The Paris Traveler

Does this sound like you? You’re in Paris for only a short visit and you want to meet some locals, but you don’t know how to go about doing it. Or perhaps you want to do some networking, or maybe be discovered while you’re in the City of Lights! What about if you’re a poet….? Or a bit short on cash….? Did you know there are a number of cafés that will give you a drink for a poem, or dinner when you buy a drink?!
Well, head over to the Paris Info website where they have a whole list of different cafés that …read more

5 Comments

I recently mention in my theme day blog that I was a fair weather fan of football and American football, stating that if France was playing in the World Cup, or the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superbowl, then I became interested like everyone else. So! You can imagine how interested I am in rugby!
               The World Cup of Rugby being played here in Paris from the 7th of September until the 20th of October is a little hard to avoid. The only thing I know about rugby is it’s considered a tougher sport than the other two because anything goes! …read more

11 Comments

Are you disheartened when you see the long lines at all the “must see” places in Paris like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre? Just the idea of spending literally hours waiting to go somewhere or see something when time is short need not be your reality while visiting the City of Lights!
“How?” you ask. Well you can cross your arms, blink three times and spin around like you’re some sort of genie and hope that everyone in front of you has disappeared!
Or you can consider buying the Paris Pass which not only gives you free public transportation, free entry …read more

Comments Off

If you’ve ever been to Paris, then you already know that traffic is a madhouse most of the time here, unless of course you come in August. August just happens to be the quietest month of the year due to the fact that many companies and businesses close down at this time and therefore the employees take their yearly one month paid summer vacation.
Times have changed and things aren’t so drastic as in the past when Paris would become a virtual ghost town except for the millions of tourists in the city. In any case, if you’ve been thinking of …read more

6 Comments

Tired of doing the touristy things in Paris? Tired of sitting on the hard chairs at the Luxembourg and Tuileries Gardens and not be able to walk or sit on the grass? Or are you just plain tired of the hustle and bustle now that you’ve been in the City of Lights for awhile?
Then why not go over to the Butte Chaumont in the 19e arrondissement where you can actually sit on the grass by the lake?! It’s the third largest park in Paris with 61 acres of grass, trees, and water, including the Belvédère Island. You can climb up to the …read more

1 Comment

Great news! Starting today there’s a new means of transportation in and around the City of Lights. For 1€50 you can now travel between buses and the tramway on the same ticket for an hour and a half. It may not seem like much of a deal to you, but believe me progress has been made!
Years ago you needed several tickets (depending on how far you went) just to ride the same bus! Then, one ticket sufficed as long as you stayed on that bus. Now with the new white ticket T+, you can hop on and off buses …read more

2 Comments

One of my favorite parks outside of Paris is the Parc de Sceaux, located just south of the city. With its château, large park, fountains, and walking paths, it’s easy to spend the day here. The town itself is quaint with plenty of little shops, boutiques, bookstores, and bakeries. One of my exes and I use to love coming here regularly on week-ends and each season brings with it, its own special beauty.
So, what can be more magical than an opera under the stars with the Château de Sceaux as the backdrop? For the past seven years, these open air …read more

3 Comments

Such an enormous history for such a little street! The Rue Visconti has been filled with notoriety for hundreds of years. Not only have famous writers, painters, and other historical figures lived here, but this small passageway has also been painted, photographed, filmed and revered. Numbers 17-19 have seen more than its fair share of famous lodgers; Balzac, Ingres, and Delacroix to name a few.
Victor Hugo wrote about this little street in Les Misèrable, Léo Ferré sang about it in his song À Saint-Germain-des-Près, Christo blocked the alleyway as one of his art expressions, while in more recent times, Patrick Süskind uses …read more

4 Comments

Are you looking for something to do during the weekend while you’re visiting the City of Lights? If you love jazz like I do, then the Parc Floral is the place to be. What better way to spend the afternoon or early evening then to sit in the open air and listen to great jazz for the small price of 5 €. (2.50 € for those 7 to 25 years old, and free for those under 7.) Paris has always been known as a city that appreciates jazz; yes, even more so than New Orleans!
This year’s Paris Jazz Festival takes …read more

2 Comments

“Make Music” is a music celebration on June 21st that began in 1982 by Jack Lang who was the Minister of Culture in France at the time. The idea behind this day, which falls on the first day of summer, and the longest day of the year, was for anyone and everyone to make music.
The goal was to get amateurs and professionals alike to take to the streets in a free for all festival of music. The first year that it began, I was living in the 17th arrond. in a little passageway that seemed more like living in a …read more

6 Comments