Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Le Printemps -- en été





One of the grand magasins of Paris, Printemps is housed in an exceptional building which has recently been renovated. Laurent of Daily Photo in Paris recently posted the renovations as photographed from the roof-top terrace. Below you can see the "before" photo I took two years ago.





We'll come back here again as I have not yet told "the hat story" and other Printemps adventures.


Le Printemps
64, boulevard Haussmann

26 comments:

Virginia said...

A glorious place to spend euros and the view from the top is fabulous. Love the blue sky here in your photo Genie.
V

Anonymous said...

I will be visiting here for sure - looking forward to the hat story x

Dianne said...

Lovely pic of a beautiful building Genie!! the architecture of these grand magasins is unbelievable!
~Dianne~

Pat said...

Lovely renovation...I like its terrace and the one on La Samaritaine, but I think that store is now closed, sniff.

Great title! :)

Shell Sherree said...

It's gorgeous! I'd feel extra special shopping somewhere even vaguely like this.

Birdman said...

Everyone and 'thing' needs a new coat every now and then. A change for th better here.

Unknown said...

Oooh, the hat story, I'm intrigued! XX!

M said...

I think they had one turret to go when we were there in June, perhaps when you and Holly are there in December they will be finished. Beautiful picture of a magnificent place. Loved window shopping there!

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Virginia -- The blue skies of June were a better backdrop for the "after" photo than the gray December skies in the "before."

Sooz -- Hope that you have a blast and that there are no problems with the strike (le grève).

Dianne -- I totally agree. This 19th Century architecture will not be recreated so it is important to restore.

Bibi -- I loved La Samaritaine and was sorry to see it close. I think that the building itself is being renovated for new use but not as a grand magasin.

Shell -- It is and the inside just takes your breath away!

Birdman -- How true and I think that they will need a plan to keep the pigeons away to preserve its loveliness.

Shari -- You can go back into my archives and find two hat postings, but the hat story at Printemps is good.

M -- You were more observant than I was. Actually I was surprised to find this older photo before the renovations.

Anonymous said...

Now this one isn't creepy at all....very beautiful!

Liz

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Liz -- I am glad you approve!

Loree said...

Le Printemps is looking great.

Paris Paul said...

Perfect lighting and the blue of the cloudless sky really brings out the stone of the dome.

And I'm really looking forward to the hat story!

Julie said...

Genie, on my sidebar is being born 'à pied dans les rues de Paris'. Still in the delivery room, but I will work more on it during today. Feel free to offer me corrections to my blossoming (but still infantile) french.

Bergson said...

quel titre !!!
un beau bâtiment aussi

Laurent said...

Thanks for the link Genie and cheers from Paris !

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Loree -- Merci and I am sure that you have been there!

Paul -- Thanks... It is amazing the difference the renovations have made. Don't you think that they took down the spires for gilding/painting/sealing? Even repairing that dome would be tricky!

Julie -- I look forward to your new blog and what an ambitious goal ... en français! You are a seasoned photographer and now a linguist. I will leave the corrections to the native speakers of French. I have already made a horribly embarrassing faux pas making a comment en français! (waaaaaay better than the hat story, really!)

Bergson -- Ah, merci! C'est un plaisir de vous voir ici!

Laurent -- Je t'en prie. Your photos and the background stories are priceless!

Alexa said...

Oooh, they did a great job! I really miss the view from La Samaritaine, so good to know you can go up here for another one. Genie, when we meet we'll have to trade "embarrassing faux pas in French" stories!

Randy said...

That is amazing. I can only imagine the view from those windows.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Alexa -- Ah, yes. On my first trip to Paris I asked my daughter on the way home if she thought that we had said the equivalent of "done did" in French. Her response with a roll of the eyes and nod of the head..... "mais oui, maman"

Randy -- I am never quite connected enough to get into the windows. Don't you imagine that it is lovely!

Jack said...

Isn't the detailing wonderful?

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Jack -- It is and I would love to get close enough to touch those tiles! Thanks for your comment.

cocoa and coconut said...

Printemps is a great shopping centre!

PeterParis said...

A remarkable restoration job! Quite expensive though; they could not afford to restore all at one time. More to come ... when? :-)

Starman said...

I've passed it so many times in the last few days, I'm like a Parisian, I don't even notice it any more.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Brittany -- It is indeed un grand magasin both in terms of size and importance.

Peter -- Well, I did not know that they had not completed the restoration until Marie mentioned it in her comments. I can only imagine how expensive it is.

Starman -- You really know how to make me envious, don't you!