Paris’ top free guide

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Exploring Paris’ little wonders for free

Free history and art in Paris’ museums

The Carnavalet Museum tells the history of Paris, from its distant origins to this very day. Using various media (manuscripts, models, paintings, furniture, sculptures, artifacts and photos), it describes the city’s transformation from the village of Lutèce to the grand metropolis it has become today. Covering the Medieval, Renaissance, French Revolution, 19^th and 20^th century history of the city, the museum reproduces the capital’s evolution and tells the story of its inhabitants, from the most humble to the most renowned. Touching and educational, it offers the visitor the chance to inspect incredible items of history from up close. Get lost in time among Napoleon’s favorite case of toiletries, Émile Zola’s gold watch-chronometer, Marie-Antoinette’s personal possessions or even an originally furnished reconstruction of the room where Marcel Proust wrote his chef-d’ouevre “In search of lost time”. Those hungry for more should be informed that a number of free museums (like the Louvre, Orsay, Rodin, Centre Pompidou, Musée de Quai Branly and others) are open for free visits each first Sunday of the month, so get ready for many more hours of culture sampling without spending a dime.

Free music in Paris’ churches

Enjoy the sounds of the organ and the melody of chamber, jazz or classical music during the free concerts held each Thursday from 12:45 to 13:30 in the Eglise de la Trinité on 3, Rue de la Trinité. After the concert, join the musicians in the nearby bistro for a quick snack and a chat about music and world harmony. For a free sample of 40 church bells playing in divine unison, pass by the Carillon de Beffroi (close to the church Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois at 4, place du Louvre) each Wednesday between 13:30 and 14h for an improvised gig of 18^th century popular pieces or contemporary tunes written especially for the instrument. The classical Saturdays (20-21:30) and Sundays (16-17:30) of the Saint-Merry church (76, rue de la Verrerie) will grant you the opportunity to get lost to the otherworldly sound of its 3-centuries old organ…

Free open-air cinema by moonlight

One of Paris’ ultimate August events, Cinéma au clair de Lune treats you to some great movie classics, projected for free under the starry skies of Paris’ parks and gardens. The 14th edition of Cinema in the moonlight will introduce you to some cult flicks broadcast in Montmartre, Place des Vosges, Parc Montsouris, the Trocadero gardens and the square René-Cassin. Don’t forget your picnic basket and your checkered blanket and see you on the grass by moonlight!

Free skills with Paris’ open-air cooking class

All food aficionados will be thrilled to know that they could rival a real “chef étoilé” after enrolling in one of the free cooking classes offered by the City Council and the French Federation of Amateur Cooks. Set outdoors in the context of Paris’ open-air markets, the classes are a pleasant, unexpected and educational way of acquiring a new skill. All classes take place in the morning and begin at 10am. As for the teachers, all of them are real chefs or professional tutors in different cooking schools across the city. Once you’ve reached the market, you’d start by touring the stands of the merchants in search for their best products, then you’d find your place behind the booth and – equipped with an apron – you will concentrate on the watching the chef work his magic. In the end of the class, you will taste the chef’s creation and once back home you could remake it all by yourself, because now that you’ve graduated, you will be officially called “chef”! For more information, go to http://www.ffcuisineamateur.org/Agenda

Free “smarts” in the legendary Collège de France

Dispersing wisdom to everyone willing to learn, Collège de France is an international institution of knowledge and a unique establishment of higher education, where professors (sometimes Noble prize winners of members of the French Academy) give free and open lectures to those considering themselves to be eternal students of life. Dating from the 16^th century, the college’s primary goal is to “teach science in the making” and its university’s professors are chosen from a variety of disciplines, both scientific and humanitarian. The college’s motto “Docet Omnia“ (Latin for “It teaches everything“) matches its mission to dismantle preconceived notions and distribute the idea of free thought. So if you want some real training in classical French thinking, this is the place to get it. Even if you can’t manage to visit the halls of the college itself, you could still sophisticate yourself with its originally recorded podcasts, which you could download or listen for free on the college’s website.

Free sky watching with Les Nuits des Étoiles (The Night of the Stars)

Where do comets come from? What are the skies made of? Could you really wish upon a star? Poetic and scientific, these are some of the questions you would be asking yourself while admiring the starry skies during this year’s edition of Les Nuits des Etoiles (The Nights of the stars). For more than twenty years, this free summer astronomic festival offers a piece of heaven to more than 100 000 curious sky lovers. Popular, family-oriented and free, this grand manifestation aimed at the general public incites Parisians and visitors to spend a night beneath the stars and to discover the wonders of the heavenly vault by observing the constellations under the informed supervision of volunteering amateur astronomers. Watch out for falling stars as they might grant wishes…

www.studiosparis.net

On Parisians and Modern Rhetorics

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french national psychology, french psyche, modern rhetorics in france, parisans and rhetorics

“A white wall is the translation of a people which keeps quiet”; spotted on a wall in Montmartre

What is it about Parisians (and French people, in general) that they always seek to speak their minds out?

As you will find out, the Parisian has an opinion on almost any subject – from international politics to why you’ve just dropped your fork on the ground in the bistrot – thus offering to his/her listener an insight of his own knowledge, which – remarkably – quite often verges on the encyclopedic.

The introductory “I have a theory” has an aphrodisiacal effect on the intellect of any Parisian while not having your own theories around here is an actual sign of intellectual feebleness.

So for your next trip to Paris, make sure to pack a few theories while prepping your  luggage – wrap them up tightly between your sneakers and your iPhone (two other Parisian musts) and prepare to blend with the crowd…

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Grab your weapons, watch your back!

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The swords marking the entrance to this contemporary salle d’armes

And now gentlemen, all for one, one for all – that is our motto, is it not?

Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers

Believe it or not, the three musketeers seem to be pretty much living today. And we have proof!

Their spirit lingers in one of The Latin Quarter’s obscure medieval streets where crowds are rare and stone walls encircle you.

Rue Git-le Couer.

If you’d like to practice some medieval fencing and swordplay, that’s the place to go!

Founded in 1886 and located in the heart of the historical Latin Quarter, “La Salle Coudurier” is the oldest hall for fencing in Paris. You won’t fail to spot its whereabouts, marked by the two crossed swords above the front door – an allusion of the activities taking place behind.

Like in a living picture of the “Belle Epoque”, today’s fencers promote the same spirit of friendship, grace and chivalry, just like their predecessors did.

Surrounded by memories dating from the century of  gallantry, contemporary fencers will learn from scratch the art Parisian gentlemen have been practising to defend their life and honour. And when the time comes for your first public duel, this Dumas quote may come in handy.

Be kind, aim for my heart!

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It all measures up!

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One of the two surviving “outdoor” meters in Paris, this prototype meter bar is the sole that kept its original location since the 18th century. 

You’ve got some warm Scottish tweed or a few vintage French ribbons you need to measure? Then pass by the pretty arcades of Rue Vaugirard, just opposite the Luxembourg Gardens, and you will find exactly what you’re looking for – a meter!

This historical prototype of a “mètre étalon” is the real thing! Feel free to use it, it is pretty much fit for its purpose.

But why and how did it get there in the first place?

In order to promote the use of the metric system, The National Convention had 16 marble metres installed in the most popular and busy Parisian areas between February 1796 and December 1797.

Unfortunately not many of them survived.

The fascinating historical artifact you can inspect on 36, rue Vaugirard, however, is one of the two proud survivors today and actually the only one still located in its original whereabouts!

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Paris Point Zero – Demystified!

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If you visit the Notre Dame Cathedral on a busy day, you will most likely see a small crowd of people, united by the curious activity of  staring at the ground opposite the main entry on the cathedral square. 

What they’d be circling around is the Paris Point Zero marker. Point Zero or Kilometer Zero is that location chosen in a city that all distances are measured from. This small octagonal brass plate set in the ground is considered the official center of Paris and, as mentioned, it marks the exact spot from which all distances throughout France are measured (in relation to Paris).

Paris Kilometer Zero – the very thing!

Just like the visitors of Florence have the habit of rubbing the snout of Porcellino the golden boar to ensure a return to magical Firenze, Parisian tourists have invented their own traditions for good luck to do with the point zero plate.  Some spin on it on one foot while making a wish, others kiss while standing on it together, third touch it to celebrate their joy of conquering Paris and so on…

Why not take the time to invent your own good luck tradition the next time you pass by?

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Oh, Champs Elysèes, what’s your story?

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Les Champs. Photo: Josh Hallett, Wikipedia

Au soleil, sous la pluie,
A midi ou à minuit –
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysees.”

Joe Dassin

“In the sun or in the rain, at midday or at midnight, all that you want is there, on Champs Elysèes…”

Probably so.

With its cinemas, cafés, luxury shops and emblematic chestnut trees, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets with a worldwide reputation of elegance.

Originally fields and market gardens until 1616, the avenue came to life when Maria de Medici decided to extend the axis of the Tuileries Garden with a tree-flanked avenue.

In 1667, King Louis XIV commissioned the Champs Elysèes in the perspective of his Louvre Palace.

The designer of the Versailles gardens, landscape architect André Le Nôtre, then cut a huge avenue across the countryside meadows.

The Champs Élysées in 1890, viewed from the Place de la Concorde. Photo: Wikipedia

The avenue was named Champs Elysèes in 1789.

French for “Elysian Fields”, Les Champs are the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous in Greek mythology.

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The Notre Dame – a Cathedral, a Temple of Reason or a Wine cellar?

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The classical version – Notre Dame as a cathedral

After having served as a setting for royal marriages, imperial coronations and regal funerals, the Notre Dame Cathedral made a sharp turn during the French Revolution. It became a Temple of Reason first, and a wine warehouse later.

Few people are aware of this curious and hidden “Mr. Hyde” aspect in the biography of the cathedral.

Due to the dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution, many church lands were confiscated, numerous statues removed, lots of crosses and other signs of worship destroyed.

The anti-clerical climax was reached with the Festival of Reason on November 10, 1793. During the ceremony many churches across France were transformed into modern temples of Reason. At Notre Dame de Paris, in the course of the largest ceremony of all, the old Christian altar was dismantled and a new one – to Liberty – was installed instead. The inscription “To Philosophy” was carved over the cathedral’s doors. Religion was officially dead. The new Goddess of Reason was now in reign.

After the curious transformation of the Notre Dame into a Temple of Reason, the cathedral went through one even more curious metamorphosis. It became a wine warehouse and served as a depot for the storage of wine for many years. It wasn’t until 1804, when it was transformed back to a temple by Napoleon.

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Fluctuat Nec Mergitur: Revise your Latin with the motto of Paris

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Fluctuat nec mergitur, as seen on a school façade on rue Delambre, 14ème, Paris

Ready for today’s petite history lesson?

Baron Haussmann made it official in 1853. That’s when “Fluctuat nec mergitur” (“He who rises with the wave is not swallowed by it”) became Paris’ official motto.  The phrase is also present in the city coat of arms and is symbolized by a ship with one or three poles floating over stormy waters. Both motto and city arms originate from the river Seine’s boatman’s corporation, whose hanse ruled the city’s trade and commerce from the Roman era on. At the time, Paris (then named Lutetia) was no more than a fishermen village by the banks of the Seine.

Today, the phrase is to be seen practically everywhere in the city – from public buildings (like schools, train stations, bridges, museums, fountains) to – now, hold on to your hats! – the helmets of Parisian firefighters!

A few easy spots to track it include: the façade of Hôtel de Ville, the streetlamps of Alexandre III Bridge or the fountain Saint Sulpice.

Lutetia? Lutèce? What’s the real story behind Paris’ former name?

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A map of the city of Lutèce

You will come across the name Lutèce (or Lutetia in Latin) every so often while touring the city of Paris. But what is the word’s origin and meaning?

The Latin word Lutetia is believed to signify “marsh” or “swamp”, as the name used to indicate the little island in the middle of the Seine (today’s Ile de la Cité),  whence modern Paris originated. In the 5^th century, Lutèce became “la cité des Parisii” (the City of Parisii), named after the Gallic people (Parisii) who then lived there.  City’s name Paris may come from the Celto-Gallic word “parisio” which means “working men” or “artisans”.