Easter at Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte

This beautiful 17th century chateau sits just 30 miles southeast of Paris. The baroque exterior, its lavishly furnished interior, and the exquisite gardens, designed by famed landscape architect, Le Notre, offer a perfect morning or afternoon break from the city. During Easter Sunday and Monday (a two-day holiday in France), the Chateau puts on fantastic Easter egg hunts and makes a holiday outing fun for the whole family. There are also a series of free workshops during the holiday, including chocolate making, face painting and origami.

The chateau is open daily in April from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Edouard Manet Exhibition – Paris

For the first time in nearly 30 years Paris presents a retrospective of the works of Edouard Manet at the wonderful Musée d’Orsay. Titled “Manet, the Man Who Invented Modern Art,” the exhibition focuses on the works of this Impressionist master who ushered in the era of modernism and showcases how his art reflected the historical perspective of his time (1832-1883). This exhibit promises to be THE art exhibition of the year.

Details
• When: April 5 – July 3, 2011
• Where: Musée d’Orsay
• Hours: 9:30 to 6 p.m. Daily. Open until 9:45 p.m. on Thurs., Closed Mondays.
•Tickets: online at: http://www.fnactickets.com

MUSIC IN THE MUSEUMS

Like most world-class museums, Paris offers many outstanding concerts performed at some of its finest museums. Visitors can enjoy both great visual art and a performance, all within the same venue, and often spur-of-the-moment.

Here are a few upcoming March performances:

The d’Orsay Musuem
•Tuesday, March 8 – Cantabile – The London Quartet: Songs of Love and Death
•Friday, March 18 – Soloists from the Orchestre de Paris perform music by Janacek and Dvorak
•Tuesday, March 22 – Soloists from the Vienna Philharmonic perform music by Strauss, Brahms, Enescu
•Thursday, March 31 – Angelika Kirchschlager in recital; songs by Mahler, Berg, Marx
TICKETS ONLINE: http://musee-orsay.fnacspectacles.com

The Louvre
•Wednesday, March 30 – Escher Quartet performs Mendelssohn, Jalbert, and Beethoven
TICKETS ONLINE: http://louvre.fnacspectacles.com