Updates for Belleville (Paris)?
Oct 11th, 2014, 06:40 AM
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Updates for Belleville (Paris)?
Hi
In Paris as I type. Hope to visit Belleville this coming week. I've started reading the threads here (one of which included a Grauniad article). They are a few years old though.
Any updates, anything I must check out and especially this week (festivals, etc.)?
Merci mille fois.
In Paris as I type. Hope to visit Belleville this coming week. I've started reading the threads here (one of which included a Grauniad article). They are a few years old though.
Any updates, anything I must check out and especially this week (festivals, etc.)?
Merci mille fois.
Oct 11th, 2014, 08:07 AM
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not Belleville, but they are having the annual Wine Festival in Montmartre right now, it runs through tomorrow. programme is here http://www.fetedesvendangesdemontmartre.com/
Oct 11th, 2014, 09:53 AM
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Regarding street art, rue Dénoyez remains an essential visit, even if all of the actual images on the walls have changed since I made my report there: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...ue-noyez-75020
Oct 11th, 2014, 11:34 PM
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I downloaded and printed out a couple of walks in Belleville, one from Christina and the other from Kerouac. They were great. I spent a whole day there very recently, middle of September. As you say, no tourists. Quite a few areas are being done up but equally quite a few are not!
Oct 12th, 2014, 07:47 AM
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I can out line a couple of walks you can do through Belleville/Ménilmontant that I've posted before as I've got them in a word doc:
Here's a walk for the lower 20th arrondissement. Start with a visit to the art deco Eglise Saint-Jean Bosco on rue Alexandre Dumas. Head down rue Planchat and go left onto rue des Vignoles and note the old timey cobbled lanes off it (on your right). Across from them note the cool looking modern loft style buildings and then realize this is a recent social housing project designed by a famous architect. Some good restaurants here such as Café de l'Amitié, 20ème Art, La Petite Fabrique, O-Di-Vin-Resto, A la Vierge de la Réunion. Les Mondes Bohèmes has a beautiful terrace and ambiance but the food is just average. Go there for the terrace. I really like the couple that owns this place though. They'll explain the background of the resto and the neighborhood if you ask. Next door check out the little lane with the anarchist headquarters and the flamenco dance studio.
Head to Place de la Réunion and continue down rue Vitruve to rue Saint-Blaise. Along the way see the salamander on the wall at the corner of rue Courat (look at the oddball "artists" home across the street) then at 50 rue Vitruve lived the French singer Barbara. On rue Saint-Blaise itself is the old village of Charonne with 18th century buildings and a village feeling. Lots of cafés and restos here, such as Café Noir. See the old church (if renovation is complete yet) and the art nouveau boulangerie across from it. Go down rue de Bagnolet and there's a great bistro/wine bar (Le Papillon) at the corner of rue des Balkans. Across is the Jardin Debrousse, the remains of the châteaux grounds of the Duchess of Orléans. One building remains, the Pavillon de l'Ermitage. You can go in and see the rococo murals on the walls.
http://www.pavillondelermitage.com/P...e/accueil.html
Walk over the to Place Edith Piaf and see the ugly statue in homage to her. The bar here (Bar Edith Piaf) looks like it hasn't had a decor update since the 1950's and the walls are covered in old black and white photos (no idea if she ever sang here). The regulars seem to be just as old as she would be, and just as rough around the edges. Go around the corner to see La Campagne à Paris (rue Jules-Siegfried, rue Irénée-Blanc, rue Paul-Strauss) and the beautiful homes and small gardens. Hard to believe these were built for workers as part of a social housing project.
photos: https://www.google.com/search?q=la+c...w=1272&bih=629
Great old timey café nearby at Place Octave Chanute. Judging by the photos on the walls there must have been a lot of old time French celebrities that came here.
Here's a second walk:
Adjacent to Buttes-Chaumont I highly recommend visiting the residential neighborhood known as La Mouzaïa. You can read about it and see photos here:
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...t-paris?page=1
Leaving that neighborhood take rue de la Villette to rue de Belleville. Some interesting little side streets as you approach rue de Belleville. Take a left on rue de Belleville and there is a great boulangerie and some other food stores. You'll notice them. Go down rue de Belleville towards Paris and take a left on rue Piat and shortly you'll arrive at the Maison de l'Air with a great view of the Paris skyline at the top of the Parc de Bellville. Explore the park if you'd like. Great little bar/café with a nice terrace and views across the street that you'll notice (I've forgotten the name).
From here head down rue des Envierges and take a right on rue des Cascades (charming old timey streets) to rue de Ménilmontant. At rue de Ménilmontant take a left going uphill and on your left is a slice of residential 19th century Paris in the Cité de l'Ermitage so take a peek in here. If you want you can go around the corner and see another such place in the Cité Leroy. Next, go down rue du Retrait and take a right on rue Laurence Savart, another quaint old timey street. Then take a right on rue Boyer and you'll pass by La Bellevilloise. Stop here for a drink or just take a peek inside:
http://www.labellevilloise.com/notre-histoire/
http://www.labellevilloise.com/le-ca...-aux-oliviers/
This brings you back to rue de Ménilmontant and you can head down the hill to Paris. As you go downhill you'll notice the church on your right and there is a nice plaza in front of the church with some cafés and such to get a drink or bite to eat.
To learn more about the 20th arrondissement you can go to its official website:
http://www.mairie20.paris.fr/mairie2....jsp?page_id=7
As you approach métro Ménilmontant you can take a left on rue Victor Latalle and there are some hip bistros and cafés on this street and the beginning portion of rue des Panoyaux. La Boulangerie is a nice place to eat and a couple good bars/cafés that I go to sometimes are La Cale Sèche (nice terrace out back), Le Saint-Sauveur and Lou Pascalou (nice front terrace). From here you might enjoy a walk down rue Oberkampf back to central Paris and then take it from there.
Here's a walk for the lower 20th arrondissement. Start with a visit to the art deco Eglise Saint-Jean Bosco on rue Alexandre Dumas. Head down rue Planchat and go left onto rue des Vignoles and note the old timey cobbled lanes off it (on your right). Across from them note the cool looking modern loft style buildings and then realize this is a recent social housing project designed by a famous architect. Some good restaurants here such as Café de l'Amitié, 20ème Art, La Petite Fabrique, O-Di-Vin-Resto, A la Vierge de la Réunion. Les Mondes Bohèmes has a beautiful terrace and ambiance but the food is just average. Go there for the terrace. I really like the couple that owns this place though. They'll explain the background of the resto and the neighborhood if you ask. Next door check out the little lane with the anarchist headquarters and the flamenco dance studio.
Head to Place de la Réunion and continue down rue Vitruve to rue Saint-Blaise. Along the way see the salamander on the wall at the corner of rue Courat (look at the oddball "artists" home across the street) then at 50 rue Vitruve lived the French singer Barbara. On rue Saint-Blaise itself is the old village of Charonne with 18th century buildings and a village feeling. Lots of cafés and restos here, such as Café Noir. See the old church (if renovation is complete yet) and the art nouveau boulangerie across from it. Go down rue de Bagnolet and there's a great bistro/wine bar (Le Papillon) at the corner of rue des Balkans. Across is the Jardin Debrousse, the remains of the châteaux grounds of the Duchess of Orléans. One building remains, the Pavillon de l'Ermitage. You can go in and see the rococo murals on the walls.
http://www.pavillondelermitage.com/P...e/accueil.html
Walk over the to Place Edith Piaf and see the ugly statue in homage to her. The bar here (Bar Edith Piaf) looks like it hasn't had a decor update since the 1950's and the walls are covered in old black and white photos (no idea if she ever sang here). The regulars seem to be just as old as she would be, and just as rough around the edges. Go around the corner to see La Campagne à Paris (rue Jules-Siegfried, rue Irénée-Blanc, rue Paul-Strauss) and the beautiful homes and small gardens. Hard to believe these were built for workers as part of a social housing project.
photos: https://www.google.com/search?q=la+c...w=1272&bih=629
Great old timey café nearby at Place Octave Chanute. Judging by the photos on the walls there must have been a lot of old time French celebrities that came here.
Here's a second walk:
Adjacent to Buttes-Chaumont I highly recommend visiting the residential neighborhood known as La Mouzaïa. You can read about it and see photos here:
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...t-paris?page=1
Leaving that neighborhood take rue de la Villette to rue de Belleville. Some interesting little side streets as you approach rue de Belleville. Take a left on rue de Belleville and there is a great boulangerie and some other food stores. You'll notice them. Go down rue de Belleville towards Paris and take a left on rue Piat and shortly you'll arrive at the Maison de l'Air with a great view of the Paris skyline at the top of the Parc de Bellville. Explore the park if you'd like. Great little bar/café with a nice terrace and views across the street that you'll notice (I've forgotten the name).
From here head down rue des Envierges and take a right on rue des Cascades (charming old timey streets) to rue de Ménilmontant. At rue de Ménilmontant take a left going uphill and on your left is a slice of residential 19th century Paris in the Cité de l'Ermitage so take a peek in here. If you want you can go around the corner and see another such place in the Cité Leroy. Next, go down rue du Retrait and take a right on rue Laurence Savart, another quaint old timey street. Then take a right on rue Boyer and you'll pass by La Bellevilloise. Stop here for a drink or just take a peek inside:
http://www.labellevilloise.com/notre-histoire/
http://www.labellevilloise.com/le-ca...-aux-oliviers/
This brings you back to rue de Ménilmontant and you can head down the hill to Paris. As you go downhill you'll notice the church on your right and there is a nice plaza in front of the church with some cafés and such to get a drink or bite to eat.
To learn more about the 20th arrondissement you can go to its official website:
http://www.mairie20.paris.fr/mairie2....jsp?page_id=7
As you approach métro Ménilmontant you can take a left on rue Victor Latalle and there are some hip bistros and cafés on this street and the beginning portion of rue des Panoyaux. La Boulangerie is a nice place to eat and a couple good bars/cafés that I go to sometimes are La Cale Sèche (nice terrace out back), Le Saint-Sauveur and Lou Pascalou (nice front terrace). From here you might enjoy a walk down rue Oberkampf back to central Paris and then take it from there.
Oct 12th, 2014, 08:57 AM
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Yes it was you FrenchMystiqueTours! And I think Christina and Kerouac directed me to some websites. Whatever, whoever, I had a great time. Would really recommend this area for those who want to get off the beaten track.
Oct 17th, 2014, 07:48 AM
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Thank you all!
I am still here but tomorrow is my last full day. I never did make it there and not yet sure if I will. I went to Holybelly this morning and walked a short bit of the Canal St Martin. I might go back and explore more of it, and add Buttes Chaumont and Belleville - maybe.. last days are always hectic. Run run.
I am still here but tomorrow is my last full day. I never did make it there and not yet sure if I will. I went to Holybelly this morning and walked a short bit of the Canal St Martin. I might go back and explore more of it, and add Buttes Chaumont and Belleville - maybe.. last days are always hectic. Run run.
