Paris1972-Versailles2003

This is an anormaly for me right off the bat; this is one of my first areas visited in Paris as came by it with my then girlfriend in 1990 and later wife and many more times by here. I have come by here more often than I can remember and saw the transformation of this area from  a low unknown to a vibrant lively area and up and coming real estate values.  I am talking about the La Villette and its park complex in the 19éme arrondissement of Paris. I could not find my pictures for this place darn it, even if look several times in my vault, therefore, will need to do the post as my black and white series, no pictures.

I used to drive into it from the old N3 now D603 road direction Meaux. It covers the northeast quadrant of Paris bordering the boulevard periphérique, the first mention of La Villette goes back to 1198, and the area was like many annexed to Paris proper in 1860.  It is divided into four quartiers or neighborhood such as La Villette, Pont de Flanders, Amérique, and Combat. The Grande Halle de la Villette, metal structures built in 1865-1867, it was the site of one of the biggest slaugherhouses in Paris and today it serve for cultural events and concerts.

The parc de la Villette, is located on the quartier Pont de Flandre  is one of the biggest park and the biggest green area of Paris. It was built on the slaughterhouse of the Villette that were demolished in 1867 under orders of emperor Napoléon III and the prefect Haussmann , and finally raze in 1974. It has 55 hectares of which 33 are green areas so making it the biggest in Paris, larger than the Jardin des Tuileries with 25,5 hectares, parc des Buttes Chaumont with 25 hectares and the Jardin du Luxembourg with 23 hectares. It has the Porte de la Villette on the north, the porte de Pantin on the south and the Canal de l’Ourcq crosses it in the middle. Two pedestrian passarelles connect the canal with the north and south section, and also there is a floating mobile bridge half way between the two passeralles that allow walkers and bikers and mobility impaired persons to cross it. There is a passages garden inspired from the exposition planetary gardens in the grande halle on a site of an old lamb corral; this island of green has 3000 sq meters with an ecosystem of forest, and dry stones.  It is a space of culture and teaching around ecological themes.

The things to see here in my opinion are:

The Grande halle de la Villette, with a nave of 9000 sq meters, the space Charlie Parker  with 4 000 sq meters, four studies and 8 balconies on the room Boris Vian.

The Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie opened in 1986. The Géode , a large dome shape building of 36 meters (119 ft)  in diameter housing a cinema IMAX cinema on a  geodesies dome opened  in 1985. The Cité de la Musique , concert hall opened in 1995 and music museum opened in 1996.  The conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris opened in 1990.  The little Villette the old pavilion Paul Delouvrier. The Zénith de Paris, opened in 1984 and stayed concert hall. The Philharmonic de Paris created in 2015. The space Chapiteaux with Chapithôtel opened in 2013 to house the artists. The submarine Argonaute. Cinaxe , this is a cinema made like a flight simulator ,very good! you play the movie with the same movements lol! The Trabendo opened in 1994 under Hot Brass spectacles hall . The wonderful Cabaret Sauvage concerts spectacles since 1997. The theater Paris Villette opened in 1986 in the old pavilion de la Bourse aux cuirs (leather stock exchange) . The Hall de la  Chanson in the pavilion of Charolais behind the Grande Halle.

Others are the WIP Villette opened in 1987 first as the Maison de la Villette. The  beltway spaces for residence of artists , an equestrian center, Pavillon Janvier, Cité Administrative, and the thematic gardens such as the  jardins passagers, jardin des bambous, jardin des frayeurs enfantines, jardin de la treille, jardin des équilibres, jardin des îles, jardin des miroirs, jardin des dunes et des vents, jardin des voltiges, jardin du dragon, jardin des ombres, and jardin des dessins. It has an equetrian center, sculptures, and music kiosques all around, great place to spend a day in a different Paris.

It has gorgeous walks along the Canal de la Villette, Canal Saint Denis,and Canal de l’Ourcq all meeting here going into a great esplanade to the Rotonda de la Villette ,the old tax authority now been converted into a Brasserie restaurant ,and very popular. The luminous cinema MK2  overlooking the canal is romantic ,beautiful cinema house.

All around these canals you have the bassin de la Villette, the biggest body of water in Paris with 700 meters long( 2310 ft) .  The aforementioned Rotonde de la Villette  is one of 54 buildings done in 1784 to received the taxes on products entering Paris; it faces the Bassin de la Villette.  For difference there is a nice church St Jacques et St Chritophe de la Villette at place Bitche a nice small park in front will do good for a rest and some snack/drink to recharge your walk, I know I did ! Here you can get to many peniche boat and cruise boat on the canals and bassin the most famous is the Canauxrama firm right on quai de la Loire. Also, the newer Paris Canal same side of the quais .(see posts).

To have a quick drink spend a lovely time here other than inside the Parc de la Villette, you have a wonderful cafe MK2 inside the MK2 cinema overlooking the bassin de la Villette, Belushi’s at rue Crimée is wonderful and youthful with good prices, and great views. For a heartier meal I suggest the Au Boeuf Couronné, for great beef and the signature of Gerard Joulie restaurants in Paris, located at 188 ave Jean Jaurés, metro porte de Pantin ,line 5 . There is a hostal St Christopher’s (inside is Belushi’s) next to it with lively ambiance, great prices, and very easy located on metro Crimée line 7.

In all a labyrinth of good ambiance always guarantee

The Paris tourist office on the Grande Halle: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71597/Grande-Halle-de-La-Villette

The Paris tourist office on the general parc de la Villette: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71469/Parc-de-La-Villette-Plein-Air

The Official parc de la Villette with a map is better: https://lavillette.com/plan-du-parc?view=overall

The concerts hall Zenith with programming: http://www.le-zenith.com/fr/programme/programmation.html

The official Cité de la Musique on programming: https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr

The Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie webpage: https://www.cite-sciences.fr/en/home/

The Géode webpage; https://www.lageode.fr/?lang=en

There you go folks, a wonderful parck for all to enjoy the parc de la Villette is awesome. Hope you enjoy the black and white post on it as I. You will do good to visit this off the beaten path area of Paris, it is very nice. And, remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Ok so in my rounds of updating older posts in my blog during these times of ours I came across new finds! One of them was on this very famous square where I had concentrated on the  Arc de Triomphe but not on the Place de l’étoile as it is better known even if officially now is Place Charles de Gaulle. Therefore, let me tell you a bit more on it; hope you enjoy it as I.

The Place Charles-de-Gaulle, formerly Place de l’Étoile is an important roundabout, in the center of which is the Arc de Triomphe, (see posts) and which constitutes one end of Avenue des Champs- Elysees (see post). Place de l’Étoile, as well as the Arc de Triomphe itself, is shared like a cake between the 8éme, 16éme and 17éme arrondissements of Paris with the 8éme bounded by avenue de Wagram and the ‘avenue Marceau; the16éme bounded by avenue Marceau and avenue de la Grande-Armée; and the 17éme bounded by avenue de la Grande-Armée and avenue de Wagram. It has a diameter of 241 meters, which gives it an area of ​​approximately 4.55 hectares.

The Charles de Gaulle square is one of the prestigious squares in Paris. Although it was renamed in 1970, its old name of “Place de l’Étoile” is still the most common in use. The square is surrounded by two streets forming a circle around it: the rue de Presbourg and the rue de Tilsitt which perpetuate two diplomatic successes of Napoleon and are the names given in 1864 to the circular street. Taking place between avenue Kléber and avenue Victor-Hugo, rue Lauriston constitutes a thirteenth lane radiating around the square but it stops at rue de Presbourg and therefore does not disturb the harmony of the square itself, Another underground passage, the Passage du Souvenir, is reserved for pedestrians, and connects the median where the Arc de Triomphe is located to the sidewalks of Avenue des Champs-Élysées and Avenue de la Grande-Armée.

The Charles de Gaulle square is serve by the RER A and metro lines 1, 2 and 6 under the square, serving it from the Charles de Gaulle – Étoile station. On the surface, the RATP bus lines 22, 30, 31, 52, 73, 92 and 341 run all or part of the square and serve it through stops on the various avenues leading to it. At night, the square is served by the Noctilien lines N11, N24, N53, N151 and N153. OF course , me only use the metro line 1 and 6 as well as the RER A here, The others are for information only,

A bit of history I like, This square was created around 1670 at the top of the old butte temoin or witness hill in the northern part of the Chaillot hill. The mound was called the Butte de l’Étoile from 1730 or more commonly the Étoile de Chaillot, because of the alleys which intersect there and give the shape of a star. The architect builder of the King who gave this shape was Ange Gabriel, and he made sure that the path was of an equal slope from the place Louis XV to the Neuilly bridge, was carried out from 1768 to 1774, The mound was lowered by 5 meters and the land removed was used to backfill the Champs-Élysées and to form the slopes of the current rue Balzac and rue Washington. In 1787, during the construction of the wall of the Fermiers généraux or general farmers was created the barrier of the Etoile ,also called barrier of Neuilly, The square was at the limit of the territories of the towns, created in 1790, of Passy which extended to the south of the avenue de la Grande Armée and of Neuilly to the north of this avenue. The town of Passy was annexed to the city of Paris in 1860 forming the 16éme arrondissement as well as the part of the territory of the town of Neuilly corresponding to the Ternes neighborhood of the 17éme arrondissement.

A bit on the arch even if plenty of posts on it, The construction of a triumphal arch in the center of the square, begun in 1806 by order of Napoleon I, and was completed in 1836 under the reign of Louis-Philippe I. The Place Charles de Gaulle in its current appearance was built under the Second Empire on the initiative of Baron Haussmann and Napoleon III. From 1854 and around the Arc de Triomphe,were completed in 1836, twelve avenues in the shape of a Star. The “Hôtels des Maréchaux” or marshall’s hotels , who were twelve in number, they are bordered by the twelve avenues starting in a star around the square. These U-shaped constructions on the rear facade have their entrances on a circular street such as the rue de Tilsit and the rue de Presbourg. The motifs of the facades are common with Greek friezes, pilasters, garlands, balcony with balusters, cornice with modillions decorated with palmettes, etc.

The twelve avenues clockwise are:

The Avenue de Wagram named after the Battle of Wagram won by Napoleon in 1809 in Austria. Formerly boulevard de l’Étoile or boulevard Bezons. The Avenue Hoche named after Lazare Hoche French General. Formerly avenue de la Reine-Hortense under the Second Empire and boulevard Monceau before. The Avenue de Friedland named after the Battle of Friedland won by Napoleon in 1809 in East Prussia since the Second Empire. Formerly boulevard Beaujon, The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, named after the Champs-Élysées, the place of the Underworld where virtuous souls stayed in Greek mythology. The Avenue Marceau named after François Séverin Marceau French General. Formerly avenue Joséphine, The Avenue d’Iéna, named after the Battle of Jena won by Napoleon in 1806 over the Prussians. The Avenue Kléber named after Jean-Baptiste Kléber French General. Formerly avenue du Roi-de-Rome and boulevard de Passy previously. The Avenue Victor-Hugo named after Victor Hugo French writer. Formerly avenue d’Eylau and avenue de Saint-Cloud, The Avenue Foch named after Ferdinand Foch Maréchal de France. Formerly avenue du Bois (de Boulogne) under the Third Republic and avenue de l’Impératrice under the Second Empire, The Avenue de la Grande Armée named after Napoleon I’s army Formerly avenue de Neuilly. The Avenue Carnot named after Lazare Carnot, Member of Parliament and Minister. Formerly avenue d’Essling under the Second Empire named after the lost defeat in 1809, and the Avenue Mac-Mahon named after Edme Patrice Mac-Mahon Marshal of France. Formerly avenue du Prince-Jérôme.

After all the above ,you have these twelve avenues forming six axes: The axis avenue Mac-Mahon and avenue d’Iéna, the axis avenue de Wagram and avenue Kléber, the axis avenue Hoche and avenue Victor-Hugo, the axis avenue de Friedland and avenue Foch, the axis avenue des Champs-Élysées and avenue de la Grande-Armée. And the axis avenue Marceau and avenue Carnot, All ridden by yours truly awesome !!

Some of the grand events on this Place Charles de Gaulle or Etoile in my opinion were : On June 25, 1792 around 21h, the royal family (Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette) entered Paris by the Etoile barrier returning from the flight from Varennes after having bypassed Paris by the outer boulevards. The carriage surrounded by two hedges of National Guards and a silent crowd then descends the Avenue des Champs-Elysées to the Tuileries Palace ( now gone facing the Jardin des Tuileries see post), Also, on April 2, 1810, the day after the civil marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Marie-Louise at the castle of Saint-Cloud (now gone just the gardens remain), the imperial procession heading towards the Tuileries Palace where the religious marriage was to be celebrated passed under the Arc de Triomphe under construction covered by a dummy monument with a frame covered with canvas and between the buildings there are lavishly decorated barriers. On December 2, 1852, the day of the proclamation of the Empire, Napoleon III left on horseback from the Château de Saint-Cloud and entered Paris via the Arc-de-Triomphe to reach the Palais des Tuileries, On November 11, 1920, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier was installed.

The Paris tourist office on the square : https://en.parisinfo.com/transport/90841/Place-Charles-de-Gaulle

The Champs-Elysées webpage on the square : http://www.champselysees-paris.com/en/sightseeing-details/place-de-l-039-etoile/208

There you go folks, a wonderful spot in my eternal Paris. You must have been by there ,now you know a bit of the history, next try a ride by car around it!!!Awesome! The place Charles de Gaulle is one heck of a square to be around while in beautiful Paris. Oh by the way the text is new in my blog, the picture is old . Hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember ,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

This is a subject of many questions over the years by visitors unknown ,closed friends and family members. Paris been a nice side city has a huge choice of local transports that can be confusing to many. However, as I tell my contacts/friends/family coming from big cities , getting public transports in Paris should not be a problem. For me learning the rope of public transports in the NJ/NY metro area, coming to the Paris metro area was a breeze.

I have several posts on transports in Paris on all modes. However, i like to provide more information and remind you of the one mode most ask me questions about, the metro:subway:tube of Paris! Therefore, here is my take on them briefly, if detail questions you can ask me.

One of my biggest affirmation is that once in Paris, walking is the best and sublime way to see the beauty of the most beautiful city in the world above ground. By far, walking is the main mode of travel in Paris, it provides 40% of all daily journeys, whether internal to Paris or between Paris and the suburbs. On the surface, it represents 75% of trips, while sidewalks cover only 40% of the road network. The public transport network in the Paris area is particularly developed. The metro, which provides 20% of Parisian travel (whether internal to Paris or between Paris and the suburbs), which makes it the second most important mode of travel after walking, is its most emblematic representative. Yes and for some reasons beyond me the one that gets more questions and confusion.

I have written many posts on the metro and its lines so rather than redo here is a link to all those posts:Have a good reading folks, and hope it helps. The specific webpage in Paris is the RATP: https://www.ratp.fr/en/plan-metro

Line 1: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/04/metro-de-paris-line-1/

Line 2: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/05/metro-de-paris-line-2/

Line 3: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/05/metro-de-paris-line-3/

Line 4: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/05/metro-de-paris-line-4/

Line 5: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/06/metro-de-paris-line-5/

Line 6: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/06/metro-de-paris-line-6/

Line 7: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/06/metro-de-paris-line-7/

Line 8: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/07/metro-de-paris-line-8/

Line 9: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/07/metro-de-paris-line-9/

Line 10: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/07/metro-de-paris-line-10/

Line 11: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/08/metro-de-paris-line-11/

Line 12: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/08/metro-de-paris-line-12/

Line 13: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/08/metro-de-paris-line-13/

Line 14: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/09/metro-de-paris-line-14/

Other lines: https://paris1972-versailles2003.com/2020/03/09/and-yes-other-metro-lines-of-paris/

The tramway appeared, during the 2000s, as an ideal mode of transport to ensure the transversal service which is lacking in the suburbs (the Transilien lines being rather radial), The Paris area has a large network of bus lines operated in part by the RATP (Paris and inner suburbs), in part by transport companies grouped together within the Optile group under the authority of Île-de- France Mobilitiés.

Paris has six major terminus railway stations (Gare du Nord, Gare Saint-Lazare, Gare de l’Est, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de Lyon and Gare d’Austerlitz) providing both main line traffic and commuter traffic. Main line traffic has grown considerably with the TGVs which leave from the Gare de Lyon (to Lyon, Marseille etc), from the Montparnasse station (to Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux etc), Gare du Nord (towards Lille London etc) and, Gare de l’Est (towards Strasbourg, Meaux etc). The Saint-Lazare station is the first station for the number of departing trains (suburbs and main lines) while the Gare du Nord is the first for trafic, Seven of the eight suburban railway lines (Transilien) end in the large Parisian stations in cul-de-sac and complete the heavy service to the suburbs provided by the regional express network of Île-de-France (RER) . The five RER lines (A B C D E ) are rail gauge lines serving both the suburbs and the center of Paris.

More info on the Paris train stations in French: https://www.oui.sncf/gares/paris

Paris has had a constantly growing network of cycle paths since 1996 ,The market was taken over in 2018 by the Smoovengo consortium, which offers 30% of electrically assisted bicycles, There are about 17000 taxis in Paris, with Taxi ranks organized into three categories: 28 large stations are located near the main tourist sites or major city squares with taxis available 24/7; 90 neighborhood stations located near the main traffic axes and 316 local stations located near public buildings (hospitals, hotels, theaters, etc.) and intended for the removal and collection of users. They provide 0.5% of Parisian trips.

Find your Vélib station here: https://www.velib-metropole.fr/en/map#/

Find your Taxi stand here: https://www.taxis-paris.fr/plan-stations.htm

The road network includes about 800 km of highways in Île-de-France. There are about ten radials, the main ones being the Autoroute du Soleil (Dijon, Lyon, Marseille), the Autoroute du Nord (Lille), the autoroute de Normandie (Rouen, Caen, Le Havre), Autoroute de l’Est (Reims, Metz, Strasbourg), Autoroute d’Aquitaine (Orléans, Bordeaux) and Autoroute de l’Océane (Le Mans, Nantes) as well as three circular ring road surrounding historic Paris, the A 86 motorway, completely encircled in 2008, located in the inner suburbs and the Francilienne traced about ten km further outside. The average speed is 15.2 km / h, but 17.3 km / h after 20h and 17.8 km / h before 7h (even if the mayor of Paris impose a 70 kph limit! in the BP boulevard périphérique) Electronic sensors are placed in the roadway of the main Parisian axes and almost all of the region’s highways. From August 30 2021 Paris has enforced the 30 kph limit inside Paris proper. The data make it possible to determine the flow of traffic and to indicate traffic jams and estimated travell times between different characteristic points handle by the SYTADIN system. webpage: http://www.sytadin.fr/

The old STIF is today the Ïle de France Mobilités for all transports even in English : https://www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/en

There you go folks, a condense information post on the inner transports of Paris with heavey emphasis on the metro/subway/tube as per popular demand. Hope it helps you travel smoothly thru and in Paris in your future travels to the capital of my belle France.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!