Claude Monet travel tips

Paris is called the City of Light, possibly because of its early adoption of gas street lighting. But that would not explain why, as I approach Gare du Nord on Eurostar during daytime, I experience a soft dazzle, similar to when I see a pebbly beach. This is not a meteorological phenomenon; the weather in Paris is only slightly better than London’s. Instead, the luminosity owes something to the buff or light-grey limestone of the older buildings (including the Sacré Coeur, rearing like a great ghost to my right), its pallor perpetuated by the whitewashed exteriors of newer buildings.

Impressionism, the movement that forever marked the history of art, is now 150 years old, almost to the day. To celebrate the anniversary, the Musee d’Orsay in Paris together with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., just opened a very anticipated exhibition, Paris 1874 Inventing impressionism,where spectators have the chance to feel as if they were there for the movement’s birth.

‘Every day I’m here, the sky and the sea are different,” says Anastasia Kharchenko, as an incessant drizzle patters on our umbrellas. “Sometimes you can’t even see the horizon because it’s so foggy, but in certain months the colours are just breathtaking.”

Where can you find one of North America’s largest museum art parks, a collection of 30 Rodin sculptures and one of only two permanent Judaic art displays in the country? Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina, offers all of this and more.

There’s no bad time to visit the Big Apple — but when winter takes hold, the city has an extra sheen of glitter. Department stores are brightened with kaleidoscopic light shows; a large ice rink springs up in Central Park; and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree sits pretty in the plaza. If you’re lucky, the streets might even be blanketed in white, catapulting visitors into a scene of a festive Hollywood film. 

Paris' wealth of architectural icons, monumental museums and unmissable dining experiences makes it difficult for visitors to contemplate straying beyond the city limits. Yet on Paris’ doorstep are magnificent châteaux, exquisite gardens, medieval cathedrals, and rambling forests, which can add a new dimension to a holiday in the French capital.