Since 1911, when an employee of the Parisian Louvre walked out with the Mona Lisa under his arm, there had not been a theft of such perplexity inside the world's most famous, large, and visited museum. Until a few days ago, when France suffered the robbery (and embarrassment) of the century after the theft of some jewels from its crown from a couple of showcases in the Apollo gallery in broad daylight. The incident has not diminished the tourist appeal that the French capital arouses. Quite the opposite. If before half the world wanted to explore the endless rooms of the art gallery, now even more so. The artistic interest is now combined with the curiosity to discover on-site how the events unfolded.
And even though the Louvre was already among the highlights of autumn in Paris, one of the seasons that suits it best, when the summer crowds and hustle and bustle evaporate, the streets, boulevards, and avenues are dyed with shades of brown leaves, and the icy cold has not yet arrived. If more reasons are needed, Transavia, the low-cost airline of the Air France-KLM group and the second best in its category in Europe —its customer service ranks first—, offers flights starting at 19 euros from 18 airports in Spain, including the islands.
The itinerary we propose through the city of light includes museums like the recently assaulted one, but also renovated hotels, pleasant parks and gardens, historic restaurants, original shops, festivals, and even a private tour in one of the quintessential French vehicles, the Citroën DS, known as the shark for its curious elongated silhouette with the roofline gently sloping like a shark's snout. A true sculpture on wheels.
This is the first plan to explore the metropolis accompanied by Dov Hagege, the friendly driver and guide of the company Classic 60's Paris Tours. "Its famous hydropneumatic suspension makes it very safe and comfortable as you don't feel the irregularities. Do you notice it?" he comments to passengers as an initial fact of his masterclass on this motor icon launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1955. Developed in secret for 18 years and then continued to be manufactured for another 20, becoming one of the most beautiful and acclaimed cars in history.
This one, in an elegant beige color, is from 1972 and there is no traffic light where it stops without people taking photos of it. "People love it," says Hagege as he crosses the Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides, the Alexandre III Bridge, the Opera, the Arc de Triomphe, or the Champs-Élysées. "We visit key sites, but we adapt to the travelers, reaching the Sorbonne or Versailles if requested," he adds as he passes by the gigantic trunk with the Louis Vuitton logo that hides the facade of the future luxury hotel of the brand, which will open in 2026.
After admiring the column of the Place Vendôme (and its exclusive boutiques around) it is time, of course, for a stop at the Eiffel Tower. But before that, we capture one of its most fabulous views from a side street, right in front of one of those architectural treasures barely known, the Lavirotte building on Avenue Rapp, 29, one of the best examples of art nouveau in the city. "It's not the typical place that appears in guidebooks, but it's a marvel," points out Hagege from the favorite car of Charles de Gaulle (the former French president commissioned a customized model as his official vehicle), Jean Paul Belmondo, Brigitte Bardot, Orson Welles, Marcello Mastroianni, or Jackie Kennedy, who used it during her stays in Paris.
The vintage tour also reaches the bohemian Montmartre, with the legendary Moulin Rouge, the often immortalized Place du Tertre, the photogenic vineyard semi-hidden on its hill, or the restaurant Le Bon Bock, the oldest in the neighborhood. Opened in 1879 among cafes, artists' workshops, and brothels, it was frequented by Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet, Van Gogh, or Apollinaire, who sometimes gave their owners a sketch or a painting as payment for their drinks.
These could be for a plate of caramelized onion soup, cow marrow, or duck with Suzette sauce (menu stars) and some good absinthe shots, which remains the characteristic drink of the place. Many of these works decorated the walls among red velvet armchairs, dim chandeliers, aged wooden counters, creaky floors, and the piano bar in the back room, with live music now from Thursday to Sunday.
After the gastronomic tribute, it's time to rest at the Spanish-stamped base chosen for the getaway, the NH Collection Paris Ponthieu Champs-Élysées, located in the middle of the Golden Triangle formed by the avenues Montaigne, Champs-Élysées, and George V. Recently renovated to become one of the premium offspring of the Minor chain in the city, it stands in a historic building from 1910, whose facade resembles the original.
The interior has been remodeled following the refined Parisian aesthetic where every detail counts. From books about fashion greats like Coco Chanel, Azzedine Alaïa, or Karl Lagerfeld that dot the design lobby to the Eiffel Tower-shaped gummy candies in the rooms (87), decorated with black and white photos of emblematic corners of the city, or the signature cocktails of the lounge bar.
In the culinary chapter, its neo-bistro L'Angle des Champs stands out, where they serve both the generous breakfast buffet (the homemade cakes are addictive, whether carrot or lemon) and the reinterpretations of national classics (pay attention to the pâtés, leeks in gribiche sauce, or Burgundy snails with butter and parsley) and the Iberian specialties (from bravas potatoes to pork cracklings or even the Asturian cachopo) that make up the fusion menu for lunch and dinner.
Another strong point of the hotel is the offer of original activities for guests to feel like locals," says Jairo Jaramillo, Guest Relations Manager. From the aforementioned tour in a shark to a macaron class organized with the Ladurée luxury pastry house, inventor of the famous double version of this very French sweet. Not to mention a shopping tour with a personal shopper.
We take a step further and sign up for a sewing course for experts and novices, a plan to discover the city in a different way recommended by the Tourism Office. This one, in particular, is one of the 8,000 workshops held throughout the country by Wecandoo, a successful platform that supports the work of over 4,000 local artisans. In each workshop, participants create their own beer, perfume, ceramic piece, or denim jacket.
The person in charge of leading this latest option is Marie Marquet, designer and founder of the concept-store MimiMe Paris, a kind of immersion full of color, excess, glitter, and teddy bears in the dreamlike universe of Alice in Wonderland, which could well be herself in an adult version with a fuchsia mane.
After working for Chanel, Hermès, or Balmain and making hats for Lady Gaga, Marquet set up her headquarters in the central Montorgueil neighborhood, surrounded by florists, bars, art galleries, and impressive 19th-century passages like Grand-Cerf (1825). There, she helps her students create their dream garment among fabrics, rhinestones, patches, embroideries, and all kinds of decorative elements. From Barbie to Spiderman or an original scarf from Yves Saint Laurent. "Madonna came with her children and they left delighted, just like Natalie Portman," recalls the expert, needle in hand, while putting the finishing touch (the Rolling Stones' mouth) on a client's sweatshirt. From there to the sewing machine. And the invention is finished.
The exploration of Paris continues hand in hand with its Autumn Festival, which has been starting in September since 1972 and doesn't end until January with concerts, exhibitions, screenings, plays, performances, or dance shows located at around 50 addresses. From Odeon to Niemeyer Space, the Theater of La Concordia, the National Dramatic Center, the Stock Exchange-Pinault Collection, the City of Music, or the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, which has just inaugurated its new headquarters in a building redesigned by Jean Nouvel combining stone, glass, and steel in the Plaza of the Royal Palace. After 41 years on the outskirts, the move to the center highlights this 6,500 m² space divided into five mobile platforms up to 11 meters high that will adapt to the different proposals that arise. Like the retrospective of its four decades of life staged in 600 works.
The foundation has served as an example for other luxury brands to create their own, such as Louis Vuitton, which hired Frank Gehry to build it among lakes, gardens, and greenhouses in the Boulogne forest. There, you can see an exhibition about the career of the German painter Gerhard Richter. For those looking for more outdoor events, a stroll along the banks of the Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens, or the Tuileries, where exhibitions, recitals, and daily dances take place.
After a gourmet break to taste the creative cuisine of the art deco-style Hollywood Savoy restaurant —try their lobster linguine and grenobloise sole— it's time for museums. The first to visit could be the Louvre, with its two masterful temporary exhibitions, one about the neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David and another about the sketches of the Roman frescoes in the Farnese Gallery in Rome.
Special mention goes to John Singer Sargent. Dazzling Paris at the Musee d'Orsay, which brings together more than 90 works by the American artist who achieved his first successes in France. Not to be missed are Portrait of Madame Gautreau or Madame X (1885), the celebrity of the time that caused a scandal for insinuating too much. The Palais Garnier, on the other hand, compiles its 150 years of history in a grand series. And you can now see how the Grand Palais has turned out after the renovation carried out by the Chatillon Architectes studio after consulting 3,000 archive plans and drawings. The aim was to return to the original version of the monument, erected for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, but adapting it to current requirements. Goal achieved. Don't leave without trying the new café in the east wing.
The journey can end at any of the 130 museums in Paris (entry is free on the first Sunday of the month from November to March), but obviously, choices must be made. To start, forget about the Pompidou because it has just closed for renovation until 2030. Instead, you can enjoy exhibitions about The People of Paris at Carnavalet or Cleopatra at the Arab World Institute. The medieval museum of Cluny surprises with the myth of the unicorn, and the Maison Victor Hugo does the same with the author of Les Miserables' decorator side. How about ending in Versailles recalling the figure of Louis of France, the Grand Dauphin?
PRACTICAL GUIDE
HOW TO GET THERE
Transavia (transavia.com), the low-cost airline of the Air France-KLM group, flies from various points in Spain (from Madrid to Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, or the islands) from 19 euros to Paris-Orly airport, where a driverless direct metro line takes you to the city center. Last summer, the company broke its record in Spain, with over 1.4 million passengers and 93% occupancy. Hence, their growth forecasts. "These results confirm the central role of the Spanish market in the Transavia network, both in terms of passenger volume and profitability," highlights Julien Mallard, Deputy General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Transavia France.
The airline has been chosen as the second-best low-cost airline in Europe and the fifth worldwide in the latest World Airline Awards Skytrax, as well as ranking first in terms of Customer Service. Among the reasons are its competitive prices and flexibility, as it allows ticket resale if not used up to an hour before the flight. If another traveler buys it, the holder can receive a refund from 50% up to the full amount of the taxes.
WHERE TO STAY
NH Collection Paris Ponthieu Champs-Élysées (nh-collection.com). A pleasant 87-room design hotel recently completely renovated. Its location is ideal, next to the Champs-Élysées, in the heart of the Golden Triangle. The concierge organizes personalized activities for guests such as a ride in a Citroën Ds or a macaron workshop. You must also try the bistro L'Angle des Champs, open for buffet breakfast as well as lunch and dinner, offering French and Spanish dishes.
MORE INFORMATION
On the website of the Paris Tourist Office: parisjetaime.com