Paris is always a good idea.

I was lucky enough to get away for a long weekend last week and to return to this beautiful city that I know well. Each time I come to Paris, my breath is taken away by its beauty. The alignment of the streets, the boulevards, the architecture, the monuments, the cafés, the cobbled stoned roads, the fresh flower markets are mesmerizing.

Paris early in the morning when the city is still half asleep, Paris at night with its bright city lights on and the shimmering Eiffel Tower, Paris under the rain, Paris in Autumn, Paris in Spring. The descriptions are endless but the sentiment remains the same.

This time, I took the time to visit the YVES SAINT LAURENT MUSEUM which opened exactly one year ago, fifteen years since the Haute Couture house closed. It is located at   5 Avenue Marceau in the legendary “hotel particulier” where Yves Saint Laurent spent nearly thirty years designing his collections from 1974 to 2002.  Within this space, a rotation of retrospective displays and short termed thematic exhibitions will present the Pierre Bergé-Yves St Laurent Foundation’s rich and unique collection.

The current exhibition: Yves Saint Laurent – Dreams of the Orient which takes place from October 2018 to January 2019, brings together approximately fifty haute couture designs inspired by India, China and Japan and is complemented with Asian artworks borrowed from the Musée Guimet and private collectors.

The most touching and to me the most magical moment was entering the “Studio” of Monsieur Saint Laurent, recreating the original atmosphere of the haute couture house. You enter the studio where you find the desk of YSL with his personal belongings – a pair of glasses, piles of art books, drawing pencils, a dog figurine and little things personal bits scattered on his desk, just as though he had momentarily stepped out of the room.

I am in awe of such talent. Truly one of the great names of French Haute Couture.

Definitely a must-see stop to add to your list of things to see in Paris.

Musée Yves Saint Laurent https://museeyslparis.com/en/practical-information