ArtandCulture, Troyes

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint-Remi Basilica is a collection of history and art which should not be missed. The 11th century Romanesque nave was lengthened by two transepts at the end of the 12th century to render it accessible to a greater number of pilgrims. At the same time, the facade was reconstructed, while a choir ambulatory and radiating chapels were created. While the Gothic style is apparent in these transformations, they in no way altered the homogeneity and serenity of the church. It contains Saint Remi's tomb, a collection of 12th century stain-glass windows and a Cattiaux grand organ, inaugurated in the year 2000. https://www.reims-tourism.com/basilique-saint-remi/reims/pcu0000000000733

Transformed at the end of the 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Robert de Cotte, the Palace of Tau still holds rooms that have retained their medieval aspect. This is the case with the Palatine Chapel (13th century) and the Tau Room, in which the coronation banquet was held. Decorating the walls are 15th century tapestries which tell the story of "Mighty King Clovis". The royal treasury's most remarkable objects are Charlemagne's talisman (9th century) and Saint Remi's chalice (12th century). The Sainte-Ampoule, or "holy flask", contains the holy oil with which new kings were anointed during the coronation ceremony. https://www.reims-tourism.com/palais-du-tau/reims/pcu0000000000855

Every trip to the capital deserves a visit to the Louvre to discover the wealth of treasures it contains. The museum houses western works of art dating from the Middle Ages to 1848, in addition to collections of ancient oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman civilizations, as well as graphic and Islamic arts. From room to room, the former royal palace reveals its masterpieces to the public: the Mona Lisa, The Raft of the Medusa, the Venus de Milo, and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. In total, there are 35,000 works to be discovered or re-discovered! With its eight hundred year old history, the Louvre has been influenced by numerous architectural trends, from the medieval fortress of the 12th century to the glass pyramid by Pei (1989). The latest addition, housing the Islamic arts section, was designed by architects Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti. The undulating glass canopy covers the Visconti courtyard, flooding the 2,800 m² new wing with light. A visit to the museum is particularly pleasant at night: the Louvre is less crowded and visitors can enjoy stunning night-time views of Pei’s glass pyramid, the Cour Carrée and the Seine. https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71065/Musee-du-Louvre

Discover a completely renovated Grévin Museum in Paris. Experience the Spirit of Paris of yesterday and of today with astounding scenes : the major events of the 20th Century, French history and the latest news. The brasserie, the theatre, artists' studios. all the legendary Parisian haunts where you will rub shoulders with the "Tout Paris" celebrities. Three hundred wax figures are waiting to meet you at the Grévin Museum, to be photographed with you, to be remembered forever... http://www.paris-paris-paris.com/paris_landmarks/museums/grevin_museum_paris

The musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac is the heir to 200 years of history, enrichment, study and conservation of public collections. It conserves almost 370,000 works originating in Africa, the Near East, Asia, Oceania and the Americas which illustrate the richness and cultural diversity of the non-European civilisations from the Neolithic period (+/-10,000 B.C.) to the 20th century. http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/

The Eiffel tower history represents a part of national heritage. It's as been the symbol of France and Paris for decades. But when Gustave Eiffel achived its construction in 1889, the tower was only meant to be temporary in the Parisian landscape and was far from being the parisians' favourite landmark. Discover the evolution and the history of the Paris Eiffel Tower.The most popular tourist place in Paris has stretched to the Parisian skies for 127 years. Although now symbolic of France, it wasn’t meant to last. Without a doubt, the turning point in the Eiffel Tower history took place at the 1889 Universal Exposition. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, a competition was organized with the aim to “build on the Champ-de-Mars an iron tower with a square base, 125 meters wide and 300 meters high.” Out of the 107 proposals submitted, Gustave Eiffel’s was chosen. By his side were engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier as well as architect Stephen Sauvestre. https://www.pariscityvision.com/en/paris/landmarks/eiffel-tower/history

The Palais de Tokyo, an art deco building that dates from 1937, reopened in 2001 after a new interior design by French architects Anne Lacaton & Jean-Philippe Vassal who selected rough and ready style (concrete floor, wall and roof). Today the most creative and fun museum in Paris, the only one to be open till midnight. The Palais de Tokyo, which is right next door to the Musée d'Art Moderne at the Trocadero, has opened as a showcase for contemporary art. The idea is to have no permanent collections, but to let experimental artists have somewhere in central Paris to express themselves, hence an opening full of “installation” and “interactive” art. There is no permanent collection; instead, dynamic temporary exhibits spread over a large, open space that's reminiscent of a construction site, with a trailer for a ticket booth. http://www.paris-paris-paris.com/paris_landmarks/museums/palais_de_tokyo_paris

Raised over command of Napoleon Ier, the Arch of Triumph dominates the Avenue of the Champs-Elysées. Its construction began in 1806 and ended in 1836, 15 years after the Napoleon's death. It is possible to reach the roof of the monument. The perspective of The Louvre - Concorde Square - Grand Arch of Defense is superb. It's one of the most beautifull panorama of Paris. The site on which the monument stands is called the Place de l'étoile, because of the multicolored star built into the pavement of the roundabout. The arch is 50 meters high, 45 meters wide, and 22 meters thick and is decorated with low relieves which evoke the battles of the French first Republic and Empire periods (1789-1815). http://www.paris-paris-paris.com/paris_landmarks/monuments/arc_de_triomphe

The history of the Palace of Versailles starts at the 17th century. It was first a hunting lodge, then a seat of power, and finally, from the 19th century onwards, a museum. Composed of the Palace, the gardens, the Park, the Trianon estate and several buildings in town, today the Estate of Versailles spreads over more than 800 hectares. http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate

The first decentralized satellite of a French museum, the Centre Pompidou-Metz is a masterpiece of contemporary architecture. Conceptualized by the architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, with Philip Gumuchdjian, who also designed the prizewinning project, there are three exhibition spaces covered by an audacious roof inspired by a Chinese hat. http://www.tourisme-metz.com/en/centre-pompidou-metz-et-musees/centre-pompidou-metz_s.html#.WieZ3bT1UWo

Construction of the theatre began in 1738 but work was delayed by a number of problems (war, embezzlement etc.). The first theatrical performance only took place 14 years later. However, it is the oldest theatre still in use in France today. http://www.tourisme-metz.com/en/sites-and-monuments/opera-theatre-de-metz-metropole-1_s.html#.Wieaw7T1UWo

What gives this garden its special charm is the sculpted vegetation: the hedges, the distinctively French lime trees, the immaculate lawns, the beautifully trimmed yews, which are enhanced by the less orderly arrangement of the flower-beds and ponds. The Prés Fichaux, inaugurated in 1930, still boasts typically Art Deco ornaments and statues which earned its addition to the supplementary inventory of historic monuments in 1990. http://www.ville-bourges.fr/_en/site/heritage_parks-gardens

As the town residence of the Grand Duke, the grand-ducal palace has unquestionably one of the most beautiful façades in the city (Flemish Renaissance, 16th century). Majestical interior and splendid above stairs (with light design by Ingo Maurer) can be visited exclusively during summer. https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/castle/palace-of-the-grand-dukes

National Museum of History and Art, archeological section. The museum has a large archaeological collection, particularly of objects discovered during the various excavations: sarcophaguses, tools, coins, jewels, grave markers, etc. the most outstanding objects being found in the excavations at Dalheim (Ricciacus) and Titelberg. The visual arts section of this museum in the capital offers the possibility of admiring a wide range of Luxembourgish painting from the 18th to the 20th century, including the post-impressionist watercolours of Sosthène Weis, paintings by Joseph Kutter, Dominique Lang, Eugène Mousset, Jean-Pierre Beckius, Nico Klopp and Auguste Trémont as well as sculptures by Auguste Trémont and Lucien Wercollier. While the museum also houses ancient sculptures and paintings (including a Charity attributed to Cranach), it also has a collection of contemporary art of undeniable originality. https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/museum/national-museum-of-history-and-art-luxembourg

The Glass Museum, at the Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle, retraces five thousand years of art, history and technology. The collections are presented from an innovative angle: a backwards chronology invites the visitor on a completely new voyage, from the present day to the origins of glass. Also available Glass-blowing demonstrations with a blowtorch in the workshop. Guided tours can be arranged in Dutch, English, French or Italian. Booking required. https://walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk/en-gb/content/glass-museum-bois-du-cazier

With 80,000 photographs in its collection (800 of which are permanently on the show), Charleroi's Museum of Photography is considered the most important of its kind in Europe. Over 13,000 titles and 4,000 files dedicated to photography are accessible to the public in the museum's library. The museum shop features the publications, photography works, gadgets and ideas for gifts and decoration. Go for a stroll in the museum's park: 85 ha featuring protected trees. Perfect to conclude your visit and reflect on the gems you have just seen! https://walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk/en-gb/content/museum-photography-charleroi

The BPS22, the Hainaut Province's Museum of Art in Charleroi, is an exhibition space especially dedicated to art forms focusing on current social issues. The museum's programme gives prominent space to international artists that deal with greater global issues, such as Kendell Geers, Jota Castro, mounir fatmi and Wang Du, as well as cultural phenomena characteristic of our time, such as the world of media and urban subcultures like punk or graffiti, for instance. With a wealth of over 7000 works of art, dating from the end of the 19st century to the present time, and including paintings to videos and performance, as well as installations and tapestries and a large archive collection, the Hainaut Province Collection is stored at the BPS22. http://www.bps22.be/en/

This defensive tower (beginning of the 14th century) was one of the ancient prisons of Riquewihr, the seat of feudal justice in the era when the town belonged to the Dukes of Wurtemberg. The ‘Thieves’ Tower” interconnects with the ‘Winemaker’s House”, which dates from the 16th century http://www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com/en/visit/museums.htm

Vianden Castle was built between the 11th and 14th Century on the foundations of a Roman castle and a Carolingian refuge. This Castle-Palace bears the Hohenstaufen characteristics and is one of the largest and finest feudal residences of the Roman and Gothic eras in Europe. Until the early 15th Century it was home to the powerful Counts of Vianden who could boast of their close connections to the German Imperial Court. The greatest of them, Count Henry I (1220 -1250) was even married to a member of the Capetian family, which ruled France at the time. In 1417, the castle and its lands were inherited by the younger line of the German House of Nassau, which -in 1530- also acquired the French principality of Orange. The castle's most remarkable rooms; the chapel as well as the small and the grand palaces were built in the late 12th and the first half of the 13th Century. In 1890 the castle became the property of Grand Duke Adolphe of the elder line of Nassau and remained in the hands of the Grand Ducal family until 1977 when it was transferred into state ownership. It has been painstakingly restored to its former glory and today ranks among the most significant historical monuments of Europe. https://www.visitluxembourg.com/en/place/castle/vianden-castle

The construction of the present collegiate church began in 1450 with the chancel, which was finished around 1506. The transept was completed in 1527, and work on the nave lasted until 1621. Laid out in the form of a Latin cross with 29 chapels around the main nave, transept and chancel, this building is recognised as a leading part of Wallonia’s heritage. It was the private and personal church of the Saint Waltrude canonesses, who had dreamt of crowning the west face of their collegiate church with a 623 ft high tower. This tower, of which the first stones were laid around 1549, was never finished, and work on it was finally abandoned between 1686 and 1687. Do not miss the Treasury: one of the most beautiful collections of religious jewellery in Belgium. You can see the reliquary of St. Waltrude: one of them (la châsse) contains the body of St. Waltrude and the other (le chef) contains her head; The oldest stained-glass windows: especially the five windows of the apse, done by a master glassblower from Mons and given to the church by the Emperor Maximilian of Austria in 1510-1511; The sculptures: especially the statues in white stone of St Michael thrusting down Satan (15th century) and of St. Waltrude (16th century) and The Golden Coach: wooden vehicle painted and gilded in Louis XVI style (1780/1781), used each year for the annual Procession of the Trinity (Doudou). https://www.visitmons.co.uk/see-do/attractions/st-waltrude-s-collegiate-church-537128

An unusual and incredibly educational museum, a sumptuous temple to Neoclassical art and the art of living in the First Empire, with countless evocative reminders of the Napoleonic era. Its prestigious collection of exotic clocks (1795-1815) is one of the largest in the world and includes some really exceptional pieces including the stunning “Paul et Virginie” clock by the bronzemaker Thomire, commissioned by Bonaparte himself in 1802. The theme of the “noble savage”, nurtured by Defoe (Robinson Crusoe), Bernardin de St-Pierre (Paul et Virginie) and Chateaubriand (Atala) is explored in a magnificent collection, which is well worth a visit. The museum also includes a remarkable collection of porcelain pieces by the best manufacturers from Paris and Brussels, as well as exquisite gold work, exceptional gilded bronze pieces, antique jewellery (including some stunning cameos) and an array of incredibly rare and fascinating objects. http://www.visitmons.co.uk/agenda/culture-is-here/partner-sites-and-museums/francois-duesberg-museum

This museum was donated to the town of Doullens in 1908 by Jules François Lombart, a wealthy chocolate manufacturer and keen art collector. There are works by Corot, Chardin, Daubigny and Poulbot (who came from a local family) plus Egyptian objects, including a mummy, and archaeological finds. The museum with its eclectic collection also has a lovely French formal garden. http://www.visit-amiens.com/tourinsoft/details/en_patrimoineculturel/PCUPIC080FS0001A/PCU

The Village of Hansi and his Museum is located in front of the famous "Maison des Têtes". Come in and discover the city of Colmar in the lifetime of the famous artist Jean-Jacques Waltz, so called "Hansi". Find out about the fascinating World of Hansi in our Museum on the first floor. Nowadays as a part of the alsatian cultural heritage, his original artworks will allow you to dive into the romantic and fascinating Alsace that he experienced. https://www.tourisme-colmar.com/en/visit/presentation/museums/F235014585_the-hansi-village-and-its-museum-colmar

For the newly arrived guest, the Porta Nigra is the best place to begin a tour of Trier. The gate dates back to a time (about A.D. 180) when the Romans often erected public buildings of huge stone blocks (here, the biggest weigh up to six metric tons). http://www.trier-info.de/english/porta-nigra-info

The Museum of Fine Arts boasts one of the most prestigious collections in France. Paintings, sculptures, drawings and objects of art produced by all schools, ranging from 15th century to the present are on display in a chronological order: Perugino, Veronese, Rubens, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Ribera and Poussin. http://en.rouentourisme.com/arts-antiques/musee-des-beaux-arts-2246-en/

"The Pasquart shows temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. The centre is a place for innovative work and encourages artists to develop for their exhibitions. The Photo forum, the Film podium, the espace libre and the Kunstverein Biel are also on the Museum's premises" http://www.biel-seeland.ch/en/discoveries/museums/pasquart-biel.1170.html

Due to the size of its permanent collections, the Palais des Beaux-Arts of Lille is considered to be the second largest general-interest museum in France, just after the Louvre. The building, completed between 1885 and 1892, is typical of the monumental architecture of the late 19th century. http://en.lilletourism.com/museum-lille/palais-des-beaux-arts-de-lille.html

The Lillois' favourite meeting place offers an interesting view of the architecture from the 17th to the 20th century. Standing in the centre of the squares stands the Goddess commemorates Lille's resistance to the Austrian siege in 1792 http://en.lilletourism.com/la-grand-place.html

Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours is dedicated to the first bishop of the city and is a 'must-see' when visiting the Loire Valley. The current cathedral sits on the site of a number of predecessors all of which were damaged by fires. One in 1166 during the conflict between Louis VII of France and Henry II of England (who also ruled over the neighbouring region of Anjou at the time). Construction proper on the existing cathedral began in 1270 but progress was slow and it was not completed until 1547, so what we have is a building made up of styles spanning a number of centuries, though the predominate 'style' is obviously 'Gothic'. The nave was completed around 1450, in the flamboyant style we see today. Then, from 1450 to 1484, the facade is built in the same style on the foundations of a Gallo-Roman wall. The north tower was completed around 1507 while the south tower, in the same style, would not be completed for another 40 years!. Both seem to have acquired renaissance caps. https://www.experienceloire.com/tours-cathedral.htm

The Museum of Fine Arts Tours is housed in a historic building of exceptional quality. The site is of paramount importance for the history of ancient Caesarodunum; the museum houses in its underground the most beautiful lapidary inscription to the glory of the Turons. The first bishops had chosen to settle near the cathedral, in a palace along the wall of the IV the century. After 1789, the Palace of the Archbishops became a theatre, Central School, library and then by departmental decree of October 6, 1792, and with the passionate energy of the founder of the city's drawing school, Charles-Antoine Rougeot and his son-in-law, Jean -Jacques Raverot, became the repository of works seized during the Revolution. The museum was officially created in 1801, 1802 and during the XIX the century, the buildings are again assigned to the archdiocese. It was not until 1910 that the collections returned to the old archepiscopal palace. http://www.mba.tours.fr/131-le-musee-des-beaux-arts-de-tours.htm

Opened in 1841, the Vaud Museum of Fine Arts in Lausanne is one of the oldest Swiss museums exclusively dedicated to art. Located in the Palais de Rumine, it presents several temporary exhibitions a year from its collection of 10,000 works. https://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/en/P435/vaud-museum-of-fine-arts-mcb-a?group=687

The magnificent water jet is 140 metres high, with 500 litres of water passing through it per second at a speed of 200 km per hour! Used initially for distributing the Rhône's propelling force to the city's craftspeople, it became the Jet d'Eau when the workshops required an additional flow. Since 1891 it has graced the centre of Geneva's harbour, and is the must-see tourist attraction! https://www.geneve.com/en/attractions/the-jet-d

The Vieille-Ville is the largest historic town in Switzerland, and is dominated by St. Peter's Cathedral, the symbolic location of the Reformation. Climb the 157 steps to the top of the tower for a unique panorama of the city. Then take a stroll in the charming surrounding alleys and passageways, each telling its own story about Geneva's history. https://www.geneve.com/en/attractions/the-old-town-and-its-treasures/