The Good Life France Magazine




The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...


Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France

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2 years ago

Issue No. 23

Welcome to the summer! In this issue discover Dijon in Burgundy, sensational Strasbourg (and a secret speakeasy), and lovely Cognac. We'll tell you where the locals go on holiday, the secret places. Visit Versailles and the Paris Opera, Le Touquet - the "Monaco" of northern France and wild Provence. Guides, recipes and more - your trip to France without leaving home...

Left: Font at the Palais

Left: Font at the Palais Rohan; above: statues at the Medieval museum; right: Street art at Museum of Modern Art, contemporary & modern art; right top, Tete de Christ stained glass window; below right, installation at Museum of Modern Art. Museums There are around a dozen museums and if you’re a history fan you’re going to absolutely love the Medieval Museum and the Museum of Decorative Arts… Musée des Arts Decoratif Le Palais Palais Rohan Many visitors miss this one as the building, although huge, seems tucked away in a corner on a large square overlooking the river. It’s in the former residence of the Prince-Bishops, built in the 18th century. It’s a fascinating museum composed of sumptuous apartments of the former cardinals with artefacts from the 17th to the 19th century from tapestries to tableware, furniture and paintings. There’s an archaeological museum in the basement and a museum of fine arts on the first floor with a major collection of European paintings which includes Botticelli, Rubens and Canaletto. Musée de l’Ouevre Notre-Dame | Medieval Museum Next door to Palais Rohan, this is another museum that’s absolutely stunning. I could have spent several hours in here there’s so much to see. Located in a former stone masons house and buildings from the 14th -16th centuries, it houses masterpieces of sculpture from the middle ages and from the Cathedral. Stained glass windows, including the Wissembourg "Tête de Christ" window, one of the oldest known stainedglass windows, religious statuary, wood carvings, paintings and more, this is one of the most beautiful collections of medieval art I’ve ever seen.

Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art If you’re a modern art fan the contemporary and modern art museum will make you very happy. Just the other side of the Vauban Dam in a huge glass building, currently covered in black and white street art, it is huge and fascinating. It mixes a number of mediums including a very famous Monet poppy painting in the landscape themed area, alongside very modern art. Wassily Kandinsky is heavily featured including a room created from one of his Cubist creations. This is a museum that presents art by theme and juxtaposes modern alongside contemporary and modern could mean Monet or Sisley alongside something altogether more quirky - I saw a giant plastic spider with a cat's face which walks across the room! The Art Café on the first floor has a great outdoor terrace with breath-taking views over the city. Here you can take a break with tea, pastries or lunch. Voodoo Museum And, for those who like their museums to be seriously unusual - there’s a voodoo museum in a former water tower. It’s a private collection, in fact the biggest private collection of its kind in France and it is magic! www.chateau-vodoucom