuous setting with richly paneled walls and magnificent table settings. Perennially popular with both locals and visitors, this place is far from stuffy – it is always fully booked during Fashion Week, and regularly collaborates with fashion designers and artists like Giambattista Valli, Olympia Le-Tan and Carine Roitfeld. Celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Jay Z have all dined here. In addition to the exquisite restaurant, there’s a shop offering a range of caviars, seafood, smoked fish and gourmet foods. thecaviarkaspiagroup.com
Notre Dame
Visiting Notre Dame Cathedral is equal parts heart-breaking and hopeful, as it stands scarred with the destruction of last year’s devastating fire; however, scaffolding signifies a rebirth as construction commences on the cathedral to restore it to its former glory.
Top hotels
If you’re not staying at a friend’s palatial hôtel particulier in the Quai d’Orsay like I did, the top hotels remain the Ritz, the Hotel Plaza Athena, the Four Seasons George V., and the Crillon, which is re-opening after extensive renovations, on August 24th. I love visiting all the hotels for breakfast, lunch, tea, cocktails, or dinner as they all teem with vigor and attractive people. ritzparis.co