Heat wave in Paris? Learn to live with it!
 

It was 35°C in Paris yesterday, maybe 37°C today. Most people don't like it, but there are ways to compensate when you are not stuck in the tourist ghetto in the center of the city.

I went to the Bassin de la Villette last night and this is what I saw: http://tinyurl.com/j4ty6uz

I would have appreciated the airco at the office but was 100 kms in a plant with no airco in the meeting rooms (who installs a/c in northern france ?).
I drank and drank and yet no need for toilet :-)

Nice to see Parisians letting loose for once. Yes, that water is a bit murky, with old bicycles, guns, fish, and who knows what on the bottom. I like the photos they put out every year when they drain the entire thing and clean it up!

Save these photos for the next discussion of Paris "dress code." I still chuckle over your portfolio, posted some time ago, showing the refuse on the bottom of the adjacent St-Martin canal. That trash should quell any urge to take a dip, however hot. By the way, France's Canadian cousins understand that, without our extreme and changeable weather, we'd have no small talk. But then, enjoying an air conditioned house, car, and supermarket, I can afford that calm attitude.

People jump off the pedestrian bridge into a 1.9-meter bassin?

It was 43 here today in the sun!

We used to stand over the a/c vents on the floors in some areas of the Louvre--or spend a lot of time in the Richlieu wing, which has good a/c.

I always stay in "air conditioned" hotels, especially in the Winter when it is needed.

Kill me.. that heat would kill me.. I have encountered too many of these "RARE" heatwaves in Paris in the summer now.. our last visit was this past early June and that was hot enough for me..

Air conditioning is a blessing and needed in july and august in Paris.

Sorry.. even in desperation I don't think I would swim in that water.. but I would find a fountain .. rules be dammed.

I did notice that just about all of the swimmers were of Indian or North African origin, and it's a shame to say this, but they probably thought the water was just fine compared to some of the swimming holes "back home."

Gosh, that part of Paris looks really ugly.


There's a reason people stay in the "tourist ghetto" and don't venture into places like the Villette. It's because no one wants to see a bunch of ugly residential blocks on a murkey river, and it's quite understandable.

I don't get why you're always trying to encourage people to visit the ugly suburbs of Paris. There's plenty to see in the middle.

I don't go out in such heat if I don't have to. Love my air conditioned house (in Belgium, yes!).

Here on the NE coast of England it's foggy and around 15C.

Looking at these pictures, I can almost smell the stench of urine. Lol

Thank you, Loacker, for staying out of the other areas of Paris. We will all benefit from your absence. This is the 19th arrondissement, the principal Jewish section of Paris. You may find the buildings ugly, but the street life is vibrant and often more interesting than looking at yet another Haussmannian street.

What next, Kerouac? Are you gonna promote Saint-Denis and Barbes as the next off-the-beaten path destinations in Paris? Just because a neighborhood isn't heavily touristed doesn't automatically mean it's worth visiting. Most often, it's the opposite.

Haussmannian architecture is the best thing that has ever happened to Paris.
It's a pity that Paris'sityscape is getting more and more uglifird by bland and grim residential blocks.

Have you been on top of the Eiffel Tower lately?

Yes, I went two months ago. And I also went up the Tour Montparnasse and climbed the dome of the Panthéon. Unlike you, I am open to all areas of Paris and am capable of finding things of interest everywhere.

Funny that you should say that Haussmannian architecture is one of the best things in Paris. Barbès is one of the very best places to see it.

Just look like normal people enjoying a night out. Bathing suits, shorts, tank tops, normal!! Hope you have fans in your apartment.

It is in large part due to Kerouac's wonderful photo essays that I began to break away from the center of Paris in our visits to that marvelously varied town. We have never regretted it for a moment; a delightful Smorgasbord of delights to be enjoyed in the far reaches of Paris.

Don't forget; Parisians live in the whole place, not just in the middle, and most take pride in their small sector and make sure it stays interesting, unique, and special. Believe me, you miss a lot if you never open your mind and explore.

Thanks, nukesafe. I know that you are not the only person to think that.

I know very well that there are the "once in a lifetime" visitors to Paris who generally need to see all of the important sites. But there are all of the return visitors, too. Some of them want to see the same things again and again and feel validated when they are recognized in restaurants or cafés that they visited in the past. This is fine. But there are also a lot of people who are always on the lookout for new things and new places to see, and these are the people at whom I try to aim my reports of lesser know areas. In many cases, it reassures people who have booked accommodations in areas like that to save money, but it also interests people who like to explore.

The only people who annoy me a bit are the ones who claim that what they like in Paris are the only things worth seeing.

Most "Parisiens" cannot afford to live anywhere near the central arrondissements.
But tourists who are willing to shell out a month's rent for one week's stay in a stifling studio are quite numerous.
Frankly, the appeal of this escapes me...