If it’s July or August, then it’s the mountains or the seaside. Let’s not give into that routine, n’est pas? I went for the anti-fashion and straight into the big, deserted city. One week in Paris, after the 14 juillet havoc.
Les reveries d’un promeneur estival, in 4 simple scenarios:
- DO NOT go with an agenda. Venture carelessly, no schedules, no must-sees, no reservations nor lines to climb the TourEiffel. If you were at the beach, what would you do? Well do it in Paris instead: there is a beach right in the city center, and you have no idea how cool it is to walk bare-foot in the sand, along the Seine. Plus, there is one more beach in front of the Hotel de Ville, which means : instagram this, bitches! beach volley where you used to skate last Christmas. Who’s coolest now, huh?
#ParisPlages
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Entertain some chaos, some recklessness, some laissez-faire. Sleep the day and walk the night. Hunt for rooftop cafes, escape the heat in gothic style: churches, art galleries or the cemetery – bonjour, Père Lachaise. Eat whatever you crave, not chez Alsace or Duree, but at food trucks in Bois de Boulogne, in the Jardin de l’Acclimatation. And while you’re there, try the fontaine seche and nevermind the coiffure or the wet clothes.
- Adventure, affairs, secrets, clandestine stuff. Unravel at least one of the big misteries of Paris. Tour the catacombes or go where no (tourist) has gone before: Butte Bergeyre. Because there is more to Paris’ parks than Jardin du Luxembourg (doh), and this is Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Next to it you’ll discover a well-kept parisian secret, the small Bergeyre village. I only say Metro Colonel Fabien and then Rue Georges Lardennois. At the end of that walk you will have found: a vegetable garden, a vineyard and the most beautiful view over Montmartre.
- From Paris and back again. For those looking for an escape out of the city of escapades, there are better things to do than Loire Valley and Versailles. I liked Chartres and Giverny quite a lot. But if summer means seaside to you, give up on the long route to Mont Saint Michel and on the Deauville cliche. Trade Deauville for the chic Honfleur, or drive like a maniac and don’t stop until you reach Etretat, Fecamp and the incredible Alabaster Coast. Be free, be wild, be spontaneous: you won’t go back to Paris tonight. Stay for the sunset and then have the best moules frites dinner. It is much colder here than Paris, so I always have a small bottle of Benedictine in my purse. Look it up, s’ il vous plait
