Category: Guides

November in Paris begins with yet another long weekend away from work – le pont de la Toussaint (All Saints Day) – one of many strewn along the French calendar year. As Paris florists bring out their stock of chrysanthemum for the annual commemoration of Parisians now gone, and as other Parisians pack their cars and pile up at the exits of the city for yet another frantic weekend on France’s chock-a-block highways, why not use this most appropriate time of year for a less stressful outing to one of the capital’s cemeteries. This should be completed with the purchase of Georges Brassens’ “La Ballade des Cimetières,” a perfect way to record your outing and do your French homework. Continue reading “Paris Cemeteries, the Saints Go Marching”

Until recently, much of Paris was a collection of villages, fragments of which can still be detected by the sharp observer. Needless to say, their wine-loving inhabitants covered a substantial portion of their territory with vineyards… to everyone’s joy.

Continue reading “Paris’ Secret Vineyards”

It was on the southern edge of the arrondissement, in the wretched Faubourg St-Antoine that rumbling discontent was first channeled into working-class consciousness and into organized action against exploitation. When word was spread on April 28, 1789 that Monsieur Réveillon, a painted-paper manufacturer on rue de Montreuil, was planning to reduce his workers’ wages, the Faubourg St-Antoine rose up in a violent insurrection. Monsieur Réveillon had not anticipated such a reaction, for the lowering of wages he had intended was proportionate to the drop in the price of bread fixed by the authorities to ease social tension. His 400 workers had a different idea of fairness and Réveillon, terrified, ran for his life and sought shelter in the neighboring Bastille, the ominous fortress looming west of the faubourg. It took the intervention of troops and a death toll of 30 to put down the revolt, but any wise ruler should have sensed that further trouble was brewing … Continue reading “Bastille day…The story behind the celebration”

Discovering the 11th district   In 1976 the painter Dominique Thiolet settled in a new studio at 5 rue de Charonne, ushering in a new era for the 11th arrondissement. The arrival of other artists in the southern section of the arrondissement around the Bastille and the renovation of the area were the first step of an overall process of gentrification of eastern Paris. Continue reading “Storming the Bastille”

A tiny patch of Africa transplanted to Paris, the Goutte-d’Or is one of the last remnants of genuine working-class village life in Paris.  Despite desperate struggles by local associations to rescue it from the hands of technocrats determined to “clean up” the area, demolition has already begun and the usual characterless buildings of our times are cropping up, notably the new police station, easily distinguishable by its tricolored flag. Continue reading “The Goutte-d’Or”

We all have our “favorites” as to where to play out our love stories, and a city like Paris has certainly scores of these. But remember that choosing the right time of day or night, the right season and the right weather can be as important as the “stage” itself, which should never be crowded. It’s meant to be just the two of you, and Paris… What a superb threesome you make! Continue reading “Paris’ ten most romantic spots”

Montrmartre, Pigalle and la Chapelle —Crime and the passion of social ideas; anarchists and artists; sex, drugs, rock ‘n’roll and working class heroes … Paris’ 18th arrondissement has seen it all. Its history tells the tale of some of the major social forces shaping life in this city. Continue reading “Paris’ 18th district”