Archives for “Music” tag

Most visitors to Paris are keen to see at least one or two historical monuments during their stay and whenever I have friends in town L’Opéra Garnier is one of my favourite spots to take them. I was lucky enough to see a ballet here once but most of the time tickets sell out very fast and there are very few affordable seats. However, you don’t have to see a performance here to get to see inside this beautiful building. The opera house is also open to visits from the public, you still get a feel for the glamorous atmosphere and you never know, you might see the phantom too!

You can visit on your own or, if you’d like a bit of extra information about this gorgeous building, guided visits in English are also on offer. Check the times on the website to find out more as timings vary depending on performance schedules. Tickets that include a tour are a bit more expensive but the tours are thorough, they last around 90 minutes and it’s really interesting to find out all about the opera’s history and architecture.

Did you know that you can actually find some great live music and artists performing for free in the streets of Paris?

Here’s my list of the best places to track them down!

1) The Paris metro: it may seem an unusual destination but the buskers playing in the corridors of the Paris metro have to pass an official audition with the metro authorities to prove their skills before being allowed to play. However those playing in the metro carriages are ‘unofficial’ and have to run fast when approached by the transport authorities if they want to escape a large fine! Look out for the puppeteers who make a clever temporary puppet theatre using the metro poles and a few well placed curtains. The biggest metro stations tend to attract the most musicians so head for stations Bastille, Concorde and Chatelet to be sure of catching some cool tunes.

2) Outside Centre Pompidou: You’ll normally find a mixed collection of artists and musicians performing at the weekends in the shadows of this unusual building.

3) On Pont Saint-Louis, (the bridge over to L’île St Louis), and the bridges around Notre Dame: There are some really talented buskers playing  here, even in Winter the cold weather doesn’t seem to put them off, one group of American jazz and blues musicians have been playing here for over 20 years.

Read more about Paris buskers in this blog where a friend and I interview street musicians in Paris.

The café Chéri(e) is superbly dilapidated. Gleaming in red fairy lights it seems at once a very seedy Scout hut and a modestly trendy watering-hole for Belleville’s trendy types.

Characteristic of the neighborhood, it’s busy morning till night with sleepy students, artists and locals seeking peace and coffee in the morning and a louder more raucous crowd of party-goers later on. 

DJs play at the weekends, but don’t expect international names, in keeping with the generally low-key style, the DJs appear to be locals and friends.

During the day the terrace, consisting mainly of old school desks with rickety lids and inkwells packed in together, makes a great place for a rest in the sunshine with an aperitif, weather permitting. You can also buy rice and noodle dishes which are made at the restaurant next door. 

I love a terrace-pavement, by which I mean a pavement with a few chairs on it outside a bar. There’s something marvelous about the constant risk of falling in the road and the necessity to sit almost uncomfortably close to your own and other people’s friends. Anyone would think I crave attention…

Anyway, unlike some of Montmartre and the nearby Sacre Coeur, the Rendez-vous is scarcely tainted by the hoards of tourists. At first glance, the cool air of the place and almost exclusively French crowd can seem a little intimidating, persist though and you’ll find the atmosphere rather more relaxed and friendly.

Happy Hour (20:00 – 22:00) sees beers (pint) at € 5 and a bottle of house wine (50cl) at € 10. Baguettes as long as your arm packed with meat, cheese or paté cost € 5, salads are around € 10 as are charcuterie/cheese boards.

On weekends bands play (anything from chanson to jazz-funk or rock) in the low ceilinged back-room – entrance is usually free. To sum up, Au Rendez-Vous des Amis is just that, a low-key venue, a lovely spot to have a drink with friends and a likely place to make some new ones.

Venturing out to the rue des Rigoles may seem like a lot of effort but don’t be put off by the location, Les Trois Arts is truly a gem. With Balkan troupes, jazz quintets, chanson française as well as literary soirées and story telling, its about as eclectic as it gets.

The venue attracts a happy mix of people. Plus, the musicians (often quite weird and wacky types) usually hang around after the concerts drinking with the audience. Simple food is available too, from shareable stuff like cheese plates, salads and a plat du jour for the bargain price of € 8.

Many of the concerts are free. If not, entrance is never more than € 5 and its a good idea to arrive early as the basement room fills up quickly making it difficult to get a seat. Their website contains information concerning concerts, location and so on.