Oh Paris

My mother, who instilled me with a fierce love for Halloween lore and festivities, always asks me if I’m doing anything to celebrate in Paris. “Meh,” I inevitably say, “It’s just not happening here. I’ll probably just end up making pumpkin soup again.” In France, I explain, Halloween is a recent import associated strongly with candy companies and “American imperialism”, and the spirit’s just not there. Also, while France counts regions such as Brittany, whose Celtic roots have infused the local culture with a fair share of legends, superstitions and tall tales, the dominant culture in the country is one of Cartesian logic. I always joke that ghosts don’t bother haunting the old mansions and cemeteries of Paris anymore, since no one believes in them anyway.

In short, if you’re looking for Halloween fun in Paris, be aware that it’s a pretty sparse affair here. However, there are still ways to celebrate the season in spite of the lack of Halloween ambiance.

• Manning Leonard Krull’s spirited new site documenting the weird and unusual in the city of light, Cool Stuff in Paris, has an entertaining and helpful guide to Halloween in Paris.
• This year, historic arthouse cinema Le Champo is hosting a midnight Halloween tribute to American neogothic filmmaker Tim Burton, with a marathon including Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and Corpse Bride. The festival begins at midnight, so try to get tickets ahead.
  Location: Le Champo Cinemas, 51 rue des Ecoles– Metro Odéon or Cluny La Sorbonne

• Finally, All Saint’s Day on November 1st is a solemn, peaceful holiday commemorating the dead. At Père Lachaise cemetery, Montparnasse Cemetery or Montmartre Cemetery, a long stroll among the flower-decorated graves is a more culturally authentic way of marking the passage into Autumn.

Halloween in Paris (?) originally appeared on About.com Paris Travel on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 07:41:37.

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Wine lovers, take note: Le Tour d’Argent, one of Paris’s “crème de la crème” restaurants, is looking to get rid of thousands of bottles from its massive collection of wines, champagne and other specialties. According to CNN, the cellar will be auctioning off around 18,000 items from its collection of 450,000 bottles in Paris on December 7th and 8th, hoping to raise over $1 million to revamp the historic restaurant. Some of the bottles are hardly drinkable but will be coveted by collectors as artifacts: the collection includes a 1788 cognac and a bottle of champagne dating to 1815. These will obviously not be accessible to most of us, but some of the more modest “crus” are expected to go for as little as $30 for several bottles, according to CNN.

Tour d’Argent Wine Cellar Selling Off Prized Bottles originally appeared on About.com Paris Travel on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 09:10:25.

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I spent an afternoon at the FIAC today (see related post below) and took a few mostly impressionistic shots of the main show at the Grand Palais. I regret not getting over to the Tuileries/Louvre part of the event, which is hosting a riveting program of outdoor installations and performance art, according to sources far more imbibed in the Paris art scene than myself.

Without further ado, enjoy my brief glimpse into the 2009 FIAC show. And for those of you planning to hit the exhibit on the last day tomorrow, be aware that lines are likely to be long. You can attempt to reserve tickets online here.

Go Further: FIAC 2009 in Pictures

Just Back From FIAC: A Few Pictures of the 2009 Edition originally appeared on About.com Paris Travel on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 16:11:34.

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