Seeing Paris
Paris arrondissements, neighborhoods, day trips, museums, monuments, greenery, tours, guides, walks and wheels, cultural places open, closed and renovating
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Stopped by the Gendarmes
It is Covid-19 time and I am out for a beautiful, blue-sky morning walk with my camera. The delivery men on bicycles are collecting bags of chocolate for Easter from the chocolate shop on La rue du Pas-de-la-Mule. Walking past Places des Vosges, I passed a cinematographer and a director/producer filming for the gendarmery television network. Two mounted gendarmes were being filmed while questioning and chatting with locals about the document...
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Find Wallace Fountains Find Paris
Have you walked around Paris and passed right by a water fountain from 1872 without taking a drink? Did you spend two Euros on a bottle of water instead? The non-profit Society of the Wallace Fountains is working hard to preserve the iconic Wallace fountains. The Paris water department (Eau de Paris) is responsible for their continued functioning. The water source differs throughout Paris. Where I live in the Bastille, ours comes from an aquifer. The fascinating story and a guidebook with maps and 21 self-guided walks is a great way for to hunt for the fountains. As Barbara Lambesis the author and President of the foundation says, “Find the Wallace…
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Notre-Dame Bell, Emmanuel, Rings for Chirac
Walking along the narrow rue Galand the sound of a muffled bell ringing reverberated against the walls. Sitting at the café, looking at my watch, it was around 11:20 on a Monday morning. My friend guessed it was a church nearby; I guessed Notre-Dame. Couldn't be.... perhaps the towers were damaged. The constant soft ringing was not signalling the quarter, half or full hour. Earlier I had heard on French television the time for the funeral ceremony that would pass from Hôtel des Invalides to Saint-Sulpice. We walked toward Notre-Dame from where the mystery sound originated. Emmanuel, the 300 year old was ringing. The ringing was manually orchestrated. The first…
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Hôtel de Marle’s Hidden Rooms at l’Institute Suédois
Take a guided visit until October 13, of residential apartments in the Hôtel de Marle in the Marais (l'Institute Suédois). The tours are usually given in French. If you wish another language, like English, show up an hour before. Tours are Wednesday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 4pm. Go to reception at 3 pm and request an English tour. The Swedish Institute will arrange a guide for the exhibition “Hem fois 6” (Feel at home in 6 different apartments).
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Transportation Tips In and Around Paris
The RATP (Paris transportation system) has highly upgraded their website. They provide clear information when you find it. Some pages are in English, French and Spanish. Others include German, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Brazilian. How would a party of five find their way into Paris from the airport?
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Day trip to Château Champs-sur-Marne
Why not forego the hassle of shooting your next film at Versailles or the Élysee Palace. Instead, head out to the Château Champs-sur-Marne, less than an hour from the Bastille. The château and grounds have been popular movie locations. The journey from Gare de Lyon makes for a relaxing day trip to the countryside. If you are not shooting a film, the day trip is worth it anyway. What you will see The château is filled with furniture and extensive decorative interiors, including bathrooms, a smoking room, salons, bedchambers, service corridor, children’s dining room (formerly a bathroom), the smoking room and a billiard room (in case you are looking for decorating ideas). You can…
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Paris Summer Activities with Kids
With all the activities available for kids and teenagers in Paris this summer, I don't know if the parents are going to have time for a romantic Paris dinner at the newly opened Ritz ... Well, yes, you can with a babysitter service. What follows is a list of suggestions for finding some activities this summer. It would take a book or at least a magazine to list everything.
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Musée Arts Forains Tours in English
As the poster says, this is "an entertaining museum off the beaten path in Paris!" The Musée des Arts Forains (Museum of Fairground Art and carnival rides) is a large collection of entertainment and fairground art objects. English tours are planned for Monday and Thursday: July 11, 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28; August 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22 and 25 (reservations required). Tours at other times are in French. The visit is a real family fun moment. I highly recommend seeing this completely different museum in another beautiful neighborhood in our Ville Lumière......
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Sightseeing Using Trains in Île-de-France
Exploring nature, art or history in the Greater Paris area just got easier. The simple search words “impressionists transilien and bike” in a search engine, points directly to the correct and simple-to-use new page “Sightseeing with Transilien . While searching transportation information on the Chantilly Racecourse, I found an interesting Australian website: Rome2Rio. They provide info on TER, RER, taxi, car, etc. The SNCF radio pop-up window starts playing to put you in the mood. If you hold a monthly or annual Navigo pass visit Use Navigo for Weekend and Holiday Advantages if you want to tour in zones 1 through 5 around Paris. Then take your pass and enjoy some of these…
