From a tribute to Robert Frank and Tina Barney to the latest restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Raphael Regooprea: 36 hours in Paris for the 27th edition of the Paris Photo photography fair at the Grand Palais

Paris is always a good opportunity. Even more so when the city is invaded by exhibitions, talks and parallel fairs like during Paris Photo, a highlight for those who love Her Majesty photography.

This year will be exactly like the other years, and that reassures us a lot. Because every time it is a sparkle of exhibition projects and events of the highest quality.

Like the main fair, which will take place inside the renovated Grand Palais from 7 to 10 November. But the whole week will be marked by splendid rendezvous linked to the image.

Let's imagine a 36 hours on the banks of the Seine, shuttling between the rive gauche and the rive droite. We start with the main event that in 2024 will host 240 exhibitors from 34 nations.

Five in total the sections. The main one will gather 147 international galleries. Each with its own personal show: in the booth of the Fraenkel Gallery for example there will be Hiroshi Sugimoto; at Karsten Greve, Herbert List; at Equinox the “odd couple” Fred Herzog and David Hockney; at Gagosian, Richard Avedon and Tyler Mitchell; while Ruttkowski68, will show off the works of Lars Eidinger and the great interior photographer François Halard.

It is difficult to find better in the world. The other sections are then called Voices, Emergence, Digital and Book (where about 400 book signings will be set up in just 4 days).

The program of the event also includes special projects such as Elles x Paris Photo, this year curated by Raphaëlle Stopin, which promotes the representation of female artists within the Grand Palais.

While the Guest star of the 27th edition will be the American director, Jim Jarmush who, to celebrate 100 years of Surrealism, will curate a personal selection of works of art and will also participate in a conversation open to the public.

After this feast of images, you can take refuge in the renovated Bistrot Rougemont, at 10 rue Rougemont.

An authentic Parisian brasserie led by chef Anthony Poussel. The young interior decorator Virginie Friedmann, of the Friedmann&Versace studio, has revisited the spaces, transforming them into a tropical oasis thanks to the use of mint green boiserie and velvet sofas whose covers are covered with foliage patterns.

The alternative is the fusion gastronomy offered by the restaurant Oka Fogo, in the 17th arrondissement. The result of the meeting between the starred chef Raphael Regoopre and the architect Arnaud Behzadi, this place also has an evident tropical inspiration.

Partly for the culinary proposal that mixes Brazilian and French cuisine and partly for the paintings Florence Bamberger, inspired by the representations of the contemporary Brazilian artist José Francisco Borgès, which dominate the two rooms. The first is called Oka, which in the Tupi language means house; the second Fogo, fire.

After lunch, you can pop over to Saint Germain, the open-air theater of the PhotoSaintGermain festival. Exhibitions have been organized in various parts of the neighborhood - bookstores, galleries and even university classrooms.

Like that of Robert Frank, a giant of street photography, at the Galerie Zander, that of Nicolas Krief at the Galerie Gallimard or like the Room Service project set up in the various rooms of the Hôtel La Louisiane which for the occasion have been transformed into real exhibition stands (don't miss the erotic shots from the Lusted Men series in room 37).

At the Fondazione Sozzani until November 24th there are the nocturnal and almost dreamlike shots of Dolorès Marat, photographer winner of the Robert Delpire Book Prize 2023.

While a dutiful visit is deserved by the Jeu de Paume, which is the setting for a double all-female solo show: Travelling, a tribute retrospective dedicated to the Belgian director and artist Chantal Akermann, and Family Times, a tribute exhibition that brings together 55 works and over 40 years of career by the great Tina Barney (both events are until January 19th).

Crossing the Tuileries Garden and then the Seine you reach the Musée d’Orsay, the prestigious theater of Céline Laguarde. Photographe (1873-1961).

This is a real gem dedicated to one of the pioneering photographers of the early 20th century. A visual poetry with photos as beautiful as paintings and as intense as the pages of a novel.

If you are not yet overwhelmed, then take a trip to the Musée des Arts décoratifs where there is La mode en modèles (from November 6, 2024 to January 26, 2025): over 120 photographs of the collections compared with silhouettes and accessories of great designers such as Jeanne Lanvin, Jean Patou, Marcel Rochas, Madeleine Vionnet, Jeanne Paquin, or Elsa Schiaparelli.

Finally, a well-deserved rest is at Villa Marquis. Located in the 8th arrondissement, between the Seine and the Champs-Elysées, it is a Meliá Collection housed in what was once the home of the prestigious Hurault de Vibraye dynasty at the beginning of the 19th century.

The boutique hotel, clearly inspired by geometric shapes, almost seems to flirt with the Eiffel Tower thanks to the spectacular views that can be enjoyed from the numerous rooms and suites with a bohemian soul.

Inside the hotel you can also go to dinner experiencing the culinary experience of the Dos Almas restaurant, where French flavors intertwine with Spanish ones.

The menu that celebrates fusion atmospheres includes, among others, the freshly roasted beef fillet and the classic black rice paella with sea bass and mussels. In short, a true bridge between cultures, which is nothing other than the very essence of Paris.