Art & architecture - Paris e-guide: The Travel Guide with its Own Website - page 88

Art & Architecture

10 G5

Chez Robert Electron Libre art house
59 rue de Rivoli, 1er • no phone
www.59rivoli.org Open 1:30-7:30 Mon-Fri, 1-8 Sat, 2-8 Sun
Three artists first occupied this dilapidated, six-storey
building in 1999. Today, the “squart” (a fusion of
“squat” and “art”) houses some 30 artists' studios
and has become the city's third most visited centre
of contemporary art, attracting around 40,000 fans of
experimental art each year. Visitors can wander from
studio to studio, watching artists at work alongside
displays of their paintings, sculptures and installa-
tions. Most works are for sale. Despite its high profile,
the place still has a ramshackle charm that makes a
pleasant alternative to Paris's slick gallery scene and
most artists are happy to chat about their work. Look
out for Kalex's life-size figures - sculpted from old
metal objects and rocks, and resembling abandoned
extras from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy - and the
work of Pascal Foucart, who drips bold, colourful
paint on to canvas in hypnotic patterns.

16 H1

Tour St-Jacques medieval remnant
Standing all alone on the place du Chatelet is a strik-
ing Gothic tower, the only remains of the 16th-century
St-Jacques-La Boucherie church - a stopover point for
pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Its gargoyle-covered summit witnessed the experi-
ments into atmospheric pressure of French mathema-
tician Blaise Pascal, whose statue stands outside.
Aptly, the tower now serves as a weather station.

Carte Musées-Monuments
Providing entry to 60 of the city's biggest sights
and museums, including the Musée Picasso and
Musée d'Orsay, this card lets culture aficionados
cut costs and queues. Valid for one, three or
five consecutive days, it is available from
participating museums, branches of fnac (see
p222) , tourist offices and major Métro stations.

16 G1

Ste-Chapelle island chapel
4 boulevard du Palais, 1er • 01 53 40 60 80
www.monum.fr Open 9:30-6 daily
Hidden inside the Palais de Justice, this magical two-
tiered Gothic chapel was built to house what Louis IX
believed to be Christ's crown of thorns. Make straight
for the upper level, which is spectacularly illuminated
by huge, panoramic stained-glass windows, most of
which date from the 13th century. Adm