France: Paris – The dome of the Galleries Lafayette

August 31, 2022
Ile de France
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Created by master glassworker Jacques Gruber in the “Art nouveau” or “Art déco” style, the dome ceiling of the Galleries Lafayette is a incredibly beautiful as we as being functional (it lets in lots of light) and has been attracting visitors to the store in its own right for over 100 years.

When we travel to big cities, such as Paris, going to a department store is not high on our list of places to visit. Yet, we decided to go to the Galeries Lafayette on Hausmann Boulevard on our most recent visit to this beautiful city. Our reason for visiting was not to spend a small fortune on wildly overpriced clothing or jewellery but instead to look at one of its architectural features: The dome ceiling.

The Galeries Lafayette, on Boulevard Haussmann, has three main buildings. The one we were interested in was the Lafayette Coupole, which is home to designer collections, children’s fashion, cosmetics, jewellery and accessories, books, music, electronics and the Lafayette Marriage Boutique. It also has the dome and a roof terrace restaurant and viewing deck.

What had piqued our interest in the dome at the Galerie Lafayette was a recent Facebook posting by someone we knew when we lived in Ardsley, New York. She and her family had recently visited Paris and the Galerie Lafayette and she had done a stunning painting of the dome. So, we simply had to go and check it out for ourselves.

The store is right across the Opéra National de Paris, Palais Garnier. We walked around the store, and it was not too long before we found what we had come to see. The atrium rises up eight floors to the spectacular glass roof above. It is incredibly beautiful. On each of the floors balconies, with gilded balustrades lean out. There is even a glass walkway on the 3rd floor, suspended 46-metres in the air that extends out 9-metres under the dome.

The glass dome was created by master glassworker Jacques GRUBER in the “Art nouveau” or “Art déco” style.The purpose was to give light and a certain style to the main Galeries Lafayette store, and more particularly to the fabulous gilded ironwork on the balconies fashioned by Louis Majorelle, who also designed the monumental bannister on a magnificent staircase which, unfortunately, was removed from the store in 1974.

The stained glass currently in place forms an immense flower comprised of 10 luminous sections stretching over a total of 1000m².

Whilst visiting the dome, you should also check out the restaurant on the 8th floor, and more specifically the rooftop terrace. The plexiglass barrier gives uninterrupted views toward the Palais Garnier, opera house and southward toward the Seine. You can also see the Eiffel Tower and Sacré Cœur from here. The views from the terrace are particulary spectacular at sunset! Also, on the roof you can see the skylight that protects the glass of the dome below.

Planning your visit to the dome of the Galeries Lafayette

Nearest Metro: Chaussée d’Antin, Opéra, or Trinité

RER: Auber (Line A) or Haussmann St-Lazare (Line E)

Address:	40 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris
Website:	https://www.galerieslafayette.com/
Hours:	Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 8.30 pm and Sundays and public holidays from 11 am to 8 pm. the public on Thursday, September 1st and Tuesday, September 6th.
Fees:	Free

The best time to visit Paris

You’ll experience crowds from May to September, but encounter the most people in July (followed closely by June and August). We’d recommend visiting between October and April if your main objective is to avoid crowds. For the warmest temperatures, October and April are the best times to visit Paris sans crowds.

Other places to visit while in Paris

1. Banks of the River Seine

The banks of the River Seine through the heart of Paris are listed as UNESCO world heritage site due to the incredible architecture of buildings such as Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Grand Palais and the examples of outstanding town planning, in particular, the large squares and avenues built by Haussmann at the time of Napoleon III have influenced town planning throughout the world.

2. Musee D’Orsay

Housed in a train station built for the 1900 World’s Fair, the Musée d’Orsay is known throughout the world for its rich collection of Impressionist paintings including masterpieces as iconic as the Bal au Moulin de la galette from Renoir or The room at Arles de Van Gogh. Its collections include works of architecture, decorative arts and photography in addition to traditional artistic fields (painting, sculpture, graphic arts). They thus draw a broad panorama of French and European art from 1848 to 1914.

3. Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, decorators and landscape architects, it provided Europe with a model of the ideal royal residence for over a century.

4. The Louvre Museum

The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is the world’s most-visited museum, and a historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. At any given point in time, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are being exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres.

5. The Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier, also known as Opéra Garnier, is a 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l’Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. It is also famous due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera.

6. Château Fontainebleau

The Château de Fontainebleau is located in the small town bearing the same name and lies 40 miles (65 km) south-southeast of Paris by road. It has been the residence of 34 kings and two emperors, Fontainebleau is the only château that was lived in by every French monarch for almost eight centuries. With 1500 rooms, it is one of the biggest châteaux in France, and the most furnished in Europe.

Getting around Paris

The centre of Paris, where tourists are likely to spend most of their time is compact and easy to get around using a combination of public transport and walking. It also quite friendly towards cyclists. Below are some of the options for getting around this beautiful city.

The Metro
Paris Metro (Métro in French, Subway or Underground in English) is the fastest way of getting around the city. The underground system has 14 interconnected lines (and 4 others under construction) and is also linked with the other RER trains.

RER
The Paris RER is a regional train transport system connecting the centre to its surrounding suburbs. RER stands for Réseau Express Régional. The RER also complements the Paris Metro, giving Parisians and tourists a larger transport network in the centre of Paris. The RER also connects the city centre with Charles de Gaulle Airport, Disneyland and Versailles.

Paris City Buses
One of the easiest and most convenient ways of getting around Paris is by bus. The buses in Paris travel 60-day routes and 40-night ones.

Taxis
Paris has over 20,000 taxis (cabs) on its streets 24 hours a day. It normally isn’t hard to hail a cab, except after midnight.

Ride Hailing
Both Uber and Bolt ride-hailing apps work in Paris.

Batobus
Both Uber and Bolt ride-hailing apps work in Paris.

Cycling
With 1,000 km of bike paths and bike lanes across the city, Paris offers a great choice of cycling routes.

If you don’t have a bicycle there are plenty of places to hire one or use one of the bicycle-sharing options, the most popular being Vélib’

Eating in Paris

French cooking is full-flavored and varied thanks to the fresh ingredients and the country’s cultural diversity.

Traditional dishes

These are some of the traditional dishes that you can try in the restaurants of Paris:

Foie gras: fattened duck or goose liver.
Boeuf Bourguignon: known in English as Burgundy beef, is beef stewed in red wine.
Escargots: snails.
Croque-monsieur: baked or fried ham and cheese sandwich.
Quiche Lorraine: savoury open pie made of eggs, cream and other ingredients such as bacon, cheese or different varieties of vegetables.
Fromage: cheese.
Coq au vin: chicken and vegetable casserole cooked in wine.
Pot-au-feu: beef stew with vegetables.
Brioche: pastry made of eggs, baking powder, milk and sugar.
Tarte Tatin: thin caramelised apple pie.
Crepe: thin type of flour pancake that can be filled with savoury or sweet ingredients.
Ratatouille: stewed dish made of aubergines, tomato, courgette, peppers and basil.

French cheeses

France is one of the top cheese makers worldwide. Known by many as the country of 1,000 cheeses, it is possible to eat a different type of cheese every day of the year.

Walking around the city and especially its markets, visitors will be surprised by the quality and quantity of cheese available. The country produces over 400 different varieties.

Patisseries and pastries

Some of the most exquisite French foods are the bread, pastries and desserts. Paris has thousands of boulangeries and patisseries (bakeries), where visitors will be able to enjoy some of the most delicious sweet goodies just out of the oven.

We recommend all travellers to try the brioche and the renowned pain au chocolat, similar to a croissant, but with an oozing chocolate centre. A curious fact is that the famous croissant is originally from Austria, not from France.

When to eat?

Generally, the French eat quite early. Most restaurants in Paris open from midday until 3 pm for lunch and then from 7:30 pm – 11 pm for dinner.

Be that as it may, it won’t be difficult for tourists to find restaurants open for longer hours since Paris is a very cosmopolitan city and is used to tourism.

Prices

Although it’s not a cheap city, the prices of restaurants in Paris are not much higher than those usually found in the main European capitals.

Where to stay in Paris

Paris is very spread out and its top attractions are far apart. If you want to find accommodation in the most elegant parts of the city, the best options are Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, the Louvre, and Opéra Garnier. If, on the other hand, you prefer a lively neighbourhood and want to enjoy the city’s nightlife, we recommend the Latin Quarter.

To summarize, we recommend finding accommodation on both sides of the Seine, from the Île de la Cité to the Eiffel Tower. These areas are safe, central and ideal to stay in.