Journées du Patrimoine: 4. 100 Years of the Ligne Nord-Sud

Rather than suffer the Metro like most Parisians do on a daily basis, why not celebrate it instead? 2010 is the 100th anniversary of the 'Ligne Nord-Sud', today's line 12, and several events are planned to mark the occasion. At the Porte de Versailles station you can visit a train from 1910 or look at a selection of rarely seen photos of the old N-S company. If you are lucky, you may even be able to ride on one of the 1930s Sprague-Thomson trains that will be operating on the line on Saturday and Sunday.

Click here for the full RATP programme this weekend.

Journées du Patrimoine: 3. Le Siege du Parti Communiste

Oscar Niemeyer's Communist party headquarters building is fairly underwhelming from the exterior, but it is the interiors that are the real draw. Twisting and winding concrete corridors and undulating surfaces lead to mysterious corners and to a fantastic space age auditorium. As an additional bonus, you can also take a lift to the rooftop terrace for exceptional views across Paris.

Siège du Parti Communiste
2 Place Colonel Fabien 75019
Open Saturday and Sunday, 10am - 5.30pm
Note: A concert is programmed for the Saturday evening at 8.30pm in the auditorium. Entrance is free but tickets are strictly on a first come first served basis.

Something for the Weekend (10th – 12th September)

The Biennale de Belleville
The Venice Biennale may be more famous and well-established, but could something similar be brewing in one of the most dynamic districts of Paris? Launching this year, the Biennale de Belleville will mix contemporary art, showcases and events, with performances and installations in a host of unlikely spots across this multicultural area. Highlights include Solde migratoire, a show featuring the works of 15 leading contemporary artists, Street Painting taking artists out into the street, Take a lift on the East Side or a ride between sites in a Limousine, and Traduire les enseignes, a performance by Lee Show-Chun who will reveal the hidden meanings of the shopfronts of Belleville’s Chinese district!

http://www.labiennaledebelleville.fr/
From 10th September to 23rd October
Festival HQ: Pavillon Carré de Baudoin, 121 rue de Ménilmontant 75020

La Fête de l’Huma
The Fête de l’Huma(nité) is a curious mixture of socialism and sausages, but it is also a cheap and fun weekend event! Artists performing this year can hardly be described as ‘up and coming’, include The Prodigy, Madness and ageing French pop stars Alain Souchon and Jacques Dutronc, but all still know how to put on a show. Tickets for the three day event are available for only 19 Euros, with under 15s getting in free. For the true Huma ambiance though, you can also camp on site, but be prepared for plenty of drinking and debates!

http://humanite.fr/fete_huma
10th-12th September, Parc Departmental de La Courneuve

Le Zapping
The French have long been obsessed with a phenomenon known as Le Zapping on TV channel Canal +, which is basically a rapid-fire selection of the best and worst moments of television. Once a year, the programme becomes an all night event in theatres and cinemas around the country, but this weekend sees the first version of a new format – a free two-hour show outdoors on the Champs de Mars. Expect a wild atmosphere and a curious insight into the likes and dislikes of the French! If taking young people along though, note that organisers have warned that some extracts, which often include coverage of natural disasters, may shock.

Le Grand Zapping Show
http://www.legrandzappingshow.com/
Saturday and Sunday, 8.30pm

Ninja Tune festival
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this influential British record label, a selection of their most well known artists will be performing at a variety of venues across Paris. The launch event this takes place this Friday with concerts and DJ sets continuing until October 1st. To accompany the event there will also be an exhibition of artworks relating to the label at the Galerie Chappe in the 18th arrondissement.

Flottement Cellulaire
Another weekend, another good reason to visit the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Artist Anais Lelievre has created ‘Flottement Cellulaire’, an installation on the lake representing floating cells or a kind of ‘primal soup’. It’s a spectacular sight, particularly from the belvedere at the top of the hill (see pictures of the installation here)

Until September 15th Parc des Buttes Chaumont, 75019

Journées du Patrimoine : 2. The Musée des Moulages

My second recommendation is an extraordinary experience, but certainly not one that will be for everybody! The Musée des Moulages Dermatologiques (museum of dermatological casts) within the walls of the Hôpital St Louis is a very private museum and generally open only to students and those working in the medical profession. If truth be told it is rather gruesome, but with fascinating historical and artistic qualities!

For more information, read the post I wrote after my visit last year.

Hopital Saint Louis
1 Avenue Claude-Vellefaux, 75010
Note: the museum is only open on the Sunday (19th) from 10am - 6pm

Journées du Patrimoine: 1. Palais d'Iena

This is the first of a series of posts I'll publish with suggestions for the most interesting and unusual places to visit during the weekend of the Journées du Patrimoine (heritage days) which takes place on the weekend of the 18th/19th September. First up, Auguste Perret's architectural masterpiece.

The Palais d’Iena is perhaps the most well-known and well-respected building of the architect Auguste Perret. In wonderful simplicity it manages to combine classical, academical principles with modernist design and materials.

The building was erected between 1937 and 1946, initially to serve as a museum of public works. This initiative was however not very successful, and since 1959 it has hosted the Conseil économique, social et environnemental (French Economic and Social Council). The public is not generally admitted inside the building so the patrimoine weekend offers you the opportunity to view the fantastic interiors, which include an auditorium for 300 people and a monumental staircase.

Tours will also be organised during the weekend by lecturers from the Ecole de Louvre.

If you are not in Paris for the weekend of the 18th/19th, you can still visit the building, albeit virtually! See http://www.conseil-economique-et-social.fr/home.asp, then click on visite virtuelle in the bottom left corner of the page.

Palais d’Iena
9, Place d'Iéna - 75016
Saturday 18th – Sunday 19th, 10am to 5pm

Something for the Weekend (3rd – 5th September)

Architecture, history and football. These are some of my favourite things. I hope they interest you too, because they form the basis of my recommendations this weekend!

A residency at Le Corbusier’s Cité refuge de l'Armée du salut
A collective of artists going under the name of Abawé are currently in residency at the Cité refuge de l'Armée du salut (Salvation Army refuge), a Le Corbussier building dating from 1933. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the collective, the artists have set themselves up for a month in a 1000m2 space which at certain times of the week is made accessible to the public who can come and observe them at work.

The collective have promised paintings, sculptures, and other installations as well as concerts and a debate during the Journées du Patrimoine (18th and 19th September), but beyond the quality of the art itself, this event is surely a good excuse to visit a rarely accessible Le Corbussier building in Paris.

More details on the collective can be found here: http://www.abawe.com

Cité refuge de l'Armée du Salut
12, rue Cantagrel 75013 Paris, M° Bibliothèque
Thursday to Sunday, 3pm to 8pm.

150 ans des 20 arrondissements parisiens
2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the last expansion of Paris and the creation of the 20 arrondissements that still exist today. To celebrate this anniversary, several events are planned this autumn, notably an exhibition at the Galerie des Bibliothèques in the Marais.

The expansion took place on the 1st January 1860, with eleven towns and villages surrounding the old city walls (the fermiers generaux) being absorbed into the new city. These towns (Auteuil, Passy, Les Batignolles, Montmartre, La Chapelle, La Villette, Belleville, Charonne, Bercy, Vaugirard and Grenelle), still retain some of their original village features today, and the exhibition will explain how and why this expansion took place.

22, rue Malher (4e), M° St Paul
From September 2nd to October 24th
Entrance: €4

Keep a note in your diary also for a series of nine very interesting and informative walks that will be run by an association called Les Promenades Urbaines throughout October in association with this anniversary. These day-long walks, which cover architecture, urbanism and history, have been designed to investigate these ancient villages as well as the old and new city limits.

Full details on the dates and itineries can be found here: http://www.150ans-promenades-urbaines.com

Football : France v Belorus
France will play their first competitive match on home soil after the débâcle at the World Cup in South Africa when the players went on strike, both on and off the pitch. The question before this game is what reaction the players will get from supporters at the Stade de France, a set of fans who have never been slow to show their displeasure in the past. The French football federation expected the worst, going even as far as producing a ridiculous ‘mea culpa’ poem to promote the match, but although tickets as low as 10 Euros can still be bought, at least 60,000 people will nevertheless be present for this first qualifying match for the 2012 European Championships.
Friday 3rd September, 20h45
Stade de France

Paris 2010: more tourists and from further away

The city of Paris has reported an increase in visitors this year in comparison to 2008 and 2009, thanks notably to larger numbers than ever before of tourists from China, Brazil and Russia.

Although British and American tourist numbers are down on previous years, the number of visitors to the French capital from China has increased by 33.6% this year. A similar rise (+29.8%) was seen in the numbers of people coming to Paris from the Middle East, as well as in the numbers of people coming from other developing countries (+19% for visitors from Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia, and +30% for visitors from Africa).

Will Paris change in any way to attempt to attract even more visitors from these regions, or are they in fact simply looking for the same things as the more traditional visitors? The city of Paris has also reported that attendance figures at the city-run museums has also increased (+40% per day), which would seem to suggest that they have the same interests, principally the cultural and historical offerings of the city.

One thing is certain though and that is that Paris will need an even larger pool of hotels. Here as well though the city of Paris believes itself to be prepared, with tourism chiefs announcing the creation of an extra 7000 hotel rooms in the city by 2020. Whether this will lead to a decrease in prices or not though remains to be seen.

Full information on the report can be found here (in French).