This Week In Paris: April 13th to April 19th

I mentioned last week that the newly renovated Salle d'Etat where La Jaconde, the Mona Lisa is exhibited is open.

Also the Gallery of Apollo is newly renovated and really is a finely restored work. As you come up the stairs to the "Winged Victory of Samothrace" go to the left, the way to the Venus de Milo. There after the Rotunde du Mars is the Gallery of Apollo to the right. It is simply stunning.

The room is softly lit, but enough so that you can see plainly the work of the ceiling. There are life sized statues framing the mural and I tell you I strained my neck soaking it all in.

There are a series of glass cases down the center of the room displaying some wonderful artifacts in glass, silver and gold.

The panels of the walls are decorated with portraits of artists and architects from the 17th and 18th centuries, Percier, Lascot, Manscot, Chambiche, Delorme and another of Louis XIV.

If you are in Paris this week do take it in.

Les Musees de la Ville de Paris:Many are open free to the public

Thanks to the insiration of Mayor Bertrand Delano, the permanent collections of many of the City Museums are open and free to the public.

The museums included in this offering from the city are:

• Musee Carnavalet
• Musee Cognacq-Jay
• Musee Bordelle
• Musee Zadkine
• Maisons de Victor Hugo
• Musee de la Vie Romantique
• musee Cernuschi

A wealth of classical music this week