There will be no grande vacance pour moi this year. Work prevents me from joining all the other Parisiens
leaving the city in droves for their five-weeks-holiday every year, but, honestly, I don't mind. The streets
are already calm, the metro is quiet and there are no queues at my local
boulangerie for our 5pm baguette.
Contrary to the eerie mass exodus that happens every été, the city and a handful of its arrondissements have organised a slew of events to keep us and our fellow Juillettistes and Aoûtiens,
that have chosen to spend our summer amongst the sandstone Haussmans as
opposed to sandcastles, content. The following are just a couple of
those that I'm most looking forward to enjoying during my Parisian
'stay-cation'.
City Beach
Love it or think it's gross, the
Paris Plage
is probably the most popular and celebrated of all the summer
offerings. The 5000 tons of sand shipped in to create the yearly pop-up
beach just satiates the regular yearnings I get for a trip to the
seaside, which being a two hour drive away from Paris is a far cry from
the 15 minute trip I was blessed with growing up. It's also the only
place I feel comfortable stripping down to a
cossie in the middle of the city to lie in the sun for a significant amount of time without feeling all weird and self-concious.
Paris Plage
Voie Georges Pompidou (M° Sully-Morand to M° Louvre-Rivoli) + La Villette (M° Stalingrad to rue de Crimée)
Open everyday 9am - midnight
July 20 - August 18
Free access
More
info.
Films under the stars
Open air cinemas
are just magic. There's nothing like being completely absorbed in a film
that's being projected on a screen the size of house while a light
breeze washes over the heads of everyone around you. Combine the fact
that this open air cinema is free and you can take your own food and bev to picnic and you have yourself a winning combination.
A
very eclectic line up has been chosen for the program this year;
amongst French, German, Finnish and Iranian films are 'Where the Wild
Things Are' (25/07), 'Be kind, Rewind' (27/07), 'The Dirty Dozen'
(28/07), 'The Social Network' (10/08), 'A Prairie Home Companion'
(21/08), 'Tetro' (23/08), 'Taking Woodstock' (24/08).
Cinéma en plein air
Prairie du triangle, Parc de la Villette
Films commence at nightfall
July 24 - August 28
Free access. Deck chair hire; single: 7€, x5 ticket: 20€, Carte Villette (18€) holders: free
Full program:
www.villette.com
Free train travel
For a while now the Île-de-France region has been de-zoned for
Navigo
holders on weekends, meaning those with the metro transport pass can
travel throughout all the 5 zones of the region on Saturday and Sunday
despite only having subscribed for zones 1 & 2, ie Paris proper.
However, for a trial period of just over one month during the summer,
the
Stif and
Ratp
have extended this service to include weekdays also so those with a
Navigo can travel fare-free from Paris to Versailles, Fountainbleu, St
Germain-en-Laye and the two airports, which will no doubt please the
vacationers. St Germain en Laye is one of my favourite day trips from
the city, and after a couple of recent meet ups with
Melanie in the city, who actually lives in Versailles, I have no excuse to return the favour and go visit her in her town. If only the
Transilien lines went as far as the coast!
Dézonage du Pass Navigo for the summer
July 13 - August 18
Free for Navigo holders. Navigo subscription, one month: 65€10, one week: 19€80
Canal boat rides for 1€
The canal north of
Stalingrad is uncharted territory for me, I hardly go there despite all
the fun things I hear that comes out of this watered part of the city.
To change that and get more acquainted with the area I'm keen hop on one
of my favourite modes of transport of all time - a boat! The local
council of Seine-Saint-Denis are charging 1€ on Saturdays and 2€ on
Sundays for their shuttle boat service along the canal from the Bassin
de la Villette, behind Stalingrad, to Bobigny just outside of the city.
Lasting for one hour, the ride would the perfect way to cool down in
the afternoon, especially as next week temperatures are reported to
nudge close to 40°C! Ouf!! They've listed
here all there is to see and
eat along the way for you to make the most of the nautical jaunt, and
should you wish to go even a little further there's a second 1€ shuttle
boat that will take to you to the guinguette Chat qui Pêche at
Aulnay/Pavillons-sous-Bois for some lunch.
Les navettes de l'Ourcq
Bassin de La Villette - Paris/ Parc de La Villette/ Pantin/ Bobigny
From 12 noon then on the half hour from 12h30 until 19h (Paris) and 20h (Bobigny)
June 29 - August 25
Saturdays: 1€, Sundays: 2€
Further
info
Fun Fair
I have to hand it to the French, when they do a fair, they do it well. Again this year the
La fête foraine du Jardin des Tuileries
have been set up in the centre of the city, changing the skyline of the
city's most famous stretch of landmarks with its ferris wheel and that
tall chair thing that goes around really fast - I don't know what it's
called, but it's my favourite. Even if rides aren't your thing there's
various games-of-skill caravans and outlets selling
barbe à papa
('fairy floss', but it literally translates to 'Dad's beard' - isn't
that neat?!) and churros for your tummy to take part in the fun fair,
too.
La fête foraine du Jardin des Tuileries
The Tuileries gardens, Rivoli side
Sun - Thurs: 11h - 23h45, Fri + Sat: 11h - 0h45
June 24 - August 21
Free entry, rides various prices
And, to provide the soundtrack for the next two months, here's a little rock and roll...
xx
.jpg "Le Week-end 16::02 :: foliesdubonheur.com")
