Geoffroy Saint Hilaire

This week, I have been discussing the magic of Christmas in Paris and getting a little bit more personal on this blog. Paris is a city that I adore and, in all my visits to the city, I have come to love it most at Christmas. I have only been twice during the festive season but memories of both trips make me want to book a vacation rental in Paris and visit every December to enjoy the particular charms of the city in the run up to the holiday season.

In the last two posts, I recounted the most traditionally romantic experience one could have of the city but in this one I want to talk about my favourite trip to Paris over Christmas.

One of the most famous attractions in Paris has to be the city’s Catacombs. Lying below the elegant city streets, this creepy and fascinating gem, is hidden away and a must-see for anyone who has found a vacation rental in Paris and is planning a trip over mid-term break and in the weeks running up to Hallowe’en.

The catacombs back to the late 18th century, when public health problems in the city led to the decision to move the contents of Paris’ cemeteries to an underground site, which was actually just outside the capital at the time. Now absorbed by the bulk of the city, the former Tombe-Issoire quarries under the plain of Montrouge had been established in the 15th century and were subsequently abandoned after major collapses. Part of a large labyrinth of underground tunnels that extended for 800 hectares beneath the city, the quarries provided a perfect, vast space for human remains that was a good distance from the living citizens.

Between 1787 and 1814 bones from the parochial cemeteries of Paris were transported to their new homes further underground, briefly interrupted by the French Revolution. More transfers took place then again in 1840, during urban renovation by Louis-Philippe, and the space was reorganised under the Haussmannian reconfiguration of the city between 1859 and 1860. Officially consecrated as the “Paris Municipal Ossuary” on April 7th 1786, they came to also take on the name of the “Catacombs” after the Roman catacombs, which had so fascinated people since their discovery.

Paris, in France, is a beautiful city, in which there is plenty to see and do. However, if you have browsed our vacation rentals in Paris and are planning a trip to the city, there is one particular spot that is worth seeking out...if only for the photographs.

Rue Crémieux is a pretty little street located in the 12th arrondissement, between Rue de Lyon and Rue de Bercy, that is often dubbed the Notting Hill of Paris. Just 144 metres long, it is a pedestrianised and cobblestoned little stretch of street that is lined with charming little houses with lovely pastel and trompes l’œil façades and potted plants out front.

Once again, we have somehow all made it to another Friday and, once again, we feel that that means you are very much deserving of another little culinary treat to enjoy from the safety of your own home. As the weather continues to get warmer and the evenings begin to stretch in earnest, there is no better way to kick back at home than by making yourself a fancy cocktail, sitting down, relaxing, unwinding, and forgetting about all of the uncertainty and chaos of the world at the moment for just a little while. This time around we are looking to France for some inspiration and the Between the Sheets cocktail, which is believed to have been created as a variation on the Sidecar cocktail.

Like so many of France's favourite and best-known cocktails, the Between the Sheets is thought to have been invented in the famous Harry's New York Bar in Paris. Although, like so many cocktails, in general, the exact circumstances of its actual birth are shrouded in confusion and debate, with multiple stories and sources claiming different tales of origin and claims to its authorship.

Probably the most commonly accepted origin tale is that the cocktail was invented in Harry's New York Bar in the 1930s by Harry McElhone, who is often also credited with creating many of the most famous cocktails in the world, including the Bloody Mary, Sidecar, the Monkey Gland, the Boulevardier, and an early form of the French 75. It is also usually thought to be a derivative of the Sidecar, which is also claimed to be a McElhone invention, differing only from the Sidecar by using less cognac and adding rum. Maiden's Prayer, a name sometimes used interchangeably for the Between the Sheets, is actually another variation from the same family that uses gin instead of rum and cognac and adds orange juice to the lemon juice.

Shakespeare and Company is the name an iconic independent English-language bookstore on Paris's Left Bank. It was first opened by the American Sylvia Beach, in 1919, at 8 rue Dupuytren and is famous as it was, at the time, a gathering place for many then-aspiring writers such as Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, Djuna Barnes, James Joyce and Ford Madox Ford. Closed during WWII, it was reborn again at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, in the 5th arrondissement, and is still in operation today. For book-lovers and literary history buffs, it is an absolute must-see landmark in the city. Just find a vacation rental in Paris and visit it for yourself.

While the lucky among us may be stuck safely indoors at the moment, it does not mean that it isn't hard and frustrating. Luckily, in the time that we live in today, if you have an internet connection, you can basically explore the whole world from your own home; from attending online personal training sessions and dance classes, to doing virtual pub quizzes with pals, to screening recent cinema releases on your own television, to using Google Street View to explore cities all over the globe. In addition to all of this the Google Arts & Culture program and various schemes from different museums globally has made museums and art galleries all over the world accessible at the click of a button, with catalogues of holdings and virtual tours.

If you had been hoping to get to France this spring to enjoy the pleasant weather, lovely towns and cities, cuisine, flowers and blossom trees, and the abundant cultural wealth of her architectural gems, tourist attractions, and museums but had to postpone your trip then, fear not: all is not entirely lost because you can still visit many of the country's best and most beloved galleries...virtually!

Here is our guide to some of the best museums in France that you can visit online and for free right now!