jamikins

My hubby and I are going to bring a discman with speakers o our honeymoon and would like to buy some local music to listen to in our hotel room at night....in N.America sometines you can find great street performers that sell their cds....can you find those in Europe too? Or is there a good place to buy these?<BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>Jamie

Hiroshi

There are thousands of places to buy CD's. In France, I bought them at FNAC. Auchan, a chain of huge supermarkets, have the popular CD's.

ellenbw

One time in Paris, in the Place des Voseges in the 4th district, we enjoyed street performers, looked like college students, playing some outstanding classical music and they also had a cd for sale. We bought it and enjoy the great memories that it brings back.

Deepa

We have bought several Italian CDs in Italy. There are shops all over the place. At one time, my husband and I wanted to buy CDs with particular sound tracks that we had been listening to on the radio while driving. My husband, at two differnt occasions (once in Milan and once in Cortona) actually asked me to hum the tunes to the store attendant and she was able to identify which ones they were!

Christina

I usually buy my CDs in Paris at FNAC, also (the one on rue de Rennes), although I have also bought some at Virgin Megastore (there were two, one on Champs-Elysees and one in the Carrousel du Louvre but I think that one may be closed?). Both of these are big music stores with everything you'd want. Some street performers do sell CDs but they've never been much I want (and aren't often French, if that's what you want).<BR><BR>In FNAC or Virgin, go to the CD section called &quot;varietes francaises&quot; for French stuff (other than basic rock etc). Don't know your taste, but I like Francis Cabrel, Renaud and for old-timers Barbara, Mouloudji and sometimes a little Charles Aznavour, or even Michel Sardou. I like Patricia Kaas some, although she can be a little slick for me. For more contemporary, I like Les Nubians and Stephan Eicher (he does some French, German and English songs, I think he's Swiss maybe). YOu may have your favorites on that. A lot of the street performers aren't playing French music, in my experience (you will find the ubiquitous So/Central American flute guys, they are everywhere).

SantaChiara

Christine,<BR>The &quot;South/Central American guys&quot; are even in backwater Bologna. And they play the sames tunes over and over.

jamikins

aby other suggestions? I am looking for traditional ethnic music preferably <BR><BR>Thanks<BR>Jamie

Michael

In the provinces, the march� usually has a stand of someone selling all sorts of popular music--lots of accordeon music (an oxymoron for some). I don't know if it's ethnic, but it clearly is what the locals want. For market days in provincial towns, check Patricia Wells' A Foodlover's Guide to France.

KT

In Edinburgh, Coda Music, located on the Mound (yes, that's a street, leading up from Prince's Street) specializes in tradtional music and is very good. Coda also has a shop in the Waverley Centre on Princes Street, but that one is a more general music store.

kerryblue

In Paris, I found cds to be cheaper at Gallerie Lafayette than at Virgin Megastore.

jor

In Edingurgh there is a large music store directly below Edinburgh Castle on Prince's Street. Can't remember the name. I was there and looked for the most obscure artists I could think of and found most of them.<BR>It is not the store on the above posts.

KT

That large Princes Street shop could have been Virgin or HMV -- branches of both of these megastores are very close together. (I must add, though, that I think Coda is more fun -- a small shop alternative, with staff who know traditional music.)

sheila

You'll find Virgin and HMV on Princes Street in Edinburgh. On Cockburn Street you'll find more obscure stuff. Also try Blackfriars Music, Blackfriars Music, 49 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh and Foot Stompin' Records<BR>17 Redford Drive, Edinburgh, EH13 0BL<BR>who claim to be specialists in the ‘bright young stars of Scottish traditional music’.<BR><BR>In France in the markets you'll often find what you describe with traditional musicians playing what they have on their own discs

Barbara

Jor, there is a huge Virgin store on Princes Street, close to the West End. That may be the one you're thinking about.