TRAVEL / December
show is also a win-win activity for travel-
lers with children, who can take part in
workshops and make their own lanterns.
During this dark time of the year, the
park will be inhabited by such light-filled
but long-extinct creatures as the tyranno-
saurus, triceratops, velociraptor, mam-
moth, sabre-toothed tiger, and thylacine
(Tasmanian tiger) as well as animals
currently fighting for survival, such as
whales, elephants, and giraffes.
A TRIP BACK TO
THE BELLE ÉPOQUE
There’s another museum not far from
the Jardins des Plantes that’s also great
for grown-up children. The Musée des
Arts Forains is a real Belle-Époque funfair
with an elephant-shaped hot air balloon,
a unicorn playing the piano, carousels
and amusements, a little Venice, and
other wondrous things. For most of the
year, this wonderland is only open to pri-
vate tours reserved in advance, but from
December 26 to January 6 the unusual
museum will be open to all for a special
12-day event, the Festival des Merveilleux
(arts-forains.com). This year, the festival
is dedicated to photography, and the
museum will be turned into a giant photo
studio, paying homage to 19 th -century
photo booths. It comes as no surprise that
scenes from Woody Allen’s film Midnight
in Paris were filmed here...
If you want to continue the day in a
similar frame of mind, visit Le Train
Bleu in the Gare de Lyon train station.
Back in 1900, when it opened, the restau-
rant was just an ornate refreshment bar
designed by architect Marius Toudoire,
who also designed the station’s clock
tower and façade (le-train-bleu.com).
As you continue enjoying the magic
of turn-of-the-century Paris, it’s worth
heading over to Montmartre and the
Musée Grévin. Known more for its wax
figures, this summer the museum opened
its newly renovated hall of mirrors.
Originally also referred to as the Illusion
Palace or Electricity Palace, the hall was
created for the Universal Exhibition of
1900 by Eugène Hénard, a visionary engi-
neer fond of urbanism (grevin-paris.com).
When visiting Paris, always make
sure to reserve some time and space
for surprises. In other words, don’t plan
your time down to the very last min-
ute. First of all, you don’t want to pass
up some impromptu event that hasn’t
96
/ airBaltic.com
The Moulin Rouge, a legendary cabaret founded
in 1889 and one of Montmartre’s landmarks
To enjoy the magic of turn-of-
the-century Paris, it’s worth
heading over to Montmartre
Musée Grévin on Boulevard Montmartre
been properly advertised or that only the
locals know about (and there are many
such events!). Secondly, sometimes just
observing the city from a café terrace or
a leisurely stroll is the best way to get to
know the city. And thirdly, this is Paris,
after all – the city where everything is
always changing. Sometimes it might be
the metro schedule, but other times it
might be the dates and location of a whole
festival. Surrender to the French flow of
life, because there will always be some-
thing to do in Paris. C’est la vie! bo
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