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"Unexplored Paris" by Rodolphe Trouilleux, photos by Jacques Lebar (Parigramme, 120F) Organized by quartier, this excellent guide translated from French highlights 161 little-known sites you won't find in the standard guide books: leafy back streets, medieval (and mock-medieval) houses, hidden gardens, the city's old horse market, even the granite flagstones where the Bastille guillotine once stood (they're in the middle of the rue de la Croix-Faubin in the 11th). The design is rather boring, which is a pity, because the color photos, nearly 200 of them, are excellent. A fine way to rediscover your neighborhood, or another part of the city. "Around and About Paris" by Thirza Vallois (Iliad, 3 volumes, 110F each) Published in three volumes (covering arrondissements 1-7, 8-12 and 13-20 respectively), this is the best of the many walking guides to the city. Vallois is an agrégée history buff and a wonderful storyteller who takes us through the city quartier by quartier. She quotes Zola, talks architecture and evokes the sights and smells of past centuries with an easy wit. Too bad about the cheap-looking covers; the compensations are numerous maps and some charming sketches. Less thorough but also first-rate is Gilles Desmon's "Walking Paris" (New Holland, 90F), just updated. It has 30 itineraries and is packed with info, though he cannot match Vallois as a raconteur. "Out of Paris" by Vivienne Menkes-Ivry (A&C Black, 110F) Written for tourists or Parisians who want to escape the bustle, this new title from the Blue Guide team presents 30 areas beyond the périphérique worth exploring on day trips or weekends. Half a dozen (Versailles, Chartres, Giverny) are familiar, but the others - such as the medieval towns of Provins and Senlis and the nature reserve at La Brenne, famed for its birdwatching - are little known. The last third is dedicated to the Berry, a fascinating area south of the capital, blissfully free of tourists. "Traveler's Tales: Paris" (Traveler's Tales, 140F) "Take those two words, gold and pleasure, for a lantern, and explore the golden cage of Paris." This quote from Balzac opens this original book, which presents the city through the stories of other travelers. The extracts are superb, with famous names - James Baldwin, Edmund White, Sartre - alongside some strong work by lesser known writers (including a fine piece on Montreuil by a certain David Applefield). The pick of the lot is "Within the Périquérique," Jan Morris' brilliant essay on why she distrusts the city. She begins by admitting that, like most of us, she is "haunted by the feeling that Paris knows something other cities don't," that it is "handling our brutal century more intelligently." But still, she explains, "I am agitated by the timeless emblematic quality of Paris. It is not like other capitals, living for the moment and the cash. It is as though the whole place consciously stands for something or other, so that nothing is simply itself." Wow! "Little-known Museums In and Around Paris" by Rachel Kaplan (Abrams, 140F) Did you know that Paris was graced with entire museums dedicated to tools, fans, dolls and magic, and others to Edith Piaf, Balzac, and Delacroix? This slim, richly illustrated volume does the dirty on 30 obscure museums, and includes both practical information and lengthy essays on each. |
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