The City Of Light Glows With Holiday Cheer

I arrived back in Paris yesterday to a beautifully sunny blue-skied day and an evening in the City of Light particularly aglow — as it is this time of year. Many of the market streets make a special effort to decorate for the holidays. There is even an association to provide counsel on technique and creativity — l’Association des Concepteurs d’Eclairage (ACE). Those streets known for being the most innovative are: rue de Belleville, boulevard Saint-Germain, rue de Rivoli, rue Mouffetard and avenue de Saint-Ouen. then, of course, the department stores are not to be missed, particularly Galeries Lafayette whose eastern motif lights have been brightening up the entire Opéra area for the past few years.

Add to your list of things to do one or more of the 15 concerts starting today playing through December 16th in the name of peace, tolerance, respect and charity — works transcending three religions taking place in ten churches and other locations throughout the city as part of the “Festival d’Art Sacré de la Ville de Paris.” Pierre et Gilles’ imaginary baroque work titled “Simplicité, Grâce et Eloquence” is the publicity poster for the event. Cost is 10 euros per place. For more information, scroll down to the calendar or visit the site at http://www.festivaldartsacre.new.fr for the list of concerts and their locations.

Legal advisor, Jean Taquet, addresses two legal questions in this month’s holiday issue of his monthly Q and A (no issue in January) — Read Jean’s column in its entirety by visiting /parlerparis/practicalanswers.html and to read ten years worth of Jean’s valuable advice, you may want to get a copy of “The Insider Guide to Practical Answers for Living in France,” a compilation of his monthly columns over ten years — more than 300 questions and answers that are real-life stories from individuals who have lived here before, who have confronted practical situations that will inevitably resemble those you might face when living abroad. Their situations can give you a wealth of experiential information on which you can build a life in France.

Building a life in France usually starts with where you “hang your hat” and call home. Lots of our readers are discovering the advantages of owning property here, especially now while values are rising steadily and healthily. Along with a line-up of Paris’ best professionals, we’re going to be talking about how to make your property investment in France grow and pay off at our upcoming December 29th Invest in France Seminar here in Paris. There are still some seats left to make this valuable learning experience part of your exciting holiday in Paris. Visit /frenchproperty/conference/IIF_Paris/IIF_home.html for more information or contact Schuyler Hoffman at [email protected], phone in the U.S. 1-310-427-7589.

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

P.S. Don’t confuse Parler Paris with any other newsletter about Paris! If it isn’t from “[email protected],” then it isn’t Parler Paris!…And don’t forget, Friday’s Paris Property Picks has become a special feature of French Property Insider. You will still receive Parler Paris Mondays (open topic) and Wednesdays (Parler Paris Previews — A Weekly Community Calendar for English-Speaking Paris). French Property Insider is a weekly e-letter devoted to property in France… sharing insights, recommendations, tips and discoveries about property in both Paris and France including how to find the home of your dreams, how to get an inexpensive mortgage and how to make the move simple and easy. Click here to see for yourself and subscribe: /frenchproperty/insider