A glimpse of the ever-changing Paris in 2011
February 28, 2011: Atout France recently welcomed a tourism delegation of 14 professionals from the city of Paris. Led by Mr Paul Roll, Managing Director, Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau, the delegation aims to promote Paris as a complete destination. Armed with a plethora of travel options for the discerning consumer, the delegation will visit the cities of Mumbai and Delhi and interact with the Indian travel fraternity as well as the press.
Mr Roll acquainted the press with a number of new initiatives which have been introduced to promote tourism to the already-well known city of Paris. All year long, around 300 artistic events take place every day in all cultural domains in Paris. The Paris-Plages, a summer event, transforms parts of the city into a seaside Resort. Soldes by Paris is the capital’s winter sales and shopping event, while Paris Illumine Paris is festive end-of-year illumination in all districts of Paris. The Nuits Capitales is five days of special events, concerts and clubbing.
The cultural year in 2011 also features major exhibitions with classics like Manet, Odilon Redon or Rembrandt and Fra Angelico. For contemporary art, there is Anish Kapoor in the nave of the Grand Palais for Monumenta, the Fiac and Art Paris, the two major international modern and contemporary art trade shows, and exhibitions devoted to major artists like Mondrian or Stanley Kubrick.
Great sporting events that will thrill sport-enthusiasts include the French international tennis championships at Roland Garros, Tour de France, the Prix d’Amérique, and the Paris Marathon. Paris also has new cultural venues to offer with the inauguration this year of the Gaîté Lyrique, a work and performance space for contemporary music and the digital arts.
Many foreign hotel groups are launching properties in Paris, including Raffles, Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental. Gastronomically, great chefs continue to innovate and offer ever more creative restaurants. The French gastronomic meal, in fact, now has UNESCO humanity heritage status!
In the cultural sector, there is plenty happening on the horizon for 2012-2013. Upcoming ambitious projects include the Fondation Louis-Vuitton for artistic creation, in a building designed by Frank O. Gehry, in the Jardin d’Acclimatation; the Fondation Pathé, devoted to cinema, in the Gobelins district; and also the Philharmonie de Paris, a huge symphony hall designed by Jean Nouvel, in the Parc de la Villette.
There is no time better than 2011 to explore Paris – yet again!
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