Over the last 15 years I've noticed a distinct increase in the number of tourists coming to Paris. This spring I was there for over two months and visited nearly all the major (and several lesser known) museums at least once - and that trend seems to have advanced considerably. The major museums of Paris are absolutely crammed with tourists. 

And if you opt to go on the free first Sunday of the month - you can expect what can only be called a 'mob scene' at the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, or any of the major venues. Indeed, the salons of the Louvre seemed more like packed rush hour metro stations than a museum on a couple of my visits.

So after a few weeks of this I decided to begin seeking out some of the lesser known museums of Paris in an effort to find a little breathing space and calm as I strolled thru the exhibits. And fortunately there are quite a few of these smaller museums scattered around the city which definitely offer a less "sardine-like" experience to the crowd weary visitor.

I discovered one of them just two short blocks from the southwest corner of Luxembourg Park in the heart of Montparnasse. It's the Musée Zadkine. This is a small museum displaying some of the work of Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), a Russian sculptor who settled in Paris after WWI. Zadkine was a Cubist - but as time went by he became greatly influenced by African art, and his most famous works reflect a melding of the two genres.

The Musée Zadkine occupies the house where the sculptor lived with his wife, the French artist Valentine Prax, until his death in 1967. And a visit to this small museum is the perfect antidote for anyone seeking a break from the throngs elsewhere.

Located at 100 bis Rue d'Assas, it is situated behind a quite unremarkable industrial building which belies the existence of anything artistic nearby. But just to the left of this building (if you're facing it) you will find a small - seemingly private - driveway. Follow this to the rear of the building and voilà - you arrive at a quaint two-story house (itself a rarity in apartment building dense Paris) with a small sculpture garden displaying several of Zakine's works. 

The museum occupies the ground floor of the house and all of the work studio on the other side of the sculpture garden. And while small - the collection is excellent. In-fact, on display is Zadkine's Torse de Pomone - a wood sculpture and one of the most extraordinary and captivating examples of Cubism I've ever seen. It alone is worth a visit. And along with Zakine's work you will also find several pieces by his wife - as well as a rotating repertoire of visiting artists.  

Sitting in the sculpture garden of this little gem, you would never know that a big, frenetic city is close by. A visit here is like entering another place and time. And in a sense - that is exactly what you've done. Admission to the house is €4 - or you could simply visit the studio portion and sculpture garden for free. 
It's not to be missed.


http://www.paris.fr/loisirs/musees-expos/musee-zadkine/p6471weeblylink_new_window

A trip to Paris is a dream come true for many people. In-fact, Paris is the most visited city on Earth. Unfortunately, this fact can also somewhat degrade the experience you came to Paris to enjoy. There are areas of Paris where you can walk for blocks - with thousands of people around you - and never hear French spoken once. And the crush of humanity eventually begins to just wear you down. 

Want to see the Mona Lisa (la Jaconde) at the Louvre? Good luck at getting within 100 feet of her. Visiting Notre Dame Cathedral? Bring a good book; the line to get in can last an hour or more. And this is true of many other popular, well-know sites in Paris. Fortunately - for you - Paris is full of wonders, and many of them are not so well known to the average tourist. 

Today begins a five-part series on cool places to go in Paris that are - so far - undiscovered by foreign tourists.

One of the best of these is only a couple of blocks from the Place de la Bastille and is a place where Parisians go to escape both the hectic city and the tourists. It's called the Promenade Plantée (also called the Coulée Verte). It is an oasis of nature and calm right in the heart of Paris - yet if you didn't know it was there, you could walk right past it without noticing.

To find it begin at the Opéra Bastille. With your back to the Opéra turn left and begin walking down the Rue de Lyon. Just past the last of the Opéra buildings take the street that veers to the left - Avenue Daumesnil. After about 50 yards you will notice, on your left, a red brick structure with arches and shops on the street level that extends down the avenue as far as you can see. 

This structure is actually an old elevated railway. And while on the street level it does indeed house shops and restaurants, above all of this is a truly wonderful and unexpected surprise.

At the very beginning of the structure you will see a stairwell which leads to the top. And there are additional stairwells about every quarter mile. Once you're up on the second level you will see that the tracks are gone and have been replaced by a beautifully landscaped park - with a walkway where the tracks once ran. 

As you stroll down this walkway there will be benches, fountains and grassy areas all along the way where you can sit and enjoy the sun, read a book - or just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. And there are also restaurants and bistros scattered along the route. 

You are still in the heart of Paris - but you would never know it. The noise and hustle bustle of the city seem a million miles away. This walkway extends for 3 miles all the way to the Boulevard Periphérique which surrounds Paris - and nary a tourist (except for you) in sight. 

So when you reach that point in your Paris vacation when the crowds which infest everywhere you want to visit have started to drive you nuts - escape from it all the way real Parisians do and take a stroll on the Promenade Plantée. It's one of the most pleasant undiscovered secrets of Paris.

One of the most popular neighborhoods in San Francisco for tourists is the Italian quarter of North Beach. Filled with excellent restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries - a lovely park and Coit Tower; an area where on every block one can smell traces of garlic one moment, espresso the next. It has long been a favorite strolling area for visitors to The City, conveniently situated between China Town and Fisherman's Wharf.

But few tourists (or locals) realize that as they stroll down Columbus Avenue en-route to Fisherman's Wharf - just two blocks up the hill at Chestnut Street lies a little gem of an art treasure - not only open to the public, but both free and virtually undiscovered. It is one of the most interesting murals ever painted by Diego Rivera and is called Making a Fresco (1931). It's located at the San Francisco Art Institute, at 800 Chestnut Street.

Invited by architect Timothy L. Pfluger to come to San Francisco to paint a series of murals in the early 30's, it is one of three major works in The City. But this particular mural is quite a treat to the Rivera fan because it is painted in a style know as trompe d'oeil - "trick to the eye". 

The work is essentially a mural within a mural - divided into six sections by the very scaffolding used to create it - or so it seems. It is itself a mural about the building of San Francisco and the advance of modernity. 

But the trick employed by Rivera also turns the work into a depiction of the mural itself being painted by him and his associates. In-fact, Diego Rivera himself is part of this mural; you see him sitting on the scaffolding with his back to you directing the creation of the very work you're looking at. It is delicious fun for the eye - and a truly unique example of this master's talent.

To see this wonderful work just walk in the front entrance to the Art Institute and turn left at the fountain in the courtyard. Walk-in to the auditorium - and there it is on the wall to your right. And more likely than not, you will be completely alone with only the occasional student passing by to disturb your reverie.

And on your way out, take a few moments to stroll the halls of the Art Institute itself. It is a lovely building with student's art displayed throughout and panoramic views of North Beach and San Francisco Bay. And all of this is absolutely free.

A true San Francisco treat!

http://www.sfai.edu/weeblylink_new_window