Paris Dreaming
Everyone has their Paris list, we asked a few of our favorite residents for their secret addresses, far from the maddening crowds...
Designer Secrets
Paris is always a good idea—even in January when hundreds of interior designers and furniture and fabric retailers and manufacturers head to the city for the massive Maison & Objet trade show, and the more casual Deco Off, where fabric houses showcase their new offerings. They come for the round of breakfasts, cocktails and parties, and they come for the city, of course. And the city has far more to offer than just Le Voltaire and the Louvre. Two stylish residents share their Paris secrets.
Timothy Corrigan, interior designer:
If you really want to make a personal statement, there is nothing like creating your own scent. At Nicolaï Parfumeur, you can do exactly that. Founded by Patricia de Nicolaï, a direct descendant of the founder of Guerlain, this boutique perfumery, with seven shops around the city, creates some of the most spectacular scents anywhere, and will happily devise one just for you.
Most visitors don’t know about the Musée Marmottan-Monet, which has one of the world’s largest collections of Claude Monet’s work. Housed in what was a hunting lodge, this small museum also offers works by Berthe Morisot.
The newly renovated Bibliothèque Nationale Richelieu is now open to the public and its famous Oval Reading Room is a treat, in all its Belle Epoque opulence.
One of the most sought-after lunch or dinner reservations in Paris is Le Grand Café in the Grand Palais, just off the Champs-Elysée. Opened last summer, its sumptuous interiors by Joseph Dirand have become the place to see and be seen.
Lynn Gumpert, curator and former director of the Grey Art Museum, NYU:
There are many artists’ foundations and small museums in Paris, including the quirky Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. Less well-known is the Fondation Arp in the suburb of Clamart, easily accessible by the RER or Uber. Sophie Tauber-Arp designed the house and ateliers which are filled with works by her and her husband, Jean. It’s both intimate and spectacular.
My newest favorite pocket park is the Jardin Berthe-Weill, next to the Musée Picasso. Full disclosure—I’m one the curators of the exhibition, Berthe Weill Galeriste d’Avant-Garde, at the Musée de l’Orangerie through January 26. This small jewel was named after the little-known but formidable art dealer, the first to sell works by Picasso, Matisse, Dufy, Dean, after opening her gallery in 1901.
One of my favorite Left Bank spots is Galerie Documents. Not only is the owner, Mireille Romand, a renowned poster expert, but she features portfolios filled with small lithographic items from the 1880s onwards—menus, wine labels, liqueurs, and tin cans. She also runs Galerie Documents 15 around the corner, one of the few spots in the city devoted to contemporary artists’ prints.
