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Heritage Days in Paris: new places, renovations, artistic professions and top academic institutions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12    Built by Jules Reboul from 1858, the Hôtel Potocki is one of the great Parisian mansions of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré district. It is now the seat of the consular institution, a public institution managed by elected company directors in the context of the Paris Chamber of Commerce. Its magnificent interior decor combines Napoleon III and Art Deco styles. In 1926, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry extended the original building, adding two wings enclosing the garden. Architect-decorator Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann was entrusted with developing the two wings attached to the Hôtel Potocki, in order to modernise and adapt the office space required by the consular company. Ruhlmann thus decorated the adjacent parts in both wings, as well as part of the main building. Today the façades and roofs, as well as the interior decor of the ground floor, are listed historic monuments. © All rights reserved Hôtel Potocki - Chambre de commerce de la ville de Paris 27 avenue de Friedland 75008 Paris Tel: 01 55 65 55 65 Open Saturday and Sunday. Guided tours from 9.30am to 5pm. Built by François Mansart for an extremely wealthy secretary of state of Louis XIII and later sold to the Comte de Toulouse, the son of Louis XIV and Mme de Montespan, the Hôtel de Toulouse has undergone numerous transformations over the centuries. The architect endowed it with a long gallery to house a collection of paintings and François Perrier decorated it with panelling. None of the considerable alterations have caused it to lose any of its panache. © All rights reserved Hôtel de Toulouse - Banque de France 2, rue Radziwill 75001 Paris Tel: 01 42 92 26 33 Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am-6pm. The Musée de la Légion d'honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie is housed in the Hôtel de Salm-Kyrburg, built by Pierre Rousseau from 1782 to 1787 for a German prince, Frederick III of Salm-Kyrburg. Listed as a national asset under the Revolution, on 13th May 1804 it became the headquarters of the Legion of Honour. The mansion presents a marked contrast between the severe façade of the Roman-style courtyard (with its triumphal arch and colonnades) and the graceful 18th-century façade overlooking the garden (with its semi-circular pavilion crowned with statues). Burnt down during the Commune, it was subsequently rebuilt identically. © All rights reserved Hôtel de Salm-Kyrburg - Musée de la Légion d'honneur 64 rue de Lille 75007 Paris Tel: 01 40 62 84 25 Saturday 15th September only, from 2pm to 5pm. Opened to the public on 23rd June 2006, this museum dedicated to the civilisations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas gives arts and civilisations that have been ignored or neglected for too long their rightful place. The Musée Branly constantly attracts an international crowd interested as much in the collections as in the architecture of the building, designed by Jean Nouvel. Located near the Eiffel Tower, the Musée du quai Branly is built on piles and consists of 30 multicoloured "boxes", used as display areas inside the museum; they also give volume and harmony to the exterior. The 18,000 m2 exotic garden gives the place a "jungle" aspect, in line with the architect's wishes. © E. Boucher / ViaMichelin Musée du quai Branly 222 rue de l'Université 75007 Paris Tel: 01 56 61 70 00 Metro stations: Alma-Marceau, Iéna, Bir-Hakeim. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6.30pm, late-night opening on Thursday until 9.30pm. With its monumental surrounding wall over one kilometre long, flanked by three gateways and six 42-metre tall towers, the Château de Vincennes is the largest surviving royal fortified castle in France. The 50-metre high Donjon is the tallest medieval military building in Europe. A royal residence from Charles V to Louis XIV, it subsequently served as a prison: Sade, Mirabeau and Diderot were interned here. In the 17th century, the architect Louis Le Vau built the Pavillon du Roi and Pavillon de la Reine wings for Louis XIV, but then work ceased because Versailles was concentrating all efforts. The château nevertheless retains some examples of Louis XIV style in the Grands Appartements, which can be visited - exceptionally - during these Heritage Days. Above all, don't miss the Donjon, which reopened in March after 10 years of restoration work. © E. Boucher / ViaMichelin Château de Vincennes 1 avenue de Paris 94300 Vincennes Open every day from 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 6pm. In the context of the Heritage Days and on the occasion of the anniversary of the reopening of the Museum of Decorative Arts, the spotlight is on heritage trades. About thirty craftsmen and restorers will present to the general public the works that they have carried out on the collections between 2000 and 2006. All the works presented - 6,000 items in all - have undergone restoration work. From mere dust removal to "fundamental" restoration, via cleaning followed by the reintegration of missing elements, a vast range of operations has been undertaken. At the same time, all the teams are being mobilised to publicise the institution, its role and its know-how. © G. Rouzeau / ViaMichelin Musée des Arts décoratifs 107 avenue de Rivoli 75001 Paris Téel: 01 44 55 57 50 There could be no finer tribute paid to the Heritage Days than the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine being opened to the public on 15th and 16th September. The Cité is a project without equal in the world, since it combines a museum space devoted to heritage and contemporary architecture, a school of architecture, a library, exhibition galleries, an auditorium and an educational area. During these Heritage Days, our attention will focus more particularly on the three permanent galleries: the Galerie des Moulages, presenting life-sized fragments of French architectural masterpieces from the 12th to 18th centuries; the Galerie des Peintures Murales et des Vitraux ; lastly the new Galerie Moderne et Contemporaine. The renovation of the Palais de Chaillot was entrusted to architect Jean-François Bodin, who had his heart set on showing to advantage the original layers of Davioud's palace dating from 1878, such as, for example, the marble columns of the lodge, until now hidden beneath concrete formwork, or the metal structure and glass roof of the Galerie des Moulages. Photo : Galerie des Moulages, Statuaire de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims / Galerie des peintures, Coupole de la cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors et couronnement de la Vierge de l'église Notre-Dame, Vernais (Cher). © Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine/Nicolas Borel, 2007 Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine - Palais de Chaillot 1 place du Trocadéro et du 11 novembre 75016 Paris Tel: 01 58 51 52 00. The "Village des Gobelins" is a diverse, complex place attached to the Mobilier National, the institution in charge of furnishing and decorating ministries and embassies. On Sunday 16th September, no. 3 and 6 rue Berbier du Mets is the place to be. The route from no. 42 avenue des Gobelins, closed for the occasion, to rue Berbier du Mets where the general administration of the Mobilier National is to be found, via rue Croulebarbe, will be punctuated with photographs. A speaker will welcome visitors at the Chapelle des Gobelins, with a choice of two itineraries to follow at their leisure. The first one, through the Gobelins enclosure, will allow visitors to explore the "new factory" which groups together the Beauvais and Savonnerie workshops. This is an opportunity to discover the truly unique art of the knot stitch carpet ("tapis au point noué") as perpetuated by the Savonnerie workshop, or the "basse-lisse" (low-warp) tapestry technique as employed by the Beauvais factory. Tapestry makers will be present to comment on works in progress. The second itinerary consists of open access to the Grande Galerie des Gobelins, which was restored and reopened last spring. Photo : Etienne Revault Manufacture des Gobelins 43, avenue des Gobelins 75013 Paris Tél. : 01 44 08 52 00 Open saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm. Created in Vincennes in 1740, the Manufacture de Sèvres (national porcelain factory) has stood on the banks of the Seine since 1756. Here trades and traditions that have been handed down orally since the 18th century and are unique in Europe, have been preserved. The factory has always collaborated with artists from outside, such as, in his time, the painter François Boucher. This policy is now conducted more vigorously than ever, hence part of the contemporary output has been produced in collaboration with Arman, Calder, Ettore Sottsass and even Jeff Koons. During the Heritage Days, the public has the opportunity to discover two great, living institutions: the factory, with its unique know-how and its 19th century architecture listed as an historic monument, as well as the Museum's unparalleled collections of ceramics, which come from all over the world and from all eras. © G. Rouzeau / ViaMichelin Manufacture nationale de Sèvres 2, place de la Manufacture 92310 Sèvres Tel.: 01 46 29 22 00. Open saturday and Sunday 9am-6pm. Created in 1758, the Fonderie Susse is now the oldest art foundry in France and is listed in the national heritage inventory. This company, internationally renowned for the quality of its casting, has always worked for the most prestigious artists. The casting and lost wax workshop, the size of the kilns and the lifting equipment make it possible to produce bronzes up to 5 tonnes and 6 metres tall. The greatest artists have been to their workshops at some time or other, from Bourdelle to Barye, Arp to Brancusi, and also including Cocteau. The foundry is opening its doors to the public on the Saturday only, for guided tours without demonstrations. © Archives Susse Fondeur Susse Fondeur 7 avenue Jeanne d'Arc 94110 Arcueil Tel: 01 46 57 53 53 Open Saturday only, 9am-6pm. Set in 84 acres on either side of the Porte d'Arcueil, the campus of the Cité Universitaire is a veritable international town, whose first house - the Fondation Deutsch-de-la-Meurthe - was built in 1922. The work of true architects, each house evokes the atmosphere of the country it represents through its exterior style and interior details alike. On the Heritage Days there is open access to the grounds, pavilions and the Cité's heritage resource centre. Two guided tours will allow visitors to explore either the west grounds, with the Collège Néerlandais (Dutch college, M. Dudock, 1927), Fondation Abreu de Grancher and Résidence Lucien Paye, or the east grounds, with the Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre, Maison du Japon (Pierre Sardou, 1929) and Fondation Suisse (Le Corbusier, 1932). Other guided tours, conducted by heritage architects, will focus on one place in particular, such as the Résidence du Cambodge or Résidence André de Gouvéia. © G. Rouzeau / ViaMichelin Cité universitaire internationale 7 bd Jourdan 75014 Paris Tel: 01 43 13 65 96 Guided tours (east grounds / west grounds): 2.30pm, 4pm and 5pm (same-day reservation at reception) Situated a stone's throw from the Panthéon, the Lycée Henri IV is the temple of academic excellence à la française, where Jean-Paul Sartre and André Gide went to school. Built between the 12th and 17th centuries, some of the present lycée's buildings were originally part of the old Sainte-Geneviève Abbey and form a wonderful complex. This is true of the Tour Clovis - Romanesque base, Gothic upper levels (the abbey's old bell tower) - the kitchens and the old refectory with its ribbed vaults (now the lycée's chapel). Also be sure to visit the galleries of the library (now a foyer), lit by an immense central dome. Volunteers from the Paris Historique association will be there during these two days to welcome and introduce you to this jewel of the History of France. © DR Lycée Henri IV 23 rue Clovis 75005 Paris Tél. 01 48 87 74 31 |
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