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Specials with the Hotel de Crillon: See the Picasso Exhibit Everyone’s Talking About in Paris

There’s been quite the buzz about the upcoming Picasso exhibition at the Grand Palais Museum in Paris. Opening on October 8, 2008 and running until February 2, 2009, the prestigious exhibition will showcase an exceptional collection of works from each era of Picasso’s career– loaned from the Louvre, Orsay and Paris Picasso Museums

King of kitsch rules at Versailles

An aluminum red lobster hangs from the ceiling alongside a crystal chandelier in the Mars Salon. A Plexiglas-encased display of vacuum cleaners and floor polishers sits in front of the official portrait of Marie Antoinette. And an open-mouthed, bare-breasted blonde holding a pink panther seems to be laughing at a 1729 painting of King Louis XV giving peace to Europe.

America has invaded the gilded chambers and sculpted gardens of the Château de Versailles in the form of an exhibition by the artist Jeff Koons.

36 Hours in Biarritz

THE glitz may have migrated to the French Riviera, but Biarritz doesn’t need it. The posh seaside town in southwest France is enjoying a renaissance, as people discover the appeal of this aristocratic resort on the Bay of Biscay where worlds collide and expectations are upended. Once the reigning vacation spot for Europe’s noble and gentry classes, Biarritz’s golden shores are now shared by everyone from bronze beauties in designer sandals to drop-out surfers in frayed flip-flops. Even the languages are mixed up. Walk into any of the town’s creaky old bars, and the patrons might strike up a conservation by saying a few words in rapid-fire French, Spanish, English or even Basque, the local language that, like the resort, is in a class by itself.

Blind Frenchman fined for drunk driving

NANCY, France (AFP) – A blind journalist was given a month's suspended jail sentence and fined 500 euros (750 dollars) by a French court Friday for driving while drunk and without a license.

The owner of the car, who was also drunk as he sat next to the blind man when he drove the vehicle, was given the same sentence and had his license suspended for five months by the court in the northeastern town of Nancy.

The pair were arrested on a country road in the early hours of July 25 by police who spotted their car zig-zagging suspiciously and moving at a very low speed.

Citroen 2CV: France's iconic car

One of France's most iconic cars, the Citroen 2CV, is celebrating its 60th birthday this October. The BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris has been looking at how this vehicle revolutionised the French motor industry.

Some may dismiss it as nothing more than an old tin can. The BBC Top Gear programme's Jeremy Clarkson wrote it off as a "weedy, useless little engine". 

48 Hours in La Rochelle

The return of French holidaymakers, en masse, to the cities is under way, leaving more room for you in one of the most attractive ports along France's Atlantic coast. Catch the last of the summer's heat now, or aim to be there around 13 September for the annual free outdoor spectacle Voiles de Nuit

Classifying French wine in the age of globalization

Bells pealed, echoing through the ancient limestone village and out over the sea of grapevines that surrounded it. With thousands of spectators, I watched as men and women draped in scarlet robes processed up St. Émilion's main street. They were members of the Jurade, the local winemakers' guild, whose main function seems to be to promote St. Émilion's expensive wines with the occasional burst of pseudomedieval pomp.

Finding Grace Kelly in Paris

Those looking for a taste of the glamorous side of the 1950s can find it in Paris. The City of Lights and snobby waiters was a hot spot for the Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolies of yesteryear.

Grace Kelly is probably the ultimate example of 50s fame. An exhibit at the Hotel de Ville showcases the life and times of the American movie star who the French embraced after she married Prince Rainier of Monaco and became Princess Grace.

Paris Airports Help Passengers Groove

A service at Paris area airports will have people dancing in the terminals. Literally.

As a special summer promotion provided by Aeroports de Paris, dance classes will be offered to passengers before they hop, or samba, onto their flight. Call it France's version of the reality hit So You Think You Can Dance. Styles include tango, salsa, modern jazz, and mambo. There is even instruction in hip hop and rock and roll.

« Madame du Barry » : Historytainment. (2/5)

Christian-Jaque carefully wraps his film in many layers of artificiality, like a beautifully dressed and made up actress, to prevent any misunderstanding about what we are about to see : « Historytainment », rather than a scholarly lecture in colour about the roots of French Revolution, though we shall witness the joyful deliquescence of a « Régime » which, before the century ends, shall have become « ancien », or past.