Fresh off hosting the 2024 Olympics, the French capital has reasserted itself on the global stage – not just as a historic treasure but as a modern, evolving metropolis
In the 18 years I’ve lived in Paris, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ambled through the cavernous inner sanctum of Notre-Dame Cathedral before a fire nearly erased it from our beloved skyline in April 2019.
The Gothic beacon first emerged in the 12th century as the continent was pulling itself out of the Dark Ages and has borne witness to the hazards and joys of life across centuries.
Given that, I assumed, as most Parisians did, it would never falter. I told myself I had plenty of opportunities to climb the 422 steps to the top of its bell towers and take in the views of the Seine River, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, the very sights the Gargoyles have fixated on for generations.
Our collective history may have changed that day, but there would be a happy ending five years later.
Freed from soot – its artworks painstakingly restored, its pastel-painted chapel columns brightened for the first time in centuries, its roof rebuilt from the wood of 2,000 oak trees (felled by hand), its spire reconstructed exactly as before, and its 14 large bronze Neo-Gothic chandeliers (weighing nearly 300kg each) repaired and reinstalled in the nave of the cathedral – Notre-Dame is back in a big way since December 2024.
Naturally, visitors are eager to observe how she shines anew. “Notre-Dame is a meeting place for believers and non-believers, Parisians and foreigners,” said archbishop Laurent Ulrich before the reopening, adding that the diocese anticipates 15 million visitors in 2025. “It creates an invisible but very real link between us all.”
The cathedral’s rebirth concluded a momentous year for the French capital. As host of an Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be remembered as one of the most magical, meaningful and sustainable in history, the city drew in millions of travellers to witness firsthand how an ancient city perpetually reinvents itself and has inspired millions more to visit this year.
These milestones weren’t truly unique, however. They unfolded in lockstep with the capital’s broader post-pandemic renaissance. You can feel the energy of renewal everywhere, from the updates of art institutions and the proliferation of small, international galleries to the thriving restaurant scene and the very streets of Paris.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo and her team have made good on a years-long campaign to rid the streets of cars by expanding the city’s network of bicycle paths. So far, they’ve created more than 1,000km of cyclist-friendly routes and have committed to another 160km by 2026.
In the art world, the shift has been especially noteworthy. Among the most anticipated reopening is the riverside Grand Palais, the impressive steel-framed and glass structure just off the Champs-Élysées initially constructed to host the 1900 World’s Fair. Since then, it has served as the spectacular setting for all manner of events, from fashion shows and photography fairs to countless landmark art exhibitions.
But like all Parisian relics, it badly needed a refresh, having never been top-to-bottom renovated since the former culture minister André Malraux installed art galleries within the space in 1966. Since 2021, it has undergone three years of restoration and restructuring, which removed partitions and opened up interior spaces that had been blocked off for the last 60 years.
It partially reopened to host taekwondo and fencing competitions in the 2024 Olympics but will be fully back in business by mid-2025 when the works are complete. Then, guests will be able to pass directly beneath the glass-domed central nave and take in even larger-scale exhibitions.
Exhibition spaces like the Grand Palais and large and small museums have always been the city’s calling card.
The Louvre, housing some of the world’s most iconic works, such as the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa, as well as IM Pei’s glass pyramid, is not only the largest museum on earth but arguably the most recognisable of all art institutions.
This spring through 21 July, the Louvre stages a fashion exhibition for the first time in its 232-year history. “Louvre Couture” highlights pieces by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Yohji Yamamoto and Dolce & Gabbana, alongside the museum’s historical collections to create a dialogue between fashion and classical art.
But while it has been a grand museum city and the home of avant-garde art movements, it hasn’t always been a destination for contemporary art fans.
Kamel Mennour, an art dealer with four namesake galleries in Paris, distinctly remembers a defunct landscape when he set up his business in 1999. “It was an old lady. It was a sleeping lady,” he told Artsy magazine.
It would take the emergence of several privately funded art institutions like the Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Bourse de Commerce-Pinault Collection and Lafayette Anticipations; the opening of Parisian outposts from major international galleries; and the shockwave of Brexit to reshape the art market and make Paris appealing to artists, buyers and travellers in a new way.
Today, France is the fourth-largest art market globally and is steadily growing, which partially explains why Art Basel set its sights on Paris and effectively ousted the city’s erstwhile flagship fall art fair, FIAC.
The potential for Paris to regain the status it had before New York dethroned it as the art capital of the world was enough for the annual art fair to invest in the city. Art Basel-Paris and the spring cultural rendezvous Art Paris (also held in the Grand Palais) are only two reasons the momentum continues this year.
“It’s an exciting year because it marks the 100th anniversary of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts of 1925,” said Dan Thawley, the art director of the two-year-old design fair Matter and Shape, which takes place this month in the heart of the Tuileries Garden. “Art Deco will be a key theme for our exhibitors, and there will also be homages all over the city.”
That includes a star-studded ball in July at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD). The American filmmaker Sofia Coppola was named the artistic director of the museum’s inaugural Bal d’Été which will pay tribute to French elegance and art de vivre, while simultaneously kicking off Haute Couture week.
As the second oldest museum in Paris, and home to the most extensive decorative arts collections in Europe – with nearly 1.5 million predominantly French design pieces, some dating back as far as the Middle Ages – the MAD is a particularly apt backdrop for what is poised to be a pure celebration of talent across the creative divide.
Anyone considering visiting in the fall will have more than one artistic event to experience. For two weeks in September, the French street artist JR will transform the Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge, into a sculptured grotto in homage to the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their monumental artistic project Pont Neuf Wrapped from 1985.
And by year’s end, the Fondation Cartier, the first of the country’s corporate-funded art institutions, will open the doors to its new building across from the Louvre. All of these developments give regular visitors even more reason to keep returning.
“What makes Paris so unique is how effortlessly it combines the old and the new,” explained Susan Khalje, a couture specialist who has been bringing travellers to Paris for the last 20 years to meet the artisans who keep fashion and design craftsmanship alive. “To be immersed in that mix, in which both are honoured and given equal weight, is exhilarating, whether you’re visiting for the first time or the hundredth time.” Might 2025 be the year you see for yourself?
Where to eat in Paris
Café des Ministères
An exceptional, classic bistro in a charming neighbourhood best known for housing the National Assembly. Come for generous portions of vol-auvent and chou farci. 83 Rue de l‘Université
Bistrot des Tournelles
Top-quality steak, bottomless fries and Beaujolais wines are the raison d’être of this old-world bistro updated by young talents on the edge of the Marais neighbourhood. 6 Rue des Tournelles
Le Verre Volé
Intimate bistro meets wine bar, this spot has been a dining standout around the Canal Saint Martin since it first opened in 2000. Expect natural wines and a small menu that rotates regularly. 67 Rue de Lancry
Malaysia Airlines flies between Kuala Lumpur and Paris 4x weekly starting on 22 March 2025; with daily flights from 29 March 2025 onwards.
