Activities
I’ve organized a number of activities prior to and after the party which I hope you’ll enjoy. They highlight a few of the many beautiful pleasures Paris has to offer – in culture, style, history, gastronomy.
For the Bastille Day fireworks, this is usually an annual soirée with my Parisian friends – and the Kroks! – but as space is limited, I’d like to give first preference to friends coming from overseas.
If you do want to join any of the activities, could I ask you to please send an email to my assistant Melanie at mmatthewshen@gmail.com at the latest by Sunday 12 June.
Thursday July 14th
Bastille Day Fireworks
10 PM – Watch the Bastille Day fireworks from my terrace. Champagne and light snacks. Open to overseas guests in town and Parisian friends as space permits.
Friday July 15th
Your choice of:
Walking tour of the Left Bank
10 AM -12 PM
We’ll start our tour with guide Thierry at the Shakespeare & Company bookshop, 37 rue de la Bucherie, 75005 Paris. Thierry will have a sign reading ‘David’s party’.
From there you’ll visit the Île de la Cité, the old city of Paris and the center of power during the Middle Ages. You will see the former royal palaces (the Conciergerie), the legendary cathedral (Notre-Dame), Sainte-Chapelle, Pont Neuf and the famous Knights Templar.
After the group will walk to the Latin Quarter. Since the Middle Ages, the Left Bank has been the haunt of students who then spoke Latin, hence the name of this district. You will start with Paris’s oldest monument, the Roman baths of Clun and after Thierry will introduce you to the Sorbonne, ending with the Pantheon, a strong symbol of Paris and France. Built in the 18th century, this church is now a mausoleum that hosts for eternity the great men and women of French history.
The visit will end at the lovely home of my friend, Eleanor Coleman. Eleanor has kindly invited the group for coffee and she’s also happy to recommend a local bistro for lunch. Many thanks Eleanor.
Or
Walking tour of Jewish Paris including a visit to the Shoah Memorial
9.30 AM -12.30 PM
Your guide David (not me!) will start the visit at Saint Paul metro stop to share with you the history of the Marais. Your guide will have a sign reading ‘David’s party’.
A small Jewish community has been living in the Pletzl (Yiddish for little square) in the Marais since the Middle Ages. After centuries of expulsion, the Jews flooded back at the end of the 19th century when pogroms in Eastern Europe sent millions abroad. France, the first European country to recognize Jews as citizens with civil rights, drew hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants.
After the walking tour, we’ll visit the Shoah Memorial which I highly recommend. The museum is dedicated to Jewish history, particularly in France, during the Second World War. You’ll see the Wall of Names with the names of 76,000 Jews, including 11,000 children, who were deported from France, with the Vichy government’s collaboration. Of those deported, only 2,500 survived. We’ll also see the list of all the French righteous gentiles.
At the end of the tour, we’ll visit my friend Madeleine Czigler’s house who is kindly inviting the group for coffee and Madeleine will recommend a great little bistro close by for lunch. A big thank you to you Madeleine!
Cruise down the River Seine
4 PM – 6.30 PM
The river cruise will show you many of the highlights of Paris – the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Cité de la Mode, the Grand Palais, the Musée d’Orsay, the Conciergerie, Notre Dame Cathedral, etc. – as you float along the Seine. Particularly in the summer, this is a beautiful way to see Paris.
Champagne and hors d’oeuvres served.
Saturday 16th July
Visit to the historic Père Lachaise Cemetery, the most visited cemetery in the world. We’ll end our visit at Alain’s tomb.
11.30 AM -1.30 PM
The Père-Lachaise cemetery is both a 44-hectare park and an open-air museum, celebrating French and international cultural heritage.
Our guide Thierry will take you through the leafy avenues and visit the graves of so many leading artists, political leaders, writers, composers. Among the cemetery’s notable names are Honoré de Balzac, Colette, Eugène Delacroix, Molière, Frédéric Chopin, Maria Callas, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt and Jim Morrison.
Elsewhere in the cemetery, a number of memorials also pay tribute to the victims of French history – notably the Mur des Fédérés, where insurgents were lined up and shot during the 1871 Paris Commune uprising.
At the end of our visit we’ll gather at Alain’s tomb.
My 80th Birthday Party – Venue: Cercle de l’Union Interalliée
7.30PM – 2.00AM
The party this evening in central Paris begins with cocktails on the terrace at the Cercle de l’Union Interalliée at 7.30PM followed by dinner. Later there will be birthday cake and dancing until early in the morning, accompanied by the wonderful Alex Donner and his orchestra.
Sunday 17th July
Visit to Musée Marmottan, home to some of Claude Monet’s most celebrated paintings.
4.00 PM
Musee Marmottan is a beautiful small museum located close to my house in the 16th arrondissement. The building was once a hunting lodge but today it houses a wonderful collection of French 19th century Impressionist paintings and in particular some of Claude Monet’s most famous works.
Farewell dinner
7.30PM
The weekend will end with a casual farewell dinner at La Faisanderie, in the lovely Parc St Cloud.