Why Paris is always at the top of my travel list
Tour leader Claudia Chan Shaw is an Art Deco fanatic but she also knows her way around the French capital’s patisseries.
Claudi Chan Shaw is a woman with many creative hats who’s been lucky to build a career by following her interests.
“I started as a fashion designer and my career morphed into TV and radio presenter, author, arts lecturer, public speaker, curator and artist.”
While lecturing at the Art Gallery of NSW, she was spotted by Liz Gibson from the Art Gallery Society, who asked if she would lead an Art Deco tour to Shanghai. A career as a cultural tour leader followed. The trips are for the World Art Tours program of the Art Gallery of NSW and facilitated by Renaissance Tours to destinations such as Havana, New York, Miami and Shanghai.
Why Art Deco?
Sometimes I feel as if I was born in the wrong era. I would have been happy in the 1920s, 30s and 40s; probably it’s a throwback to my days of being obsessed with Humphrey Bogart films as a kid.
The Art Deco movement burst onto the world stage in Paris in 1925, and touched not only architecture, but all aspects of design, from fashion, textiles, decorative arts and jewellery to typography, motor cars and ocean liners. It spread throughout the world, including the US, UK, Australia, South Africa, South America, China, Japan and of course across Europe, so just about every major city has its own interpretation of Art Deco to be discovered.
I always tell tour guests to look up, look down, peek in windows, look along hallways; there is so much detail to be discovered and often the most magical design is hidden in plain sight. I love contrasting the different takes on Art Deco across the world, such as comparing the Peace Hotel (1929) with the Bacardi Building (1930) in Havana or the Chrysler Building (1930) in New York. All were built about the same time, and each is so representative of its city.
The city I return to
Paris is always at the top of my list. When I first visited in the 1980s, I was “discovered” for a TV commercial by director Adrian Lyne who had just released the movie 9½ Weeks. I wore a fabulous hat, and pushed an antique baby carriage across the Trocadero as the sun rose over the Eiffel Tower. Later, business and pleasure combined as I visited Paris annually for fashion trade shows, enjoying being a flaneur, wandering and watching and taking my time.
My favourite hotel
My favourite Art Deco place to stay is the Peace Hotel on The Bund in Shanghai. It started life as the Cathay Hotel in 1929, when Shanghai was known as the Paris of the East. Charlie Chaplin stayed there; Noel Coward wrote Private Lives in one of its suites. It’s been beautifully restored and boasts the world’s oldest jazz band. The average age of its veteran musicians is 80. It’s a delicious nostalgia trip.
Singapore surprises
I recently discovered Singapore’s Art Deco in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood, one of the city-state’s oldest residential neighbourhoods, dating back to the 1930s, and the first to feature public housing. Architect Alfred G. Church’s designs were a modification of Streamline Moderne inspired by emerging technology and the speed of modern travel. Take a look at The Great Madras Hotel in Little India, once a 1920s residential block, and check Neo-Deco Atlas Bar on Parkview Square.
Where to walk in Paris
I always include a visit to Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, which opens Saturday, Sunday and Monday and is one of the world’s largest flea markets. There are about 12 covered markets, plus shopping streets where you will find vintage fashion, posters, toys, books and decorative items. I also recommend visiting food markets to pick up fresh ingredients (including a baguette, of course) for a lovely picnic (or to smuggle back to your hotel).
The best Paris pastries
I’m always in search of the ultimate sweet treat in Paris, especially those shiny fruit tarts glistening in the windows of patisseries. If you have time and patience, queue outside Cedric Grolet’s famous patisserie at 35 Avenue de l’Opera or head to Rue Montorgueil where Stohrer, founded by King Louis XV’s pastry chef, is the city’s oldest patisserie and home of the original rum baba. For comfort food, it’s straight to a Vietnamese diner in Paris for a big bowl of noodles.
Best bar none
Willi’s Wine Bar, on Rue des Petits Champs, opened by an Englishman in 1980, is generally considered to be the capital’s first wine bar. You can pop in for a glass or two of Rhone wine, and a simple bistro meal. You might be greeted by a maitre d’ speaking fluent colloquial French with a cockney accent. It’s relaxed and cosy and a favourite haunt. As for the venue’s name, Willi was a dog known to hang out with the likes of Omar Sharif, Colette and Jean Cocteau. He’s buried below the gas meter to the left of the bar’s front door. RIP, Willi.
Seasonal tips
I’m not a fan of ironing, so my go-to staples for travelling are knits by my mother Vivian Chan Shaw (I always take one of her handloomed cardigans on flights). They don’t crush, always look stylish and can be dressed up or down with jewellery or accessories. They’re also perfect for layering, so you can add or shed as the weather changes. I have a lightweight olive-green top by the late Issey Miyake that I bought at his original boutique in the Marais more than 20 years ago; the style still looks modern and fresh.
Claudia Chan Shaw will lead three cultural tours in 2025: Art Deco to Art Now: Singapore, January 16-22; Hong Kong Art Week: March 25-30; Art Nouveau and the Belle Epoque (Prague, Brussels, Paris): May 4-17.
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