Today - The town hall of the 15th stands on the edge of a large pedestrianised square and offers a peaceful respite to the very busy thoroughfares that act as conduits to the outer ring road of Paris, only about 1km away. Adjacent is the pretty secluded park called - square de la Place Adolphe Cherioux, a popular spot for just chilling out at lunch time. But, just a short walk in a SE direction from the town hall is an even more striking, much larger landscaped park, the square Saint-Lambert, with ornamental lake, fountain and bank of trees which were [View Full Entry]

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Well, there were just too many of the 16th to publish last week and the Arc de Triomphe stole the show as I was very lucky as it was a beautiful, warm sunny day, mid-October. Here's a few more pictures taken in the 16th - including a modern 'Russian' building, one from the river, and also a building site! By the way, I can recommend a trip on the Bato-bus. For just 8 euros for a day, you get an excellent ride around the Seine with as many stopping points as you want. Quite a lot of my write-ups of the [View Full Entry]

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Today - The Mairie of the 16th arrondissement sits on a very beautiful avenue Georges Mandel, named after the local WWII war hero and French resistance fighter. Georges, by the way, was a French politician in the first half of the 20th century and seems to have been a veritable Churchillian figure, some accusing him of warmongering. Whatever, he advocated much stronger resistance to the Germans and was a very strong critic of the post-invasion 'puppet', Vichy government. He obviously upset a few French people in senior places because in 1941 he was arrested under the orders of Laval, the le [View Full Entry]

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But, I forgot to mention, the 17th is one of the three arrondissements where you can see the Arc de Triomphe, but as with most things about the 17th, it doesn't provide the best view, only a rather oblique angle. The best view is in the 8th, from the avenue Champs Elysees, of course. I've included some striking architecture from rue Verniquet and avenue des Ternes, more of the market and of the green spaces. I've also included an example of some tumble down properties that you quickly find off the side streets in the North of the arrondissement, just to [View Full Entry]

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Today & History It’s initially hard to know what to write about the 17th arrondissement. From a tourist’s perspective, it has almost no obvious striking features, yet it has a charm of its own and like many things in central Paris, when you peel away the layers of the onion, an intriguing more detailed picture emerges, as we shall see. But, as with the others, this blog starts with the town hall. It is unique amongst the 20 arrondissements as it is the only modern building amongst them. The previous Mairie was demolished because its strange, overly tall bell tower, nicknamed [View Full Entry]

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In my blog on the Mairie of the 18th arrondissement, I talked about the rue du Steinkerque, the place de Tertre and the various roads leading away from it. Here are some more pictures. [View Full Entry]

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18th Arrondissement Today And so on to the 18th. The Mairie of the 18th, like the 19th and 20th is a very imposing building, not so old as the other two, set on its own square down the North side of the hill that includes Montmartre, and not far from inner Paris’ only vineyard. Nearby the town hall are some quite well-heeled areas with smart, attractive restaurants like Café Francoeur in rue Caulaincourt. You will also find some quiet repose in the pretty square just round the corner from the town hall, square de Lignacourt, now renamed Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont. The latter [View Full Entry]

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In my blog on the 19th, I talked at length about the Parc des Buttes Chaumont and the joined up waterways - the Bassin de la Villette and the Canal de l'Ourcq. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a few thousand! Quicker, too! [View Full Entry]

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In each of my main blogs, I'm trying to limit the embedded photographs to just 5 for each of the arrondissements. However, for some of them, especially those with some specific attractions, I have a number of additional pictures. When we get on to those arrondissements that I know from a restaurant and wine bar point of view, then I plan to do an extra section for the 'foodies' amongst my readers, including a few photos of frontages and interiors. So, on to the 20th. In my first blog, I talked about the Parc de Belleville and the cemetery of Père [View Full Entry]

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19th Arrondissement Today And so on to the 19th. The Mairie of the 19th, like the 20th is a very imposing building set on its own square and on the edge of the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. The park, whose development project was managed by Hausmann and completed by landscape architect Adolphe Alphand in 1867 is a refreshing change from the largely functional and industrious landscape that forms a large part of this hard-working neighbourhood. In the centre you will discover a large lake and an island with huge rocky outcrop and tower on the top. From this vantage point, you [View Full Entry]

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