My Paris: A Literary Ballade

by Jimmy Hall

Paris, France belongs to me, I own her. Maybe not the city of bus tours and landmark itineraries, but my own private Paris of personal perceptions and pleasures. That's mine, and exactly what I strive to share.

Don't get me wrong, guidebooks do an adequate job of presenting the basic sites to tourists. They are a necessary evil for finding the string of major monuments, gardens, and museums; the problem is that a group of tourist attractions doesn't properly showcase the true character of this loveliest of international cities. Sure, see the major points of interest — like Notre Dame, fashion houses on avenue Montaigne, the Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle, Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, and others; cruise the Seine and see Paristoric as well, but take at least one day to see the real Paris, the one I love. Keep one foot in the past, the other in the immediate future.

	Palais Garnier — Paris Opera (click for larger image)

Typically, I leave my right bank hotel room on rue St-Roch (1er) at 10 a.m. and stroll to Brentano's bookstore at #37 avenue de l'Opéra (2e). Fitzgerald used to read his own books here. I'm doing it. Opting for Hemingway, I glance at a dozen books and finally buy one, then head for the terrace of the Café de la Paix, just across from the sumptuous Palais Garnier (9e) — site of the Opéra de Paris. Soon I am reading, sipping bière, and munching on a fromage plate amidst a throng of others, just as "Papa" did in late 1921. There's no hurry, the world is prancing by.

After an hour and a half I begin to feel guilty and lazy, so I leave. My desire is to walk the surrounding area further. Wandering at first toward La Madeleine, at #35 boulevard des Capucines I find the site of the former residence of Nadar, location of the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. Something magnificent was started here. Doubling back toward the café, at #23 I visit another of Hemingway's cute little hangouts, Le Trou Dans le Mur. Aptly named — it really is a hole in the wall. At any rate, nothing beats strolling in Paris, so I continue onto the boulevard des Italiens. Once again, I've made it across the place de l'Opéra without being hit by a bus!

Near the end of the boulevard, I cut right and roam through the passage des Princes onto a lost gem in Paris, the rue de Richelieu. This was the high-society street of the 18th century. Four early American Presidents lived here prior to taking office: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe (with Thomas Paine), and John Quincy Adams called numbers 17, 30, 95, and 97 home. I am at the high end of the street, near Monroe's, but walking south at a decent pace.

Fountain in Square Louvois

The French don't mark those residences, but Simon Bolivar (one of the same buildings) and Molière are commemorated, and Molière also has a lovely fountain in his honor. Washington Irving's home at #69 no longer exists. As always, I stop at the green park at square Louvois, and point my video camera towards the old site of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. This irritates the French gendarmes to no end; with my sunglasses, moustache & beard, and a beret I apparently look like a security threat to them! Never mind — it is a sunny, warm day.

Looking towards place des Victoires, the former carriage hub of Paris, I cross rue des Petits-Champs. Great. Next, I enter the best-kept secret in the City of Light: the Palais Royal Gardens, ensconced between rue de Montpensier and rue de Valois (1er). Pretty. Beautiful. Historical. I am running out of adjectives for this quiet retreat from all the town's hustle and bustle. Forget the Duke of Orléans, the speeches that started the French Revolution, and King Louis' childhood; this is where Grant and Hepburn were in the movie "Charade!"

Thirst again becomes a problem, so I continue across rue St-Honoré and then make it to the rue de Rivoli and parallel the Louvre, with the Tuileries outdoor café in mind. The ugly Joan of Arc statue at place des Pyramides, where she was wounded, gets only a moment's attention before I enter the formal gardens. After skirting the central lake and fountain, I eye the café's red table-canopies a little to the northwest. It's incredible how good a Kronenbourg tastes after a walk! While drinking, I can't help but wonder how long the great Ferris wheel will stay in the place de la Concorde in the distance. It is somewhat out of favor.

	Aerial view of the Grand and Petit Palais © A Digital Archive of Architecture, Jeffery Howe, Boston College. (click for larger image)

Back on track, I timidly cross the quai des Tuileries (where I was once hit by a government car) and start over our third (U.S.) President's favorite bridge, the Pont Royal. To the left are the islands of Paris and to the right are the Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, and the Grand and Petit Palais (both built for the Exposition Universelle of 1900). Once across the lovely River Seine, the rue du Bac (7e) is my next path.

This old street was once used as a route for transporting building stones from the quarries outside of town. Thomas Jefferson walked it to his daughter's school, nearby. For me it is a convenient way to reach the rue de l' Université. This is charming, old Paris, indeed — where the magnificence of the past lives on in its heritage. These buildings don't look like much today, but they have harbored many of the most famous people in history. The shops are amazing, too. James Joyce and T. S. Eliot each individually lived at #9, now the Hôtel Lennox. Joyce finished Ulysses here. Wise ol' Ben Franklin briefly stayed at numbers 2-4 before moving to Passy (16e).

Further on, this street changes names and becomes rue Jacob (6e). Very notable. Franklin, Adams, and Jay signed a treaty with the British at #56. A few steps down, Ben and his grandsons rented an apartment in #52 also. Lovers of literature will be familiar with what is now the Hôtel Angleterre at #44. This is overwhelming — most of the expatriate writers of the late 19th and early 20th century took this building as their first temporary lodgings in Paris, Hemingway and Anderson included. By now I'm practically in Heaven!

The intersection with rue Bonaparte was an expatriate Mecca. They all took meals on the corner at Le Pré aux Clercs, but not me — not now. Many more writers, artists, and diplomats inhabited this area. Henry Miller lived at both #36 and #24 rue Bonaparte during various times. American diplomats stayed at #17. I do adore Les Deux Magots Café, so I head towards St-Germain-des-Prés for a rest at the famous watering hole before back-tracking toward the river.

Thirty minutes and a Perrier later, and I'm refreshed — wandering again. (Jean-Paul) Sartre lived over on the northwest side of the square, yet my legs keep moving north. Passing rue Visconti, I can imagine Miller teaching his wife June to ride a bike there. In my memory I also recall Racine and Balzac each having places on that street, which I have seen in the past. The most famous art school in history (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts) is on the end of rue Bonaparte. Amazing. Soon I am at the quai, desperately looking for artifacts or books within the many dark green riverside stalls (known as bouquinistes). Old black and white postcards are always a good find, as are back issues of magazines. Several are for sale.

Having enjoyed a very long walk and parts of Paris that are often neglected, I set my mind on an evening at Harry's New York Bar near place Vendôme. Alone, I cross the romantic Pont des Arts and circle the front of the Louvre before deciding to grab a ride on the Métro. Five blocks of walking are saved by riding to the Tuileries station, only a couple of blocks from my hotel room. A quick shower and change, and I'm waiting in a taxi for the short ride to rue Daunou by 8:45 pm.

Easy as that — and I've had another great day in the French capital with only one thing missing, companionship. Paris is not a place to be dateless. Like it so often does, Harry's has the solution for that. A lovely woman, half French and half British, is sitting to the immediate left inside, where Ernest often sat. She is very friendly, knowledgeable, and nice. It has been a fine day and evening. Who knows what the night may hold? Another typical time in paradise.... This Paris is open to all, and it is not in the guidebooks.

Related Links

Americans in Paris 1860-1900 The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York presents an online gallery tour of this traveling exhibit, featuring the works of American artists whose painting styles were influenced by the times they spent in Paris. Art Prints: French Cafés Browse our selection of over 200 art and photographic prints — featuring charming renditions of French bistros, cafés and shops — by such artists as Dennis Barloga, Guy Buffet, André Deymonaz, George Ferris, Didier Lourenco, André Renoux, Robert Schaar, Viktor Shvaiko, Vincent van Gogh, and many more. Bibliothèque Nationale de France The BNF traces its history back over 500 years, to its founder Louis XI. Over the centuries and through countless moves, its resources have been sorely strained trying to keep up with new acquisitions. On July 14, 1988, then-president François Mitterand announced the grandest of his Grands Projets, a new facility to house the "largest and most modern library in the world." The project became known as TGB — for "Très Grande Bibliothèque" — an acronym coined by a journalist. Finally completed on October 8, 1998, the sprawling 17-acre library is expected to pump new life into one of the drabbest residential areas of the city. Address: quai François Mauriac, Paris 13e. Hotels in Central Paris Like our intrepid author, if you fancy yourself exploring Paris from a base in the 1st (near the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens), there are several excellent 2-, 3- and 4-star hotels to choose from, as well as an apartment-hotel at Citadines Paris Haussman (53 studios &/or 1-BR apts. with kitchens) in the neighboring 8th arrondissement. The 5-star Grand Hotel Inter-Continental, facing Palais Garnier in the 9th (with the Café de la Paix on the lower level) will re-open in April 2003 following renovations. Paristoric Go back in time 2000 years, thanks to a 25-projector panoramic screen and state-of-the-art audio-visual technology (awarded the "Grand Prix de l'Innovation"). Victor Hugo will be your guide across centuries of Parisian history, as you discover the joys and tragedies which have moulded the City of Light. Presentation: 45 minutes long; hi-fi headsets provide simultaneous translation in English and 9 other languages. Address: 11 bis (downstairs), rue Scribe, 75009 Paris ; Phone: 01.42.66.62.06 ; Métro: Opéra. Paris Voice Billed as the "magazine for English-speaking Parisians", this monthly e-zine features news & reviews, an events calendar, articles about art, style, food, and drink — plus discussion groups and classified ads. Expats will feel right at home! Henry and June starring Maria de Medeiros, Uma Thurman, Fred Ward Anaïs Nin, a young woman in 1930s Paris, embarks on a journey of seduction and sexual exploration with Henry Miller — one that eventually leads to his wife June, who has financed her husband's life in Paris so he may praise her beauty in his writing. Smoldering eroticism between Anaïs and June, rated NC-17.

Nominate A Site!

Paris Tourism Do you know about a great Paris Tourism site we should list here? If so, please submit it! Are you an author, educator, student or traveler who would like to write an article for the enjoyment of our francophile community? Please download our author's guidelines (48K PDF). Thank you!