‘I once thought the Channel Tunnel was too distant a link to our old enemy’: The Mail’s MARK PALMER makes a U-turn in his opinion of Eurostar after trip to ‘imperious’ Paris to see ‘blockbuster’ art

There’s nothing wrong with changing your thoughts. It’s giving in, which can be difficult, as any politician will tell you.

I was strongly opposed to the Channel Tunnel in the 1980s, when the project was seriously discussed, and remained lukewarm when it was officially opened in 1994. Forgive me, but I saw it as a loss of our island status, too distant a connection with our old enemy, the French. And it was also on the pricey side.

Now? Well, I’m sitting comfortably on the Eurostar, whizzing through Kent, followed by a quick dip underwater before emerging into the rolling French countryside.

Mark says the French capital ‘still buzzes with intrigue, as its imperious buildings watch over the River Seine with a knowing sense of justice’

All in all, a two-hour journey that gets us to Paris in time for a plat du jour – with a simple cake as a side dish. My wife, Joanna, and I are here to see two exhibitions: Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise – The Last Months; and the largest collection of Mark Rothko paintings ever assembled, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Our hotel – JK Place – is located 200 meters from where Van Gogh is staying at the Musee d’Orsay until February.

I’ve been wanting to stay in a JK Place hotel (there are currently three) ever since I called in for drinks in Capri. The Paris outlet is located in a neoclassical building whose interior has been completely and triumphantly transformed.

There are only 29 rooms. Our room is a mix of high-quality French and Italian design: modern but very chic, with mother-of-pearl cabinets and sleek black bathrooms. Downstairs there is a beautiful Italian restaurant and a spa with heated pool.

Fascinating: Mark visits the Musee d’Orsay, where Van Gogh is in residence until February

The atmosphere is in stark contrast to the torment Van Gogh endured in the last two months of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, when he made no fewer than 74 paintings and about twenty drawings.

Booking ahead is essential to avoid long waits – this is a blockbuster show. Van Gogh’s wavy lines, peppered with rich colors, give the village and countryside an exciting effect. The Rothko exhibition is just as fascinating, but attracts a more avant-garde audience. ‘I’m not interested in colour. It is light that I am looking for,” said the artist, one of many quotes on the walls. I find this challenging as the majority of the paintings are huge rectangles of color.

It’s all an acquired taste. For me it’s more a matter of being happy to have seen them than of longing for one above the fireplace in my sitting room. And learning about his complicated life is a revelation. Disturbingly, both Van Gogh and Rothko committed suicide.

Mark checks into the JK Place hotel, which has only 29 rooms. He describes his room as ‘modern but tres chic’

“The Paris outlet is located in a neoclassical building whose interiors have been completely and triumphantly transformed,” writes Mark. Upstairs is one of the hotel’s bathrooms

JK Place hotel has a ‘beautiful’ Italian restaurant and a spa with heated pool (photo)

Paris is preparing for next year’s Olympic Games. The streets seem cleaner, the taxi drivers grumpier. ‘The mayor is angry; Macron is even crazier. France is falling apart,” someone said. Perhaps, but the capital is still alive with intrigue, its imperious buildings watching over the River Seine with a knowing sense of justice.

A friend suggested we eat at Vagenende on Boulevard Saint-Germain for a quintessential French brasserie experience. It is decorated in Belle Epoque style and is owned by a mother and daughter who live upstairs. We eat and drink spectacularly well and enjoy the theater of it all.

When one of the waiters hears that we are from London, he says: ‘A great city, but nowhere nice to eat.’ Why fight prejudice? The French are masters at believing they are right when they are clearly wrong. It’s a strangely endearing national characteristic.