Antonia’s Paris
Ah, Paris. Before I moved here in mid 2006, everyone said to me “Wow, Antonia! Paris! You lucky thing! I’ve always wanted to live there!” but strangely Paris was never a place I had always dreamed of living. I had never had grand fantasies of the romantic Paris myth, of walking around the streets clutching baguettes, being charmed by dashing French men and oozing culture and sophistication. Or wearing chic avant-garde fashion, smoking, talking about philosophy and politics in cafés and generally pretending to be Simone de Beauvoir. But the stars aligned in such a way that here I am, and right now I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Paris is my home.
I fell in love with Paris twice. The first time was fast and dirty, a bit like a torrid affair. I was seduced and swept off my feet, there was so much to do, so much to see, but I very quickly fell flat on my face and started to hate the place. It was stressy, it was bizarre, my only friends were the 12 finalists on Star Academy, why were the lines at La Poste so long? This also unfortunately coincided with my first European winter, and being a Sydney girl this was painfully difficult to adjust to. By the time printemps had rolled around I was close to throwing myself in the Seine. But slowly and surely, the seasons changed and I discovered new things and new places and new people, and feelings blossomed and I fell in love with Paris once more. Real, proper, lasting love. It wasn’t the Paris you read about in guidebooks or see on in films and it wasn’t about the myth. I had just found my Paris. Below are some of my favourite things to do and see and I’m not going to suggest the glaringly obvious, everyone knows about The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur. On top of that, I’ve also listed a couple of places I like to Eat, Drink, Shop and cool things to do in Paris with Kids, not to mention a very handy Map
Vélib’ |
Palais de Tokyo |
Shakespeare & Co. |
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Hands down one of my very favourite things about Paris. Back in mid-2007 when Vélib’, Paris’s public bicycle rental program, was first introduced my secret shame was that I didn’t know how to ride a bike. But I rented a Vélib’ in the middle of the night (free for the first 30 mins, 1€ for the next etc) and persisted and finally taught myself how, and now zip around all over the place and in traffic like I’ve been cycling since my early childhood. There are stands everywhere and they’re very easy to rent (as long as you have a credit card with a chip!) and bike riding around Paris is the most amazing feeling ever. And very handy for when it’s late and the Métro is closed. |
One of the most interesting museums in Paris with lots of great contemporary art exhibitions, and artists are given Carte Blanche to do whatever they like with the space. Big plus is that it’s open until midnight! Great for beers on the terrace with views of The Seine in summer and the restaurant Tokyo Eat is splendid, and they even have a music menu (I am obviously not cool enough to recognise any of the obscure songs on the list though). Julian also had his 7th Birthday Party here and they have great programs for kids including Babydisco. Tip - the two euro Fotoautomat B&W photo booth downstairs is awesome retro fun.
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Amazing and iconic English language bookstore in the Latin Quarter, I couldn’t just list this as a place to shop because in my opinion it is a destination in itself. It is so much more than a bookstore, with an idiosyncratic interior that looks deceptively cluttered, and a rich history - the original, run by Sylvia Beach at 12 rue l’Odeon was the first publisher of Joyce’s Ulysses and was the playground of many literary heavyweights, Joyce, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein. Now run by George Whitman’s lovely daughter Sylvia, it is still a mecca for struggling writers (sigh, myself included) and all the staff are brilliant.
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Bibliothèque François Mitterrand |
Belleville |
Architecture |
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Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, France’s national library, is what I fondly refer to as “my office”. You can often find me somewhere in the bibliothèque haut-de-jardin, salle G, furiously working on my novel. If you do see me there, come say hi. It’s a great building that’s worth seeing for its structure alone, the four main buildings look like books splayed open and there is a swooping tree-filled cavity in the middle. On the top is a cinema, MK2 Bibliothèque, and a restaurant, Chez Jules et Jim.
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The cultural melting pot of Paris, Belleville is home to thriving Chinese, Arabic, North African and artistic communities. Place Sainte-Marthe is awash with excellent tiny eateries and cool bars and there is a very good food market on Boulevard de Belleville. Parc de Belleville is worth seeing and I definitely recommend the climb to the top for a panoramic view of Paris that rivals that of Sacre Coeur, but the eccentric Parc des Buttes Chaumont with its cliffs, bridges, grotto, waterfall, and a lake is by far my absolute favourite park in Paris. It is like being on another planet. In a good way. Belleville is also home to French Communist Party headquarters and is where Edith Piaf grew up. |
I am often heard saying “Some of my best friends are architects!” and when they have come to visit me in Paris we have looked at buildings, oh how we have looked at buildings, but those architect pilgrimage walks have been some of the most enjoyable strolls. Paris is particularly interesting because of the six floor height limit and while the slate tiled roofs and Haussmanian apartment blocks are beautiful, a lot of Paris’s beauty is in the contrast of old and new. Some special buildings and spaces in Paris are La Défense, Institut Du Monde Arabe, the Art Nouveau doors around Avenue Rapp, the metro entrances of Hector Guimard (there are two, one at Abesses and the other at Porte Dauphine, as well as his buildings around the 16eme including Castel Béranger. Some more great buildings in Paris are I. M. Pei’s pyramid at The Louvre, the Pompidou Centre, and the new Cité de la Mode et du Design in the 13eme currently under construction by architects Jakob + MacFarlane is looking very interesting. |
Le Marais |
Canal St Martin |
Pique Niques! |
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This is the quartier in Paris for aimless wandering with its tapering streets and hidden nooks and crannies, and the Marais certainly has something for everyone. Grab a falafel on rue des Rosiers where kosher food and rainbow flags abound; this hood is the centre of both the Jewish community and the gay community in Paris. The juxtaposition works and the area is full of excellent bars, cafés, restaurants and shopping. There are wonderful clothes and accessories boutiques aplenty on rue des Francs-Bourgeois, rue Charlot, and rue Vieille du Temple, which is the main artery of Marais nightlife. Shopping highlights include Erotokritos, Zadig and Voltaire, Sandro, APC and Les Belle Images for clothes, Niou for kids, and there are a handful of cool vintage stores too like Biscuit. For more details have a look at my page about Shopping in Paris. The Marais is packed on a Sunday because it’s one of the only places in Paris where the stores are open, and the entire area just recently closed off to cars over the weekend, which means you’re less likely to get run over by a bobo pushing a low carbon emission stroller on the footpath while they shop for eccentric and expensive homewares and cashmere. |
Another area that is bustling and alive on a Sunday is around the Canal Saint Martin. Have you seen Amélie and the scene where she skims stones and they ricochet down the canal? Well that was here and the canal is a perfect place to throw stuff, or simply be languid and just hang out, surrounded by shady trees and iron footbridges. And maybe get drunk. Not that I have ever done that… Along the canal are some great art bookshops and more solid bars and Point Ephemere which is an excellent venue for live music (I saw The Blow here, was magical). Further north up the canal is MK2 Quai de Loire and Quai de Seine which are wonderful cinemas, and there’s a little boat to get across from one to the other.
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Grab a blanket, procure some cheese and wine (I suggest buying picnic fare from any of Paris’s top quality markets), find some friends and have yourself a Paris pique nique. Don’t forget your tire bouchon!
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Places! |
Jeu de Paume |
Musée d’Orsay |
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Meander through Paris and you’re bound to find little pockets of garden goodness, tiny squares and hidden places. Sit on a bench and people watch or bring a sandwich/someone to make out with. Below are some of my favourite Places
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Jeu de Paume is located in the Tuileries garden and was once the site of the royal tennis court (jeu de paume means “game of palm”; they played without racquets). It’s now a formidable contemporary film and photography gallery with decent regular exhibitions, recents including Lee Miller, Richard Avendon, and Pierre et Gilles. The all white interior is sleek and there are often interesting installations and film screenings. I can easily spend hours in there. An excellent photography bookstore is on the first floor. The Orangerie across the park is also worth a visit and where Monet’s Waterlilies live. There is another Jeu de Paume site at l’Hôtel de Sully.
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The first time I visited the Musée d’Orsay I had just finished my second year of university and I was an art history minor. I was so excited to see all the paintings and sculptures I had been studying that I almost wet my pants. The site used to be a train station and the interior is breathtaking. So much good stuff in there: subject of my 3000 word essays The Circus by Seurat, Degas’s ballet dancer pastels, Renoir’s Bal au moulin de la Galette Montmartre, Van Gogh’s Self Portrait, Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l’herbe, and I am a huge huge fan of the slightly lesser known Symbolists Redon and Moreau. Go up to the top for a spectacular view of Paris through the clocks (this photo is of Julian and me having a gander) and also on the terrace.
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Centre Pompidou |
Les Cimetières |
Versailles |
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Designed by Renzo Piano & Richard Rogers, the colourful Centre Georges Pompidou looks like a building turned inside out; the steel superstructure has all the pipes etc on the outside. Inside is France’s modern art collection and a very well thought out space for kids to explore. Recent exhibitions have included Hergé (of Tin Tin fame), Louise Bourgeois, and Le Futurisme à Paris. The gift shop on the mezzanine level has some weird quirky stuff and the square outside has free wifi and lots of street performers, including Mongolian musicians!
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Yes, that’s right. Dead people. But many of my very favourite dead people. While Père Lachaise is the biggest and draws more of a crowd, I prefer Cimetière du Montparnasse. It’s a little less overwhelming and a little more literary; you too can spend an afternoon with Baudelaire, wait around for Godot with Beckett, or get deeply existential with Sartre and de Beauvoir, they have all the time in the world for you now. There’s also André Citroën, Man Ray, and my highlight, the worshiped and revered Serge Gainsbourg. Over at Père Lachaise is of course Jim Morrison, Proust and let’s not forget the importance of giving Oscar Wilde a big lipsticky kiss.
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About half an hour out of Paris on the RER, the Château de Versailles is a monument to extravagance and absolutism. Louis XIV, the Sun King, moved the royal family here where they stayed for three generations until 1789 and preceding the French Revolution. The palace itself is incredible; massive beds, satin walls, amazing chapel, the Hall of Mirrors will make your jaw drop, but it’s the endless landscaped gardens which are the highlight for me. Bring a picnic and find a spot, the gardens just go on and on and on. The Petit Trianon with its model village and farm was Marie Antoinette’s little sanctuary and you can still frolic with cows and sheep there. This would have been amazing - Pink Floyd played in the Versailles courtyard once in 1988. Get tickets from FNAC before you go, the lines are sometimes ridiculous.
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Antonia Hayes is an Australian writer, photographer and mother of one who woke up one morning somewhere in between The Eiffel Tower and Invalides unsure how she ended up there but decided to stay anyway. Originally from Sydney, she has been living in Paris since 2006 but still can't remember which one is the Left Bank and which is the Right Bank. Antonia is currently working on her first novel and is pretty sure she lives on the Left Bank.