Hi everyone,
As you might have noticed I am french and I do live in
Paris. I am not originally from
Paris, I was born in the south-west of
France in a small town called
Dax. However, I've lived in
Paris for more than 20 years, so I consider myself like a true
Parisian now.
I love to watch movies and I am really happy when a foreign movie is shot in
Paris. But what I really hate is the many stupid clichés about
France and
Paris. Come on guys, there is no accordion player every 100 meters, I am not wearing a béret and I am not carrying my baguette under my arm all day long!!!
So I wanted to break stereotypes a little bit and show you another
Paris, even another
Paris than the
"City of Love". To be honest, I am not really fond of
Paris and I don't find it that romantic, but it's still my city!
Anyway, I live in the south-east of
Paris, in the XXth borough. My neighborhood is not touristy except maybe for
the "Père Lachaise" (biggest cemetery of
Paris where a lot of famous people are buried, like
Balzac, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison...).
A while ago in my area, there was a building which was going to be demolished. So the city of
Paris allowed street artists to tag the walls for a few months before the destruction. For many months, different artists painted those walls.
The building is no more and now became... you'll never guess : buildings of the "Ministry Of The Interior"!
Can you believe by seeing those pictures, what it's become now ? Can you believe that it was in
Paris ?
Like I just said, unfortunately you can't visit this particular street anymore but there are plenty of street art spots in
Paris, so here are a few :
•
Bercy's Skate Park :
I really really love this place. It's a skate park covered with plenty of graffitis. This skate park is in the middle of a huge park and gardens, next to the
river Seine and to the
"Bibliothèque François Mitterand". There are also a cinema, restaurants and cafés really close by in
"Bercy Village".
How to get there :
- metro : Bercy (line 6 and 14)
- address : Parc de Bercy - 75012 Paris
• Rue Dénoyez :
Also located in the XXth borough, the
rue Dénoyez is dedicated to street art. It's really smaller though, I will definitely go there one day and take some pics. It's not very far from the
"Père-Lachaise" and the
"Buttes-Chaumont". So you can squeeze everything in one day.
How to get there :
- metro : Belleville (line 2 and 11)
- address : Rue Dénoyez - 75020 Paris
Le mur means the wall in english. Yes, it is only a wall provided by an association to artists to showcase their work. The art changes every 2/3 weeks or so. It's not astonishing but it's a nice way to discover street artists and it's just next to a nice café, so you can just chill there for a bit. It's also in the same area.
How to get there :
- metro : Parmentier, Saint-Maur (line 3)
- address : 107 Rue Oberkampf - 75011 Paris
It's a place where you can listen to music, have a drink on the rooftop, have a brunch, a diner, and enjoy street art from many different artists. It's located on the Canal Saint-Martin, I'd suggest you to go during spring and summer when people are sitting on the banks of the Seine. It's definitely not a touristy place!
How to get there :
- metro : Jaurès (line 2,5 and 7 bis)
- address : 200 Quai de Valmy - 75010 Paris
Here you are, I hope you'll like the pics below! Let me know if you have any questions about street art spots in Paris, I'd be happy to help!
