Month: April 2015

Walking on the Ile Saint Louis: A Unique Atmosphere in Paris!

The Ile Saint Louis is my favourite place in Paris where to go and walk when I need to relax and recharge my batteries. The Island is a mix of fine harmonious architecture and of magnificent views on both right and left banks and on the Seine. It offers a peaceful timeless atmosphere and contrasts a lot with its neighbour the Ile de la Cité which is much more crowded with people, cars and visitors.

I am used to enter the Island coming from the left bank, through the ‘Pont de la Tournelle’ which is recognizable by its 15 meters high column with a statue of Sainte Geneviève on top of it. I like to walk around the Ile Saint Louis on the ‘Quais’ before getting into it and strolling in its main street, the Rue Saint Louis en l’Ile.

Ile saint louis Paris-Pont de la tournelle
Ile saint louis Paris-Pont de la tournelle

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Shopping in Paris: New Shoe Department at Le Bon Marché

Last month Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris opened a new shoe department called ‘L’espace Souliers’ which is a wonder of architecture, light and colours. It is located on the second floor of the department store and is really worth the visit, whether you plan to buy a new pair of shoes or not… and whether you can or cannot buy yourselves a new pair of shoes there as most of them are rather expensive: luxury shoes, designers’ shoes,… all for women.

le bon marche paris-espace souliers-francesco russo
Le Bon Marché Paris – Espace Souliers – Francesco Russo

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Art Liberté – du Mur de Berlin au Street Art: a Free Exhibition in Paris

A new free exhibition has just started in Paris. It is called: ‘Art Liberté – du Mur de Berlin au Street Art’ and takes place in the Gare de l’Est which is the Parisian train station from which depart most of the trains towards Germany. The exhibition is focused on three different ways to discover the Berlin Wall, all three exhibited in and around the Gare de l’Est.

  • On the square in front of the station: 30 original pieces of the Berlin Wall and 3 Trabant (The mythical car of the GDR) have been painted especially for the exhibition by famous international street artists. Among those artists Thierry Noir is the first one to have painted on the ‘wall of shame’ in 1984… causing the growth of street art in Europe in the eighties.
  • Inside the station: Pictures of the works painted on the Berlin Wall during the eighties are exhibited in the Hall d’Alsace where one can also see a movie called ‘Ephemère’ telling about the history of the Wall.
  • In the rue d’Alsace, on the west side of the station: a mural painting which is 47 meters long has been made by the same street artists and will stand there for a couple of years and not only for the duration of the exhibition.

Everything is colourful, free and really worth the visit! Until 8 July 2015 in the Gare de l’Est in Paris.

Christine Bokobza – Good Morning Paris B&B – www.goodmorningparis.fr