Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

An original cemetery is the cats and dogs’ one, located in Asnières (suburbs near Paris).

French people are not particularly animal rights activists, but they love pets! And for more than a century now, pet lovers can bury their pets in this special cemetery, located in a very peaceful and beautiful area along the river Seine.

Reading the pets’ names, their owners’ short epitaphs (some of them are in English) is quite entertaining, and there are actually beautiful graves, showing how some people are more attached to animals than to human beings. The place also hosts a shelter for abandoned cats, which brings life to this area where death reigns.

To get there: metro line 13, until « Gabriel Péri » (be careful, you have to use the yellow branch after « La Fourche »), or bus 54 until « Place Voltaire ».

If you’re still in the mood for another cemetery, walk along the Seine opposite its flow and cross the next bridge until rue Baudin, in Levallois-Perret: this (human) cemetery (not as famous as the big three: Père-Lachaise, Montparnasse and Montmartre) hosts a British WW1 memorial, and the graves of Gustave Eiffel (you might have heard of his tower…), Maurice Ravel (you might know his Bolero) and Louise Michel (the Red Virgin, a key figure of the Commune). Open between 09:00 and 17:00.

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Cimetière des chiens | Art & culture, Relaxing | Entrance fee € 3.50
Parc Robinson (Asnières-sur-Seine) | Montmartre/Clichy
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 16:30

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

Between Bastille and the Île Saint-Louis, in the Eastern Marais, the Pavillon de l’Arsenal is a nice modern space run by Paris municipality, dedicated to Paris’s modern and historical urban history.

A very good counterpart of Musée Carnavalet (see the Musée Carnavalet article), which tells the history of Paris through art works, Pavillon de l’Arsenal is more an educational cultural centre, and explains the history of urbanization in a more scientific way.

The ground floor is the most interesting space for the average visitor. It illustrates Paris’s growth from Middle Age until today, with different resources such as texts (French and English), chronological tables, old maps showing the expansion of Paris’s walls, models, screens for pictures and videos, and fairly comfortable pouffes to seat while reading or watching the screens. This section is followed by an overview of significant recent architectural projects in Paris, which also questions contemporary urban issues in Paris and its suburbs.

First and second floors are dedicated to temporary exhibitions, and will interest mostly professional architects, designers or urban planners, though some are really accessible to most public.

A documentation centre with books, journals, papers etc. is also open from Tuesday to Friday (14:00 – 18:15, 14:00 – 17:15 on Fridays).

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Pavillon de l’Arsenal | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
21 Boulevard Morland | Marais/Bastille | +33142763397
Tue – Sat 10:30 – 18:30, Sun 11:00 – 19:00

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

Everyone knows the Eiffel tower, the symbol of Paris and of France. In a way, Eiffel Tower (1889) is symbolic of the « iron civilization », characteristic of the second part of 19th century, when Paris regularly organized Industrial Expositions, in which were presented all international technological new trends.

But 45 years before the tower, a very less famous construction – but not less interesting at all – inaugurated the « age of iron »: the church Saint-Eugène Sainte-Cécile, located in the working-class Faubourg Poissonnière.

Built in 20 months only, in ogival style (it’s an example of Gothic Revival in Paris), it is the first church in France with a fully metallic structure (except the 4 main walls, built in masonry), as you can check if you knock one of the numerous slender and coloured columns… The use of metal not only reduced considerably the costs, but also its strength allowed the columns and walls to be thinner, which increases the impression of space and lightness when you get inside, and made unnecessary the use of flying-buttresses, those structural elements typical of Gothic Art, that you can see at Notre-Dame or Saint-Séverin…

Many elements of the decoration (stained glass windows, organ, spiral staircases at the angles…) are also worth a look: they were all presented at the first Paris Expo in 1855, at the time of Haussmann’s Renovations of Paris.

Last but not least, the church is often empty and quiet.

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Eglise Saint-Eugène | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
6, rue Sainte-Cécile | Grands Boulevards | +33148247025
Mon 18:00 – 20:00, Tue – Fri 09:30 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 14:00, Sun 09:00 – 13:00 & 18:00 – 20:00

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

You probably won’t need to read Spotted by Locals to know that the Louvre is a Paris “must-see”.

By the way, why is it a must-see??? Probably because it is a gorgeous historical palace, which now hosts the biggest museum of the world, whose collections are among the richest of all, covering all periods of “western” art, from Mesopotamia until the 19th century and Romanticism.

Nevertheless, most guides always advise the same tour path, focusing on the same masterpieces, like the Mona Lisa or the Victory of Samothrace. And for the average visitor without much knowledge in history of art, I’m not sure it makes much sense to follow hordes of tourists whose main purpose is to photograph themselves in front of the same world-famous masterpieces… And it is definitely not the best introduction to art, which, according to me, must target the senses before the reason.

On the contrary, walking in the endless corridors, monumental staircases and exhibition rooms of the Louvre, without any imposed sense of visit, just following one’s intuition, looking OR NOT at the artworks, is a great experience. You will be more relaxed not only to appreciate the works (and also the beautiful views of Paris from the windows) but also to feel this unique sensation to be nearly alone, surrounded by paintings, sculptures or objects, witnessing the glorious heritage of centuries of history and testifying the great genius of human kind!

Far more convincing than any learned explanation about Da Vinci and Mona Lisa…

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Louvre’s empty rooms | Art & culture, Relaxing | Entrance adults € 10
Cour Napoléon | Louvre/Les Halles | +33140205050
Wed – Mon 09:00 – 18:00, Wed & Fri 09:30 – 22:00

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

With its two screens showing only “Latin” films (ie films from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin America, and more rarely Romania), and its dance-floor upstairs hosting latin dances classes, Le Latina cinema has become over the years an inevitable place for latin cultures’ enthusiasts wishing to watch an Almodovar film downstairs while hearing the noise of High Heels on the floor above…

In 2009, Le Latina was slightly renamed in Le Nouveau Latina (The New Latina), and it slightly changed too, even if it keeps its strong Latin identity. Most of the films are still from Latin countries, but the programming is broader now, and also includes international auteur cinema (with a preference for films about homosexuality: we’re in the deep heart of the Marais), midday thematic cycles, and midnight cult films on Saturdays (very rare in Paris).

The first floor has been renovated and is now Le Salon Rouge, a very cosy tea salon (open from 14:00 to 21:00) which also hosts a small store selling DVDs, film posters and books about cinema. If you add photography / drawing exhibitions and tango classes on Monday evenings (beginner / intermediate / free practise), it makes Le Nouveau Latina the perfect multidisciplinary space for modern “Latin lovers”…

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Le Nouveau Latina | Art & culture, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Snacks
20 rue du Temple | Marais/Bastille | +33142466271
11:30 – 00:00 daily