Even people who have just heard of Paris know that it is one of the most culturally rich cities in the world.  People paint in the streets and the thought of the Eiffel tower sounds some invisible harmony.  Besides the rich heritage and the wonderful sights, cultural events in Paris all year round keep locals and tourists busy!

Exhibitions are some of the most prominent kind of cultural events in Paris.  There is always something happening in some corner and 2013 has some special ones in its kitty.  Here are the top three exhibitions to catch this year.

• One Thousand and One Nights
• Dali
• Chagall between War and Peace 

One Thousand and One Nights is known throughout the world as a collection of stories, and considered to be the link between the east and the west.  This collection ha stories, like that of Sindbad and Aladin that has not only captured the heart of millions but has imparted some of the Eastern mythologies and beliefs upon the Western minds.  This exhibition gives you a chance to see the kind of impact these masterpieces has had on varied sectors like fashion, photography, music, comic strips and cinema.

Time: From November 27 2012 to April 28 2013

Place: Institut du Monde Arabe

Dali was a famous artist of the early 20^th Century, famous for his bizarre surrealist work, with Renaissance influence.  His artistic prowess was not limited to painting alone and extended to the fields of film, photography and sculpture.  His eccentric personality was as famous as his artwork-sometimes more- and he often grabbed headlines for his very public stints.  This exhibition will celebrate this eccentric artist through some 200 works some of which have been loaned from some of the world’s most famous museums.

Time: From November 21 2012 to March 25 2013

Place: Place Georges Pompidou

Marc Chagall was a Russia artist of the 20^th Century who had survived two world wars with his breed of modernist style.  His repertoire extended in painting, book illustrations stained glass, etc.  The exhibition upholds 80 of his finest works which has been laid out chronologically.  This allows the visitor to start the journey with his depictions of war and end with the optimistic note of peace, thus discovering Chagall between War and Peace.

Time: From February 21 2013 to July 21 2013

Place: Musée du Luxembourg

The history of marathons goes far back, as far back as 490 B.C.  Marathon was originally the name of a Greek town, lying 40km to the north east of Athens.  When in 490 B.C, Miltiade won a famous battle, he had sent a messenger to reassure his people of the victory.  The messenger, a soldier named Philippides, ran the 40km distance so fast that he died of exhaustion the moment he arrived.  Thus, the tradition of running a marathon began to honour his bravery.  Even today, marathon remains a very important sporting event.

The Marathon of Paris was started in the year 1896, on the 19^th of July with 191 contestants.  The distance was kept at 40km, in lieu of the distance between ancient Marathon and Athens.  The marathon organisers, the Petite Journal had arranged commemorative medals for all the runners who could finish the race in 4 hours.  The distance has now been changed to 42.195 km as per Olympics standards and the number of participants escalated up to a whopping 40,000 recorded in the year 2012!

On 7^th April 2013, The 37^th Marathon of Paris will be in the streets again with athletes and enthusiasts from all over the world flooding alleys of Paris.  To make the racing track less crowded, there are many starting points, and they all culminate into Avenue Foch at the end of 42.195 km.  There are refreshments at every 5km, and the route takes a scenic tour through the heart of the capital city.  With the upper limit of 46,000 runners, along with a number of disabled runners, the total number is somewhere near 50,000 registered athletes, which shows the Marathon of Paris is definitely not worth a miss!

Those who love shopping (that is all women of the world and a few men!) are in for a royal treat at Foire de Paris.  This trade fair stretching across 13 days between 30^th April and 12^th May, 2013 stocks up on more things than your eyes can register.  It can be primarily divided into three themes, which it caters too, quite extensively, namely- Home, Wellness and Recreation and World Cultures.  You could focus on a particular area of preference or bounce around the themes to get a little taste of them all.

Home

Want some new furniture to jazz up your old living room, or add a touch of romance to your bedroom?  How about carrying home some fireplaces? The ductless fireplaces ensure that they are sleek enough to find space in modern homes and also allow you to enjoy the pleasures of a fireplace without the smoke and odours of the fire.  You could even pick the brains of the specialists on spot about the minor or major renovations that you want to do around the house, maybe even pick up a couple of gorgeous lightings.  Take a trip around the Foire de Paris and you will discover that so many innovations have come into the world of home decor.  Even if you do not buy anything, you can take back what you have discovered and use it around your home.

Wellness and Recreation

If you are able to move away from the Home section, you could take a trip around this one.  The men and women can enjoy some leisurely indulgences in a choice of health, beauty and fitness products.  You will find cosmetics, perfumes, even linen and toiletries, which you can stock up on for your trip back home.  You can even buy them as a gift for loved ones, who wouldn’t want beauty products from the fashion capital of the world!  Once you have torn yourself away from here, you can go and explore the ‘Market Fair’ and ‘Recreation’ section for some knickknacks while the men might be intrigued by the ‘Residences and Outdoors’ section for some camping and outdoorsy goodies.

World Cultures

If you still have some energy left, Foire de Paris offers you a quick tour of the world cultures in a single place.  Discover the arts, crafts, curios and the gastronomical delights from cultures around the world.

Jazz is young in the music community, no more than 100 years and in history of music, 100 years is a really short time!  Yet jazz has a deeper root.  It is sometimes soulful, heartening and sometimes peppy, the range of jazz is as diverse as the range of human emotions itself.  It is said, not everyone can appreciate the nuances of this very unique form of music, which almost is a musical form of abstract art.  Each artist paints a different picture of tunes making jazz a form of personal expression and constantly subjected to improvisation.

It began in New Orleans, which was a melting pot of diverse cultures in the 20th century.  Over the years, this school has evolved and has constantly seen change.  To celebrate this unique from of music, Versailles hosts a Jazz festival every year, which is attended by artists and enthusiasts from all over the world.  Interestingly, jazz made its way to Paris through the American troops, fighting the First World War.  However, as soon as Jazz touched the grounds of Paris, Paris adopted it and treated it like her own son, rearing it as her own.  Jazz grew new wings with Paris’ motherly care and patrons like Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli gave birth to a new style of Jazz which was not of American origin.

Paris has allowed her jazz to explore different types of styles like experimental, traditional, eclectic and fertile.  It sometimes bathes itself in Caribbean hues or swings to the beats of electro or dances with the rhythm of hip-hop.  Paris has given a new dimension to Jazz and wanting to keep this love and vivacity of Jazz alive, the Versailles Jazz Festival is organised every year.  This grand gathering of Jazz performers and audience ensures that there is a constant flow of creative changes so that this individualistic form of music never grows stale.

The year 2013 is special for the Versailles Jazz Festival as is the 10th Anniversary of this festival.  The city will be crowded with free and paid jazz concerts starting from 12th to 19th April.  Starting the show would be Gospel with Happy Voice on Friday 12th April at 8.30 in Trianon Palace.  Line-ups like Master class by pianist Manual Rocheman, Jam Session with Barbe Trio and many more ensure that you will be utterly spoilt for choice!

Many of us have read or have heard of the famous novel bay Victor Hugo named the Hunchback of Notre Dame.  This tragic story of love revolves around the cathedral of Notre Dame.  The Cathedral of Notre Dame is considered as one of the finest examples of gothic architecture in all of Europe.  The architecture has all the patented gothic themes like the use of gargoyles and chimera, and steep spiral staircases. During its first period of construction, from 1163 to 1240s, the church witnessed the experimental music of Notre Dame School and since then, music has had a deep connection with the Cathedral.  And the tradition continues with the Surrexit Christus: Notre-Dame de Paris.

Paris has always been a lover of music, be it a radical kind like Jazz or the deeply religious kind like a choir, Paris’s deep and broad spectrum of culture incorporates both seamlessly.  The musical awakening that had begun in the Cathedral of Notre Dame all those years ago lives on still and thrives through the voices of the sacred choir or the Maitrise Notre Dame de Paris.

A special institution called the Music Sacr`ee at Notre Dame de Paris takes care of all the artistic and administrative tasks related to maintaining the sacred choir. There is special training for the singers that teach the basics of music. They delve deep into the history of music in Notre Dame and try to create new music to keep the tradition going.  Not to mention the concerts and recitals they need to perform; out of which, the Surrexit Christus: Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most noted.

The words Surrexit Christus roughly translates into ‘Christ is risen’ which relates to the rise of Christ from his death on the holy day of Easter Monday.  The event, which is due to be held on April 9, 2013, is a celebration of that, served with selected works of Gregorian chants and Medieval music.  The program will take you back to the 13th Century and you will bear witness to the kinds of songs that were sung in those times at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in those yesteryears to celebrate this pious occasion.  If you want an authentic piece of truly classical, old world choir music, better rush to book you seats, as many others are hungry for a slice of medieval magic!

Avenue des Champs Elysees

Paris Travel Guide