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Where to Buy Cheap or Used Household Goods in Paris

If you’ve rented an unfurnished apartment in Paris, or are missing some of your favourite household goods, there are several ways in which you can equip your new flat without breaking the bank. Thankfully, there is a wide array of used goods shops and discount stores in Paris that stock everything from socks to strainers. Here are some options to help guide you.

La Ressourcerie rue Léopold Bellan

La Ressourcerie rue Léopold Bellan. Photo: François Grunberg/Mairie de Paris

Ressourceries or Dépôts-Vente

There have always been shops selling second-hand (“d’occasion” in French) or refurbished items in Paris, however, over the last few years the City of Paris has made great efforts to encourage these circular economy initiatives. Called either a ressourcerie or dépôt-vente, you may have one near your new Parisian home, otherwise we can recommend these ones. If you’re looking for stores selling exclusively secondhand clothing and accessories, look for a “friperie”.

L’Alternative, 13, rue Léopold Bellan, 75002 Paris: A city hall initiative managed by Emmaüs Alternatives, this centrally located second hand shop also has a Repair café in which a handy local will try to repair broken appliances instead of throwing them out. They also hold workshops and and conferences on up-cycling topics.

Ma Ressourcerie, 126 avenue d’Italie, 75013 Paris: This large three-story shop in Chinatown is run by an association and has a vast variety of items.

La Resourcerie Creative

La Resourcerie Creative

La Resourcerie Creative, 95 avenue du Général-Leclerc, 75014 Paris: This shop is located not too far from our Paris School. More than a simple shop, the vibrant venue has become a dynamic player in the daily life of the local community.

La Ressourcerie des Batignolles, 132 rue de Saussure, 75017 Paris: If you’ve found a flat in the up and coming northwestern neighborhood of Les Batignolles, then stock up your new place with items from this neighbourhood ressourcerie. A pioneer in the circular economy in Paris, it also has a “cantine solidaire”, which offers economical “anti-waste” meals.

Le Poulpe. Photo: Ville de Paris

Le Poulpe Ressourcerie, 4bis rue d’Oran, 75018 Paris: Another local circular economy association, this time at located not far from Montmartre, gives new life to donated used goods, offers useful workshops and has a café solidaire.

Emmaüs Défi à Riquet, 40 rue Riquet, 75019 Paris: The largest of the Emmaüs used good shops in Paris, this huge shop occupies 1200 m² complex in the 19th district near the Canal de l’Ourcq. It also has a large book and vintage clothing sections.

Emmaüs Défi au 104, 5 Rue Curial, 75019 Paris: This cool art space also in the 19th (more on it in this article), has a Emmaüs branch, allowing you to combine culture and household shopping!

Porcelaine M.P. Samie Paris

Porcelaine M.P. Samie

Discount New Items

If you don’t find what you’re looking for at them, then there are also a number of discount shops selling household items. Every neighborhood will have a “bazar” a local household goods shopping at reasonable prices. Monoprix and some larger supermarkets also have a household items section. Alternatively, these shops have some good bargains.

Porcelaine M.P. Samie, 45 Av. du Général Leclerc, 75014 Paris: Situated not too far from our Paris School, since 1983 this company has been making good value tableware.

Gifi: With seven stores around the city, this discount shop has a large array of good value household items as well as toiletries, makeup and some clothing.

Montparnasse Study Abroad in Paris

Our Guide to the Montparnasse Neighbourhood

For centuries the Montparnasse district of Paris has attracted writers, poets, artists, filmmakers and other creatives. Once just outside the southern edge of Paris, in the 16th century the area was a depository for rubble and stones extracted from neighbouring quarries. In the 18th century, students started gathered at this artificial hill, or “mont”, to recite poetry. They nicknamed the location “Montparnasse”, after Mount Parnassus, the home of poetry, music, and learning in ancient Greek mythology.

In the mid-1800s, open-air dancehalls began popping up on the fringes of the Paris and several appeared here, creating a laid-back and lively ambiance, which remained after the district was incorporated into Paris in 1860. In the early 20th century, as the Montparnasse train station serves western France, working class people from the region of Brittany settled in the area and brought the art of creperies with them, a tradition that carries on to this day. Cheap rents also began drawing artists, their numbers increasing when Pablo Picasso abandoned Montmartre for the Montparnasse in the 1910s. This creative surge peaked in the 1920s when Montparnasse and its buzzing cafés became the epicentre for Parisian nightlife and the city’s artistic and literary scene.

This inspirational location is the setting for our Paris School of Arts and Culture. You may like to get to know the area with the help of this guide to Montparnasse including sites of interest, art venues, cinemas, cafés and more.

Sites of Interest

Montparnasse Cemetery

Often over-shadowed by Père Lachaise cemetery, this beautiful final resting place, the second largest in Paris, is also worth a visit. It too has its equal share of notable tombs, including those of Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Charles Baudelaire, Brancusi, Marguerite Duras and, perhaps the most visited, singer Serge Gainsbourg.

Tour Montparnasse

It’s impossible to miss this 210-metre (689 ft) skyscraper which juts out of the Parisian horizon. Although it’s not the most attractive of Paris’s landmarks, the tower dating back to 1973 does have an impressive view from the top, which you can take in from its paid viewing deck on the 56th floor.

Luxembourg Gardens

Bordering the Montparnasse district is one of Paris’s loveliest parks. It was once the private gardens of the 17th-century palace commissioned by Queen Marie de Medici on the north side of the park, now the French Senate. The park was much loved by early 20th century writers, including Ernest Hemingway. A great place for a study break or to catch up on your reading, be sure to seek out the gorgeous Medici Fountain, a renaissance “grotto” fountain located on the east side of the palace, and the maquette of the Statue of Liberty, found on the east side.

Rue de la Gaité

On the east side of the cemetery is this lively street lined with historic theatres. Theatres began popping up here in the 1870s, and some historic ones, like the Comédie Italienne and Théâtre Bobino still exist.

Marché Edgar Quinet

Visiting a Parisian open-air food market is a must during your time in the city and there’s an excellent one which is held on Boulevard Edgar Quinet every Wednesday and Saturday morning until 1:30/2pm.

Musée Bourdelle

Photo: Musée Bourdelle

Art Venues

Musée Zadkine

The former studio of Russian-born artist Ossip Zadkine is found a short walk from our Paris School, located on the edge of the Luxembourg Gardens. It’s now a City of Paris museum and has free admission. Learn more about it in our article on historic art studios.

Musée Bourdelle

Another former studio of the Montparnasse area, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle worked in this beautiful series of buildings near the Montparnasse train station. More information is also available about it in our article on historic art studios.

Fondation Giacometti

As you can gather from its name, this foundation presents exhibitions revovling around Alberto Giacometti and is near where the Swiss artist lived and worked in the Montparnasse area.

Fondation Cartier

A few blocks from our Paris School, this sleek glass and steel building was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and houses temporary exhibits by top contemporary artists. Read more about it and other cool contemporary art spaces in this article.

Chemin du Montparnasse

A walk down this pretty lane at 21 avenue du Maine will give you a good idea of what the art studios of Montparnasse neighborhood were like. The verdant cul-de-sac consists of a series of studios built from salvaged material from the 1900s World’s Fair.

Historic Cafés

The cafés of the Boulevard du Montparnasse were the heart of artistic and literary Paris from the 1920s to 50s. While it’s wonderful many of them have survived, the cost of a drink at most of them is rather steep, but admiring them from the outside is free! You can read more about some of the cafés below and other literary cafés of the Left Bank in this article.

La Closerie Des Lilas

Opened in the 1860s, this café was popular with avant-garde artists, poets and writers such as Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway who is said to have read Fitzgerald’s manuscript of The Great Gatsby here, and worked on The Sun Also Rises.

Le Dôme

Opened in 1898 and once known as “the Anglo-American café,” it was the first meeting place in Montparnasse of the intellectuals. There is even a special term, “Dômiers” to designate the artists and writers who met at the café, which includes the likes of Foujita, Picasso, Man Ray, Soutine, Khalil Gibran and Kandinsky. Today it is restaurant specialised in seafood dishes.

La Rotonde

Situation around the corner from our Paris School, Hemingway talked about the café’s popularity in The Sun Also Rises. Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Modigliani and many others also regularly frequented it.

La Coupole

This legendary Art Deco brasserie, the largest of the area, was an important gathering point of artists, writers and intellectuals especially in the 1920s when it was the place to be. One a given night you might cross paths with the likes of Jean Cocteau, Alberto Giacometti or Josephine Baker.

Le Select

Opened in 1923, this local brasserie was a favourite of Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Picasso, who is name the small square in front of the café now bears.

Le-Lucernaire-paris

Movie Theatres

As a hub of going out in Paris, the Montparnasse district has several movie theatres, some more main stream and one great art house cinema.

Lucernaire

Found a short distance from our Paris School, this unique venue is more than just an art house cinema. Opened in 1969, the multifaceted art centre has three theatres, three screening rooms, a bookshop, art gallery, restaurant and bar. Discover more art house cinemas in Paris in this article.

MK2 Parnasse

France’s more artsy chain of cinemas, MK2 general screens critically acclaimed movies, art house films and quality international features. This location is near our School.

UGC Rotonde

This branch of the large chain of UGC cinemas is also located a few minutes’ walk from the School.

UGC Montparnasse

Another UGC, this cinema is situated closer to Montparnasse métro and tower.

Gaumont Parnasse

Part of the historic Gaumont cinema group, this movie theatre plays main stream, independent and international films.

Coffee Spots

Un Grain Décalé

For the best coffee within a short walk from the School, try this nice specialty coffee shop on rue Vavin and close to the Luxembourg Gardens (hours Weds-Sun 10:30-6pm, Tues 2-6pm).

Funzy Café

The local “café du coin” or neighbourhood café is doing takeaway coffee, maybe not the best, but cheap and your chance to rub shoulders with the locals who hang around in front of it.

Ten Belles 6

The Left Bank outpost of a well-known coffee shop in the 10th arrondissement is less than a 10-minute walk away, in between the School and the Bon Marché department store.

Dining

We’ve put together our top lunch options in the Montparnasse area for tasty cheap eats in this separate article.

Montparnasse Guide Map

Discover the places above easily via our Google Map of the area. Access it at this link.

Maison de Balzac. Paris Info

Trace the Literary Greats of Paris at their Former Residences

Paris’s literary traditions go back hundreds of years and countless writers have lived across the city and been inspired by it and its residents. Some of these are commemorated by plaques, while others are have been converted into museums. Visiting these former residences of writers in Paris, even from the outside, provides fascinating insight into their lives and works.

Maison-de-Victor-Hugo

Maison de Victor Hugo. Paris Info

Victor Hugo

Maison de Victor Hugo, 6 Place des Vosges, 75004

One of France’s most beloved authors lived in an apartment on Place des Vosges for 16 years from 1832 to 1848. It was here where Hugo worked on some of his most famous works, from novels (Les Miserables) to plays (Marie Tudor) and collections of poems (Beams and Shadows, The Legends of the Centuries). Converted into a museum run by the City of Paris, the Maison de Victor Hugo displays personal artifacts of the author and sheds light into life of the 19th century.

Maison de Balzac and top photo: Paris Info

Honoré de Balzac

Maison de Balzac, 47 Rue Raynouard, 75016 Paris

Hidden away on the “edge” of what was the village of Passy in the current day 16th district of the city, a countryside ambiance continues to prevail at this cottage lived in by Honoré de Balzac from 1840 to 1847. It was here where he edited La Comedie humaine and worked on La RabouilleuseUne ténébreuse affaire, La Cousine Bette, among others. Another museum of the City of Paris, since 1971 it has displayed manuscripts, original editions and other memorabilia linked to the writer.

Marcel Proust’s bedroom at the Musée Carnavalet

Marcel Proust

102 Blvd Haussmann, 75008

Proust spent much of his childhood in various apartments around the chic Parc Monceau. After his parents died he moved to this nearby apartment, which had belonged to his maternal uncle. He lived here from 1906 to 1919 and it is where he wrote much of his opus In Search of Lost Time. Now a bank, a plaque on the wall commemorates Proust’s time here. Although you can’t visit the interior of this elegant building, you can get a glimpse of the author’s bedroom, with furniture and other personal affects, on display in the Musée Carnavalet.

Plaque for Oscar Wilde on l’Hotel,  Mu/CC

Wilde, Wolfe, Borges

L’Hôtel, 13 rue des Beaux Arts, 75006

Now a luxury hotel, this once down and out establishment of the Left Bank has housed a variety of writers. Having fled England for France in 1897, Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde was staying at this hotel when he passed away on 30 November, 1900. This is commemorated by a plate on the outside of the building and Wilde’s final resting place is the Pere Lachaise cemetery. English writer Thomas Wolfe also lived here for a year in 1925 and later in the century Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges regularly stayed at the hotel between 1977 and 1984.

Gertrude Stein's apartment rue Fleurus

Gertrude Stein’s apartment on rue Fleurus

Gertrude Stein

27 rue Fleurus, 75006

One of the most important cultural addresses of the early 20th century, Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo, then Alice B. Toklas, lived in an apartment at this Left Bank address from 1903 to 1937. It was here where Stein held her famous literary salons and worked on her books here including The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, published in 1933. You can observe a plaque dedicated to her above the building’s entrance.

Hemingway Plaque on Rue Cardinal Lemoine. FLLL / CC

Ernest Hemingway

74 Cardinal Lemoine, 75005, 113 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, 75006, 6 rue Férou, 75006 and 69 rue Froidevaux, 75014

When they arrived in Paris, Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, lived in a tiny apartment behind the Pantheon on rue Cardinal Lemoine from January 1922 until August 1923. He described this drafty residence in his memoir A Moveable Feast. There is also a commemorative plaque on the wall of the building. They later lived on Notre-Dame-des-Champs, near our Paris School, the Luxembourg Gardens and his favourite hangout, La Closerie des Lilas, in a long dusty flat above a sawmill and where Ezra Pound also had a studio. He stayed in the area when he moved in with his second companion, Pauline Pfeiffer, first living on the other side of the park on rue Férou and then further south in the Montparnasse district on rue Froidevaux.

58 rue de Vaugirard. Celette / CC

Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

14 rue de Tilsitt, 75008 and 58 rue Vaugirard, 75006

The Fitzergeralds lived in various apartments in Paris, both on the Right and Left Bank of the city. When they first moved to Paris in 1925, they lived on a small side street, rue de Tilsitt, in the 8th arrondissement and around the corner from the Arc de Triomphe. They later crossed over to the Left Bank, where most of their friends were living, and in 1928 took up an apartment on rue de Vaugirard, near the Luxembourg Gardens.

Rue de Verneuil. Mbzt / CC

James Baldwin

Rue de Verneuil, 75007

This narrow street of the Saint Germain neighborhood is now famous for bearing the house of iconic French singer Serge Gainsberg, however, it once held several third-rate hotels. It was in these that James Baldwin lived during his early years in Paris. From here it was a short walk to the Café de Flore, popular with writers of the era and a favorite of Baldwin’s.

Looking to be inspired in your own writing in Paris? Advance your craft during our one-year Master’s in Creative Writing in Paris. Learn more about the programme here.

Ten Classic French Films to Watch

Since the early days of film and pioneering works like Georges Méliès’s Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon, 1902), the French have excelled at filmmaking. Considered in France as the 7th art form, a number of French filmmakers have left their mark on cinema history with their chef d’oeuvres. Here are some of the top classic French films made up to 1970 to add to your film list.

La Règle du jeu (The Rules of the Game, 1939), Jean Renoir

Although it was a commercial and critical flop at the time of its released just before the outbreak of WWII, after a reconstruction in 1959 La Règle du Jeu went on to be deemed one of the greatest films in cinema history. Mainly set in a country house outside Paris, the satirical comedy-drama criticizes the relationship the French haut bourgeoisie had with their servants.

Les Enfants du paradis (Children of Paradise, 1945), Marcel Carné

Set in the world of Parisian theatre of the 1830s, this film shot by Carné during WWII was voted “Best Film of the Century” by leading French film critics. Although the word paradis often refers to Heaven in French, it also is used to describe the second balcony or gallery in a theatre, which is its significance in Carné’s cinematographic masterpiece. The story revolves around a courtesan, played by legendary French actress Arletty, and four suitors, a mime, an actor, a well-known criminal and an aristocrat, all of whom attempt to woo her in different ways.

French Classic films - Film Master's in Paris

Les Diaboliques (Diabolique, 1955), Henri-Georges Clouzot

This psychological thriller film, starring Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse and Charles Vanel was based on the novel She Who Was No More (Celle qui n’était plus) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The Hitchcockian plot revolves around a woman and her husband’s mistress who conspire to murder him.

Hiroshima mon amour (Hiroshima My Love, 1959), Alain Resnais

In his first feature-length film, Alain Resnais helped draw attention to the French Nouvelle Vague with his innovative use of flashbacks to create a non-lineal timeline. The film traces the relationship of a French woman, Emmanuelle Riva, and Japanese man, Eiji Okada, in the wake of the Hiroshima bombings. It received a number of accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for its screenwriter Marguerite Duras

French classic films - film studies in Paris

Les quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows, 1959), François Truffaut

The directorial debut of iconic filmmaker François Truffaut, this was a seminal film of the French New Wave Movement. The film also marked a long collaboration between Truffaut and actor Jean-Pierre Léaud, often referred to as the filmmaker’s onscreen alter ego. The film follows troubled teen Antoine Doinel as he rebels against his teachers and parents. The film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival at which Truffaut won the Award for Best Director.

À bout de souffle (Breathless, 1960), Jean-Luc Godard

An international hit when it was released, Jean-Luc Godard’s first feature film helped put the spotlight on the Nouvelle Vague. Considered one of the best films of all time, it stars Jean-Paul Belmondo, a wandering criminal, and Jean Seberg, a young American in Paris. A mix between romance and drama, Godard used a bold visual style and innovative jump cuts.

Cléo de 5 à 7 (Cléo from 5 to 7, 1962), Agnès Varda

One of the leading filmmakers of the French New Wave, this film launched Agnès Varda’s career and formed her artistic practice. The story followers a young singer, Florence “Cléo” Victoire, as she awaits test results for a possible diagnosis of cancer. Unfolding in real time, Varda plays with this through her editing. The film explores themes of existentialism, popularized at the time by philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

La Grande Vadrouille (Don’t Look Now… We’re Being Shot At!, 1966), Gérard Oury

For something a little more lighthearted, the French love comedies and this classic is high on the list of all-time favourites. Set in 1942, two French civilians, played by Louis de Funès and André Bourville, try to assist the crew of a Royal Air Force bomber shot down over Paris reach unoccupied France. Hilarious misadventures ensue.

Le Samouraï  (The Samurai or The Godson, 1967), Jean-Pierre Melville

For those for a penchant for crime films, this is one of the best by French expert director of the genre Jean-Pierre Melville. Alain Delon plays a professional hitman who is seen by witnesses and then digs himself into a deeper hole trying to secure an alibi. Melville shows off his skills at creating suspense and ambiance.

Ma nuit chez Maud (My Night With Maud, 1969), Eric Rohmer

The last of the New Wave directors, this clever film raised Rohmer to the Pantheon of French filmmakers.  The third film in his series of Six Moral Tales, the movie features features Jean-Louis Trintignant as a Catholic engineer who has a case of love at first sight with Françoise, a woman he meets by chance at Mass. He becomes determined to marry her, nevertheless, gets tempted by Maud, an alluring divorcée.

Interested in delving further into French Film? Learn more about our Master’s in Film in Paris at this link. The above films are often screen at these top Art House Cinemas in Paris.

A Student’s Perspective on Studying in Paris during the Pandemic

The prospects of moving to another country may seem daunting and the Covid-19 pandemic has added additional layers of complexity to international travel. Our students’ health and mental wellbeing, as well as maintaining the quality of our teaching, have remained our top priority, as outlined in this message from our Dean for Europe, Jeremy Carrette. Thanks to our intimate class sizes of the Paris School of Arts and Culture, we have been in the fortunate position of being able to continue delivering in-person teaching. We were very pleased to welcome students from around the world this past year, including students in enrolled on our programmes with a term in Paris. This is what brought Master’s in Film student Callum B. to Paris in January 2021. Read about Callum’s experience in Paris below.

Study Abroad in Paris

“Studying with Kent in Paris truly was transformative moment in my life. The experiences I had during this time were incredible considering the ongoing pandemic. The staff at the university fully supported the students and provided a unique experience for us considering the situation. Above this, they were always available for a chat and were willing to help at any given moment. The staff truly adapted perfectly to the challenges they faced to give students the best experience possible, both in and out of the classroom.

“Despite many things being closed during my time in the city, I still have come away feeling more than satisfied with my experience. I was able to fully immerse myself in the Parisian lifestyle and enjoy many of the famous happenings that Paris has to offer. Additionally, through the course, I made fantastic friends and met people who I will treasure for the rest of my life.

“As the city begins to open again, I can only imagine how great it will be for future students coming to Reid Hall, who will have an incredible time on campus as well as creating new friendships and exploring this beautiful city.

“The university allowed me to have an opportunity that I will never forget and one that has opened my eyes to new possibilities in the future such as potentially returning to Paris to live.” — Callum B.

Since Callum’s departure at the end of our spring 2021 term, France has eased most Covid-19 restrictions, and a sense of vibrancy has returned to the city. You can read about current Covid-related restrictions in place on the French Government’s dedicated English-language website: https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/coronavirus-covid-19.

Learn more about studying at Kent in Paris here.

Paris neighborhood guide

Choosing Where to Live in Paris: Our Guide to the City’s Neighbourhoods

Paris has so many diverse districts, it can be challenging to decide which one to call home. From the former bohemian haunts of Montparnasse and Montmartre to the hip 9th and 11th districts, here is a brief guide to the neighbourhoods of Paris where you might want to live,  outlining their personalities, the approximate cost of rent and each one’s pros and cons.

Note: Paris is a very safe city. There are very few areas we would suggest you avoid completely. However, a section of the city which is a bit rough around the edges is the east side of 18th district and the west side of the 19th, from the Boulevard Barbès to the Canal de l’Ourcq, which is the area a few blocks on either side of the Gare du Nord train tracks.

Approximate Rent Guide

This is an estimated rent scale for a 18-22 sq m studio apartment or good flat share. There are also deals to be had and size plays a factor. There can be good deals to be had around the whole city, so these are just a general guideline! Great small flats under the rafters (called chambre de bonne) can be found even in the poshest districts!

  • $ 600Є – 700Є
  • $$ 700Є – 800Є
  • $$$ 800Є – 900Є
  • $$$$ 900Є – 1000Є
  • $$$$$ 1000Є +

Close to our Paris Campus

Montparnasse Study Abroad in Paris

Montparnasse (Left Bank: South 6th, 14th and East 15th Arrondissements)

Once working class, this area south of Saint Germain became popular with the Lost Generation writers and avant-garde artists of the first have of the 20th century. Although the district has lost some of its bohemian spirit, the area’s historic art studios and Art Deco cafés remain a testament to its golden age.

  • Pros: Walking distance to our Paris campus, demographically mixed, safe and welcoming
  • Cons: Not the bohemian neighbourhood it once was
  • Rent: $-$$$

La Sorbonne Study in English in Paris

Latin Quarter (Left Bank: 5th Arrondissement)

This district south of Ile-de-la-Cité and Notre Dame is the traditional heart of academic Paris. Home to several campuses of the University of Paris and other academic institutions, in certain areas there is a young and lively vibe. That said, due to its central location, and attractive historic buildings, few students can actually afford to live here.

  • Pros: Historic, student vibe, walking distance to our Paris campus
  • Cons: Pricier, lacking local flavour in certain areas
  • Rent: $$-$$$$

rue Furstemberg Paris

Saint Germain-Odéon (Left Bank: North 6th Arrondissement)

Popular with early 20th century writers and artists, this neighborhood has since become very posh. Penniless writers have been replaced with well-healed Parisians, art galleries and expensive cafés and restaurants. Residents have the advantage of the lovely Luxembourg Gardens and the banks of the Seine.

  • Pros: Historic, chic, central, walking distance to our Paris campus
  • Cons: Expensive, not such a young atmosphere
  • Rent: $$$$$

Local & Hip Areas

Canal Saint Martin

SoPi and Canal St-Martin (Right Bank: 9th and 10th Arrondissements)

These two neighbourhoods in the centre-north of the city are good options for having a lively ambiance and being relatively affordable. Sopi (South Pigalle) has hip local hangouts, modern restaurants and small designer shops. These are also found over towards the Canal St-Martin which is somewhat edgier and has the plus of the pretty waterway to stroll or study alongside.

  • Pros: Local, lively, good transit links, close to Gare du Nord and the Eurostar
  • Cons: Would have to take the métro or bike to campus
  • Rent: $$-$$$

11eme Paris

Oberkampf-St-Maur (Right Bank: 11th Arrondissement)

Over the past two decades this hip and local neighbourhood has seen a boom in cool coffee shops, small designer shops and innovative restaurants. It’s a great base for feeling a part of today’s Paris, although you might enjoy it so much you won’t want to leave the neighborhood to explore other districts!

  • Pros: Very local, great hangouts, cool residents
  • Cons: Would have to take the métro or bike to campus and other Paris sites
  • Rent:  $$

Belleville

Belleville and Père-Lachaise (Right Bank: 19th and 20th Arrondissements)

The hub of the city’s current bohemian community, these neighbourhoods in the northeast of the city offer affordable rents and a true local experience. Cheap shopping and dining, lively nightlife, a relaxed ambiance, art studios and lovely parks with views add to its appeal.

  • Pros: Very local and current bohemian
  • Cons: Would have to take the métro or bike most places
  • Rent: $-$$

rue Montorgueil

Montorgueil-Sentier-Les Halles (Right Bank: 1st and 2nd Arrondissements)

The heart of Paris, this very central zone of the city used to house Paris’s former fresh food market. Today it is home to the city’s largest transit hub at Chatelet-Les-Halles station, making it easy to get around either on public transportation or on foot. In recent times the area has seen a resurgence, especially around Rue Montorgueil and the Sentier district which is home to trendy eateries, bars and boutiques.

  • Pros: Hip, convenient
  • Cons: Can be a little “shady” around rue St-Denis, and a little “dead” closer to La Bourse
  • Rent: $$$ – $$$$

Charming & Historic Areas

Montmartre

Montmartre (Right Bank: 18th Arrondissement)

A former village once on the outskirts of the city, this hilly neighborhood attracted Impressionist and early Modernist artists thanks to its cheap rents, cafés, cabarets and joie de vivre atmosphere. While it has lost some of its authenticity, if you drift away from Sacré-Coeur and its flocks of tourists, you’ll find the soul of the district, especially prevalent behind the hill and towards the arrondissement’s city hall, where rents are also more reasonable.

  • Pros: Beautiful narrow streets, views of the city, charm, lively vibe, close to SoPi
  • Cons: Some areas are pricy and touristy, would have to take the métro or bike to campus and other Paris sites
  • Rent: $$-$$$$

Le Marais Paris

Le Marais (Right Bank: 3rd and 4th Arrondissements)

One of the most historic districts of the city, this central neighborhood, north of Ile Saint-Louis and the Seine, has undergone a chic transformation over the last few decades (though its architecture is exceptionally pre-Haussmannian). It has charming squares, pretty parks, excellent museums (Picasso, Carnavalet) and a trendy section in the north part of the district. The city’s LGBTQ community revolves around rue du Temple and rue des Archives where you’ll find many bars and a vibrant atmosphere. This is also one of the historic homes of Paris’ Ashkenazi Jewish community (mostly centred around the rue des Rosiers). However, local residents are becoming few and far between and along with their disappearance were local food shops and bakeries, which you’ll have to walk a few blocks to find.

  • Pros: Central, trendy, beautiful and historic. LGTBQ hub
  • Cons: Increasingly expensive, losing its local personality and becoming a shopping/chic tourist district
  • Rent: $$$$

Paris café terrace

Orsay-Les Invalides-la Tour Eiffel (Left Bank: 7th Arrondissement)

Although parts of the 7th district are very close to our Paris campus, this chic neighborhood is on the quiet side. Its streets are mostly filled with embassies, government buildings and museums (like the Orsay and Rodin). There are more vibrant areas, such as rue de Bac, which is a bit of a foodie street, rue de Sèvres and rue de l’Université (pictured above).

  • Pros: Elegant, eastern part walking distance to our Paris campus
  • Cons: Pricey, sleepy
  • Rent: $$$$$

Pont Bir Hakeim Paris

Other Areas of the City

The Louvre/Opera area is central, and home to lots of fabulous Asian eateries (grouped around la rue Sainte-Anne), but is quite business focused. The 12th, 13th and 15th are pleasant and charming neighbourhoods, however, they are a touch on the sleepier side. The Batignolles district of the 17th is trendy, though not very central. The 16th is known for being the most expensive, family-friendly arrondissement.

There are also many pleasant neighbourhoods just outside of the “périphérique” (the ring road around Paris) – though some have reputations for being less pleasant – so we recommend doing research before committing to something outside of the city.

Accommodation Websites and Rental Advice

Please see the accommodation section (starting on page 8) of our Getting Started Guide with detailed information and websites to help with your accommodation search.

Earful tower youtube

From History to Writing, Our Favorite Paris Podcasts

Over the past few years podcasts have become increasingly popular. They are a wonderful way to learn or enrich yourself while on the go or multitasking. This flourishing has also led to a rise in Paris podcasts, ranging from history to current affairs and from French lessons to tips from writers. The following podcasts are ideal for prepping for living in Paris, discovering insightful things about its history and learning how to navigate the city.

Paris History and Current Life

The Earful Tower logo

The Earful Tower

Hosted by Paris-based Australian Oliver Gee, every week this podcast focuses on a France or Paris related subject ranging from Parisian doorways to unusual vocabulary. The show often has special guests who add their thoughts on that week’s topic. It’s a fun and engaging way to learn about Paris as well as the trials, tribulations and joys of living in the City of Light.

Paname Podcast logo

Paname

Created by actress, comedian and tour guide Amber Minogue, this podcast, bearing the nickname Parisians have for the city, covers a secret, lesser known topic in each episode. Well researched and presented in an engaging manner, it’s a deeper dive into Parisian history and important figures which have left their mark on the capital. Subjects have included Cardinal Richelieu, the guillotine, the Bastille prison and more offbeat topics like haunted chairs or immortal clockmakers.

Mapping Paris

Our cohorts at the University of London Institute in Paris have created this podcast which is produced by students pursuing its Urban History & Culture MA. “An auditory adventure of Paris”, each episode provides a new perspective on the sites of Paris and broadens listeners understanding of what Paris is today. The short episodes make for the perfect cultural break while in transit, perhaps to our Paris School!
The New Paris Podcast

The New Paris

If you are interest in learning more about today’s Paris, then tune into this podcast hosted by writers Lindsey Tramuta and Alice Cavanagh, The show is an audio extension of Lindsey’s book of the same name. Each episode covers a specific subject relating to how Paris is evolving in the 21st century and usually involves a special guest, from restaurant owners to writers.

Paris Underground Radio

Paris Underground Radio

Launched in autumn 2021, this is a great new Paris podcast network which brings together 12 podcasts on a range of topics including food and wine, real estate, events and history. If you’re looking for unique things to do in Paris, you might like to check out Don’t Miss This, a weekly show released on Sundays and showcasing cool events, exhibitions and more. For exploring the city, listen in to Paris Cachée, a show investigating hidden sites with fascinating or unusual history. For tips on understanding the French through language, listen to Navigating the French.

Writing & Creativity

Right to Write – Paris

This podcast interviews the writers who participate in the Paris Writers Group held every month at the American Church. They provide insight into writing strategies and discusses how they’ve found inspiration in the City of Light, a place which has inspired so many great writers over the years. You can focus on your own writing my pursuing our Master’s in Creative Writing in Paris.

The Feminist Book Chat Podcast

The Feminist Book Chat Podcast

This bi-monthly podcast was born out of an in-person book club held founded by Lou Binns and Camille Lou at the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore. Each episode revolves around a range of subjects from feminist literature to BIPOC feminism and queer culture.

La Vie Creative Podcast

La Vie Creative

Hosted by American expat and photographer Krystal Kenney, this podcast focuses on creatives in Paris and how the city inspires creativity. The weekly episodes feature artists, designers, writers and other personalities in Paris. She also hosts a side podcast, “History with a Hemingway”, co-hosted by Claudine Hemingway, a relative of Ernest Hemingway.

Learning French

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Coffee Break French

This podcast is hosted by Mark, a Scottish native who teaches French, and is a great match for beginners. Mark helps makes French less daunting with his interactive lessons which cover useful basic vocabulary, grammar and more. It’s a fun way to get started with learning French!

Français authentique

If you already have a foundation of the French language, then try this podcast, hosted by Frenchman Johan. Each episode covers a different theme such as improving one’s pronunciation, expressions and language learning tips. They are also available in video form with French subtitles.

Happy Listening everyone!

Café Les Deux Magots Paris

Top Historic Literary Cafés of the Left Bank

Since the Age of Enlightenment, cafés became a popular meeting place of intellectuals and writers. This was especially the case over the course of the 20th century when the waterholes of la Rive Gauche developed legendary statues thanks to the literary greats who graced their tables. Although these literary cafés of the Left Bank no longer attract bohemian scribes like they did in bygone days, they are still worth making a pilgrimage to for current day writers and literary fans.

Le-Procope-Creative-Writing-MA-Paris

Le Procope

Considering the oldest café in Paris, this Left Bank institution has been welcoming intellectuals virtually since it opened in 1686. Thanks to the arrival of the Comédie Francaise theatre across the street in 1689, French playwrights, writers and philosophers naturally gravitated here. These include Condorcet, La Harpe, Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot, who is thought to have worked on his famous Encyclopaedia at the café. More restaurant than café today, the classic establishment still has Voltaire’s favourite table, located on the first floor.

Les Deux Magots Cheng-en Cheng

Les Deux Magots. Photo: Cheng-en Cheng / CC

Les Deux Magots

One of the most famous cafés in Paris, if not the world, this classic institution was originally a fabrics and novelty shop which was converted into a café in 1884. It’s growing popularity with Lost Generation writers like Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce led the café to start its own literary prize in 1933. Writers continued to gravitated to it over decades including Bertolt Brecht and Vladimir Nabokov, who mentioned it in his 1955 novel Lolita.

Le Café de Flore

Le Café de Flore

Opened during the café boom of the 1880s, this iconic St-Germain café, and staunch rival of its neighbour Les Deux Magots, acted as the unofficial headquarters of existentialism philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir for decades. Earlier in the century it was also a favorite of Apollinaire and Salmon, who worked on their arts review, Les Soirées de Paris, at the café. Albert Camus and poet Jacques Prévert could also found inspiration here.

La Closerie Des Lilas Paris writers

La Closerie Des Lilas

Along with St-Germain, the Montparnasse district was another literary hub of the first half of the 20th century. This historic café, opened in the 1860s, first attracted avant-garde artists before drawing in both French and foreign writers. French poets Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire and Max Jacob could often be found here, pen or glass in hand. In their various eras one might encounter Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, Fitzgerald and Henry Miller at its tables, however, it was Hemingway who frequented the venue the most. It’s said that he read Fitzgerald’s manuscript of The Great Gatsby here, he likely worked on The Sun Also Rises and the café is described in his memoir, A Moveable Feast.

La Rotonde Paris Writers cafe

La Rotonde

Another literary haunt of the Montparnasse district, and around the corner from our Paris School, this café used to be so popular that Hemingway wrote in The Sun Also Rises that, “no matter what cafe in Montparnasse you ask a taxi driver to bring you to from the right bank of the river, they always take you to the Rotonde.” In literary circles you could find Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot and Gertrude Stein here as well as those in the art scene like Picasso, Modigliani and Cocteau. More recently, President Emmanuel Macron chose to celebrate his 2017 Presidential victory here, adding another chapter to the legendary café’s storied history.

Café Tournon

Photo courtesy of Café Tournon

Café Tournon

On the other side of the Luxembourg gardens, this unassuming neighbourhood café became a meeting place for the next generation of writers. In the 1950s one could find James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Chester Himes and William Gardner Smith debating around its tables over an afternoon coffee. The café also served as the early base of the staff and writers of the literary magazine The Paris Review.

Looking for inspiration for your own writing in Paris? Advance your craft by undertaking our Master’s in Creative Writing in Paris offered at our campus in the Montparnasse district.

On Confinement and Writing, a Conversation with Dr Frances Guerin

We have had an unusual year due to the effects of the pandemic across the globe. We were very fortunate to be able to carry out much of our teaching in person, in accordance with government regulations. However, the pandemic did impact Paris and its residents, an experience of which our own Dr Frances Guerin has been exploring in her writing. Dr Guerin has shared her time between Paris and Canterbury since 2006 and teaches in the Paris School of Arts and Culture’s Master’s in Film and the History and Philosophy of Art. We recently sat down with Frances, thankfully face-to-face in a Parisian café, to discuss her impressions of the pandemic and how she transposed these into a series of essays. Join in our discussion with her and read one of her essays, “The Things I Need” below.

PSAC: How did you feel when the talk of the pandemic started going around?

FG: I was actually on a student trip to Rome when talk of the pandemic started to become much more frequent. The week before, it had begun to ravage the north of Italy, but in Rome, there was sign of it. The man at the hotel in Rome dismissed it. He said one night, “Can you believe, they’ve shut things down in the north of Italy? There’s no way we could do that here. We would all go out of business.”

Then a week after we got back from Rome, the lockdown was announced in Paris. I was having lunch with friends on a Saturday afternoon, and it was like Christmas day. The streets had emptied out, many places were already closed and we were the only ones left in the restaurant. After lunch, I went to the movies, and there were only a few other people in the theatre. I was going to see a second film, but the security guard stopped me, explaining that the cinema was closing because “the virus is coming.” And that was it. It was a very strange experience because I honestly thought that it wasn’t going to come to Paris. How could Paris ever shut down?

The thing for me that was most difficult, beyond being stuck at home and having to teach on Zoom, was the policing. I had never experienced anything like it. I lived in Cold War Moscow, so I know how totalitarian states operate, but it was nothing like this. In Cold War Moscow I was a foreigner, so no one was looking at me. Plus, surveillance is much more clandestine. I had never experienced checkpoints, police standing there with their rifles, and then cruising around, stopping people randomly, demanding documents. I found it very unsettling. It was pretty intense.

What was it like for you during the various confinements?

To start off with, it was sort of a novelty. But after a week or so, that began to wear off. It became very time consuming when we had to get everything onto Zoom suddenly, overnight. I was very much caught up in all of that to begin with. During the first confinement I enjoyed the time and space; I had my own Joan Crawford festival, at home, and then a Jean-Pierre Melville festival. I re-watched all their films.

One of things that I found most difficult was that we were so regulated. The fact that we were only allowed to be one kilometre away from home, for one hour, and had to carry paperwork at all times. No one in my international global community really understood just how constricted we were. It was very isolating. I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted sitting across a table in café with another flesh and blood human being, like we’re doing right now. Because without that life became empty. And art, I missed going to galleries and museums, the BnF and the movies.

By the time we had the second and third confinement, we were sick of sitting in front of the computer, of Zoom meetings. we had to stay at home, but it was different. The government had introduced nighttime curfews, but we weren’t policed to the same extent—even though we still needed all the paperwork.

In the second confinement I didn’t watch any movies. I didn’t want to sit in front of the computer for longer than I had to. During the second confinement it was winter, so it was cold, wet and dark. So it was pretty depressing. It was difficult, and felt like it went on for a long time. That said, luckily, we were able to go back to the classroom, which made so much  difference. Having contact again with students was great.

Then by the third confinement, the vaccines had arrived. Even if vaccines hadn’t really taken off in Europe, we were watching the UK get vaccinated and their numbers dropping. This gave a sense of hope that an end was on the horizon. Still, by the end, I really yearned for museums and movies.

How did you express yourself creatively during this period?

I actually wrote two books. The first is a book on Jacqueline Humphries, a contemporary American painter. I went to New York and met her in her studio in January 2020, so luckily, just before the pandemic hit. It meant that I was able to write a first draft of the book last summer. In the winter (before the second confinement), one of her works was on display in a gallery in the Marais, and was lovely as I got to go and see it. The book will hopefully be with my publisher in about a month.

The other book is a series of essays on living with the pandemic in Paris. I’ve always been interested in imprisonment. I had this Russian thing in my blood, I learnt Russian, I lived in Moscow and I was always really interested in works of Russian literature. So many of them have a focus on imprisonment. Dostoyevsky’s Raskolnikov is, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner. So are the brothers Karamazov. Prisoners in space or in the mind. I’ve read a lot of books about incarceration, and how to stay alive. It’s all about keeping the mind and alive when the body only has a certain space in which to move. I thought a lot about books like Bernard Malmud’s The Fixer in those first weeks. Of course, we weren’t imprisoned, but I don’t think many people can imagine what confinement was like in Paris, being trapped inside these small spaces for 23 hours a day. Because I’ve always had this fascination with being incarcerated or enclosed in a small space, my writing group said, “This is your moment.” They were ones who encouraged me to write about it.

Tell us a little more about your confinement series?

There are 24 essays in the series, and the first one I wrote was this incredible experience of teaching first year students before any of us really knew what we were doing on Zoom. In one of the first classes, I had Zoom bombers. To this day, I still don’t know who they were. The story became about how the ways that we are “present” in the world, attending class and meetings for example, completely changed. It was a really fun story about this bizarre situation we were living in.

The second one I wrote was inspired by looking at the clutter in my apartment for 23 hours every day. I kept thinking about  all about the things I needed to throw away. I remembered Tim O’Brien’s story, “The Things They Carried,” about soldiers during the Vietnam War. In O’Brien’s story, “things carried” refers to the psychological, the emotional, the memories as well as they things they actually had in their packs. I was inspired to write a story about the things I need. It was, of course, very tailored to this world that we’re in. I needed an attestation (the government document proving our identity, when we left home, where we were going), I needed a light globe in my bag in case I got stopped. If the police asked me where I was going, I could say that I needed to replace the light globe and none of the shops on my block had the right kind.  Therefore, it was reasonable that I be on the street.

Were you ever controlled?

No, but that isn’t the point, I don’t think. We internalise the possibility of being stopped, and that keeps us obeying the law. It’s how government surveillance works.

When did you start the stories? And when did they end?

I wrote them for a year, from March 2020 to March 2021. From the first lockdown to the vaccine rollout. These stories reach beyond that year though because they weave in films and artworks and books, and imagine how characters in fiction and film would survive in a pandemic. Like Vermeer’s lacemaker, who I assume would have been busy making masks. The stories also weave in racial tensions, questions of death, living under curfew as a form of state control. They are also about familiar French cultural customs that bubbled to the surface. For example, one of the stories is about the senses and how people lost their smell and taste in the Coronavirus, and were prohibited from touching. We were relegated to looking, but even then, we could only look from our apartment windows. In the story, I ask what does it mean to be French and not kiss each other on the cheek when we meet? And how are we meant to be together when we can’t eat around a table? How is French life meant to go on without these age-old customs?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Frances!

You can read one of these thought-provoking essays, “The Things I Need,” below . Two others have been published online, “Still Moving” on the site Her Stry and “Grieving,” which was published in the anthology Lockdown Literature.

Now that museums are open again, Frances is back going to exhibitions. You can read about her visits on her blog, Fx Reflects.

The Things I Need – by Frances Guerin

I need to live in a big city. Surrounded by culture, holidays in the sun, long runs in the morning. I need a library to work in, vibrant streets to walk down, and stimulating people for conversation in cafes. I am convinced I need all of them. I can’t possibly live without dinner in a neighborhood bar after a night at the movies. The convenience of the shop on the corner, the bike shop across the street, the airport at the end of the metro line. What’s the point of living in Paris if London, Rome, and Berlin aren’t within easy reach?

I look up at my building as I cross the street one night in mid-March. The lights in the windows remind me of an advent calendar. My neighbors are all home, dutifully watching the President’s speech on live television. Inside my apartment, I check the news and discover that my view from the outside will be prohibited for the foreseeable future. The following day we go into confinement.

Checkpoints spring up all over the city. The police are out in full force. Under the law, we are required to carry a self-declaration, swearing we are who we say we are, our birthdate and place, our reason for being on the street. As an Australian trained in the art of dismissing authority, I find the declaration that I am out running when I am out running to be absurd.

For expats like me, raised with a relatively simple and accessible public service, French bureaucracy is labyrinthine and overwhelming. The bureaucrats can be frightening, demanding documents that are not listed as requirements. If we dare to question the request, we risk verbal humiliation. My cultural dislocation is never more marked than when I am face to face with the bureaucracy. This latest directive, however, trips over into the ridiculous.

I post an update on Facebook, entertaining my friends with the comical details of French government regulations. I laugh out loud when a colleague leaves a comment about having to complete paperwork to take her dog for a walk.

A French friend reminds us, “Without the paperwork, everyone would ignore the order.”

I can’t tell if she’s irked by or expressing solidarity with our mockery of French bureaucracy.

“We French agree, it’s a farce,” another adds.

“You can write in pencil, carry an eraser, and change what you have written if you are stopped by the police,” someone suggests.

“The prefecture posted on Twitter that pencil is not allowed,” the next warns.

“You can use the same form every day;”

“That’s definitely not allowed;”

“How do you know?”

“I read it somewhere…”

“Where?”

“I can’t remember.”

My post attracts forty-eight comments, debating the cans and can’ts of how to fill in the declarations.

The novelty of restrictions, paperwork and tweeting questions to the French police wears off quickly. I am stuck. I gaze for hours at the four walls of my room. I see the same objects over and over again. Staring at me, face to face. The objects I have collected are like people, alive, things with which I have relationships. Our relationship takes energy, making demands on my time.

I am reminded of the soldiers in Tim O’Brien’s stories of Vietnam. Of the things they carried in their packs, each is carefully chosen. The things have a physical, psychological, emotional and mnemonic value. I am like a soldier in the jungle; I keep things close, not just for their use value.

Sitting on my sofa for hours each day, I start to see all of the things I can live without. I don’t need the trinket box that my friend Vincent brought me from India. A little pink box covered with mirrored sequins, sparkling stones, and crafted beads. Inside, the coating is starting to peel off a string of fake pearls, and the clasp has been broken since my friend Cathy’s son opened and closed the box too many times. I have held onto memorabilia like this for years because I love my friends. Vincent is no exception. I might upset him if I throw away this treasure that nevertheless means nothing to me. In confinement, I need more space for me, less for my junk. Why not throw it away? He’ll never know. Perhaps I had better keep it? After all, this time will come to an end and, one day, we might be allowed to venture into the streets. Then again, the Eurostar won’t run between Paris and London for people like us. Vincent, the maître D in a fancy London restaurant isn’t coming to visit any time soon.

I come to my senses; Vincent will still be my friend when the trinket box has been moved to the underground archive for dead souls. Otherwise known as the rubbish dump.

I don’t need the birthday cards from my mother’s best friend, carefully written in a faltering script, some words gone over again and again. I wonder if the hesitation comes because she forgets how to spell the words. Perhaps it’s an indication that her hand can’t keep up with her mind, or the other way around? Either way, Gwenda certainly won’t be visiting to check that I have kept her cards. She’s 95 years old. She tells me regularly that she doesn’t need to travel again.

“I’ve already seen the world. Besides, I don’t want to pass through security,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone. “All that poking around in my bag, patting down my pants. It’s an invasion of privacy. It never used to be like that. I don’t need to go anywhere, I’ve seen the world already. I’m 95 you know. I don’t need to go through all that at my age.”

As confinement wears on, my sofa becomes increasingly comfortable. I start to agree with Gwenda. Maybe I don’t need to travel. I go jogging daily at the government prescribed hour for exercise. In the remaining 23 hours, I move from the shower to the desk, to the sofa, to the kitchen, to bed. The next day, I trace the same steps all over again. By the end of each day, I am exhausted. From one room in my apartment to the next, that’s clearly all the travel I need.

Gwenda tells me on FaceTime that she has no need for anyone to do her shopping while in confinement. “I can do it myself. I couldn’t think of anything worse than having someone pressing on my peaches and pawing my peppers. ”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have your groceries delivered?” I ask. I recall reading that Australian confinement regulations state that over-75s are not allowed to leave their homes. I chuckle at Gwenda’s disobedience.

“Goodness, no. That’s just for old people,” she retorts.

I understand Gwenda’s logic. In confinement, the supermarket has become the most exciting outing of my week. Okay, I admit. Morning run aside, it’s the only time I leave my apartment. Like Gwenda, I am not about to give up a weekly trip to the supermarket. It’s more than a necessity. It’s an imperative. I look forward to the 350-meter walk. Across the boulevard, down a side street, around a corner. It’s the same every time. I stand obediently at the back of the line, a meter away from the person in front of me. The anticipation of my weekly shop makes me restless.

Inside the doors, it’s a different story. I don’t want to be there. Caught in the cramped aisles lined with empty shelves, I am pushed by the woman who needs the last bottle of almond milk on the shelf, the man whose arm goes over my head, reaching for the cheese with the newest use-by date. Another man coughs and everyone scowls. I take a step back, alarmed. The air is surely raining Covid droplets. I glower at the man and, almost immediately, wish I hadn’t. I despise the practice of shaming the sick. But I can’t help myself.

“Why didn’t he stay home?” I ask the woman behind me.

“Excuse me, do you mind watching my trolley? I forgot the carrots,” she responds politely.

I was expecting a different response, like, “How dare he” and a roll of the eyes, for example. One nice word to a fellow masked alien shopper, and she thinks we are sisters in arms. No, you don’t understand, the man over there coughed, I want to bark back. Instead, I nod politely and ignore her trolley. I am beginning to understand that what I need is different from what I want.

I do need the UK to keep functioning because Her Majesty’s government pays my salary. I tune into the BBC World Service for regular updates on the UK lockdown. It becomes obvious that no one needs the British Prime Minister. If he was indispensable, he wouldn’t have spent so many days and nights in hospital. Come to think of it, I can do without his advisers as well. Obviously. The British instructions for isolation are so convoluted that no one can follow them. If this, then that … yes go there, but only when … or if you have a reasonable excuse. Drive the car, but only on the condition that the distance you walk at the destination is greater than that you drove to get there. Pages of instructions successfully confuse anyone who tries to follow them. Brexit means Brexit, but Stay Home can mean anything you like. I rethink my need for the BBC; it’s no more than a mouthpiece for the government’s obfuscations.

By contrast, my next visit to the supermarket confirms that I need the man at the entrance to squirt a glob of hand sanitizer in my open palms. He’s more important than the man who is supposed to be running the United Kingdom. Apparently, I don’t need to know the scientific explanations for the R factor, the curve exponents, the percentage of infections per capita. But I do need to know that the apples I touch, and don’t buy, will be clean for the next anonymous shopper.

My shopping basket brushes the leg of a woman in a mask. Her muffled voice is filled with heated emotion, sucking the mask to her mouth to create a concavity in the fabric. I don’t understand why she is upset. I want to ask her to remove the mask, but I don’t need to know what she is saying. I ignore her and go in search of the charcuterie.

It’s day fourteen, and I am running low on coffee beans. For over a decade, I have bought coffee at a small local store. I stop in the coffee aisle at the supermarket and stare at the array of vacuum-packed home brand beans. What do I do? I turn the question over in my mind. My coffee shop won’t be open, so maybe I should buy it here? But then, I can’t drink supermarket coffee. It won’t be the same, it won’t wake me up, it won’t, it won’t, I can’t, I don’t want to. My thoughts fall into a spiral of despair in the coffee aisle. A child pulls the packets from the bottom shelf. Time to leave. I don’t need the coffee.

Two days later, I happen to pass the coffee shop during my one hour of government-sanctioned exercise. The door is ajar, and I see the man behind the counter, bent over huge hessian bags filled with coffee beans. I feel my heart expand, my mood lift, I sense a smile light up my face. I breathe relief. My sensory receptors are aroused then invigorated by the rich, seductive smell of freshly ground coffee. I approach the counter, cautiously. Inside the small shop it isn’t possible to stand at the government-dictated distance.

“I didn’t think you would be here,” I gush with excitement.

“We are classified an épicerie,” he responds nonchalantly. The man starts to fill a packet with my regular roast. “One kilo? Ground for a French Press?” He asks in a voice that supposes nothing has changed since the last time I saw him.

“Yes, yes. Have you been busy?” I ask. I have so many questions, my heart starts racing.

This is the first conversation I have had with a real person in sixteen days. Not counting the perfunctory exchanges at the supermarket. On day one of confinement, my upstairs neighbour texted to say she was sick. My interactions with her have become reduced to a handful of blank declarations on my doorstep every few days. Some evenings her partner and I yell a few pleasantries from our windows at 8pm, in between applause for the frontline workers.

I might want coffee, but it’s not my first need. I can live without coffee. Flesh and blood contact with another human being is a basic necessity.

“I hate the isolation,” I confess to the man at the coffee shop. This banal conversation engages every part of me as I realize my discomfort out loud for the first time. “The restrictions are ridiculous,” I moan.

“You are not the only one,” he responds with a smile. He pours the coffee beans into the grinder.

“Really?”

“Ah, but of course. Everyone is frustrated. And the police with their petty exercise of power, giving out fines at every turn.”

“Did others tell you that?”

“Oh, of course, what do you expect? We all hate it.”

I walk home with a spring in my step, swinging the bag of coffee with delight. Our short conversation keeps me going for hours, knowing that there are others who think like me. I feel so replete having had a real conversation, with a real person, not just an image on a screen.

I need my computer. I wish I didn’t. To be connected, I must have a screen between me and the world, my ears hidden under headphones. I raise my virtual hand in a request to speak. It all seems like a silly science fiction movie. This isn’t funny, I remind myself. I think of all the people who don’t have a computer and an internet connection, let alone an apartment.

I think of the Vietnam soldiers in O’Brien’s story, carrying their life on their back, and those of their ancestors in their veins. I think of the weight of munitions belts, the memories that keep fantasies alive, and the ghosts of dead comrades that crushed their ability to hope. The things they carried to kill or to keep them alive. Whichever was needed most.

Confinement in Paris is a privilege. My worries are a luxury. Stop complaining.

I turn my thoughts to the bright side of my new life on Zoom. I enjoy seeing inside my colleagues’ apartments, how they live, little granules of information to tell me who they really are. It doesn’t occur to me that they, like me, might have staged their apartments for the camera.

My colleagues tell me that the world is going to change, and I won’t be able to have dinner dates any time soon.

“You won’t ever travel to Italy again,” warns a grumpy older colleague.

I will be stuck here in front of the computer for the rest of my life. I panic. My thoughts get in the way, reminding me that I need a bigger apartment, a better job, one more pair of shoes, and the sweater I tried on while wasting time, waiting for my train at St. Pancras in January. I am convinced that I need more money, more prestige, more admiration. My mind races with all of the things I need and the people I must impress if I want eternal happiness. Here in front of the computer screen.

A siren echoes outside my window as an ambulance speeds down the boulevard. It reminds me that the thoughts cluttering my head can go in the trash. They belong with the old birthday cards and the pink trinket box. No one else needs to know they ever existed. I certainly don’t need them.

I wake up to a WhatsApp from a dear friend in New York “Darling, how are you getting on in Paris?”

“We are in total confinement. You?”

He sends me a selfie with his girlfriend in the middle of nature, followed by a message, “Social distancing in New York.” He adds a winking emoji.

I feel the rage rise inside of me. It’s not fair. I am only allowed out for one hour a day, and if I don’t have paperwork, I will be fined. At worst, I will be put in jail. I definitely don’t need to be communicating with my New York friends.

I need to find a way out of Paris. Take me away from this isolation. Fantasy will do.

Day twenty-one and the man at the door of the supermarket is still there holding the bottle of hand sanitizer. The coffee man shuffles behind the counter at the same pace, in or out of confinement. Zoom is starting to irritate me, but the computer remains my doorway to the world. I have a connection. That’s all that matters.

It’s the beginning of the second month in confinement, and I am learning to reformulate my wants and needs. I need air, water, food, a bed to sleep in, a roof over my head, a computer and a bag for my groceries. In my bag, there’s a dead light bulb, a spare pair of glasses, and a blank declaration form, just in case. I’m always hoping to find a replacement globe for the unusual American lamp in my living room that was given to me by a friend when she left Paris. I obviously don’t need to turn the lamp on because the globe has been dead since confinement began, and the supermarket doesn’t carry the particular variety. I also keep a pen in my bag. Heaven forbid that I get caught in the street beyond my one permitted hour, my one permitted kilometer. I remain vigilant. The thought of the police stopping me, checking my papers wartime-style, mathematically determining that my time has expired or I have breached the limit of acceptable distance from home. In the remote past of February, a pen was essential for freedom, inspiration and jotting down ideas in my notebook. Now, I need the pen more than ever, but for reasons I could never have imagined. In this brave new world, a pen is for changing the time, or filling in a new form if caught by the police.

I need the garbage collected. I think back to the film, Contagion in which social disorder and eventual anarchy sweep through the streets of America. It all begins when the garbage spills out onto the streets.

Bless that man who comes on his motorbike every Tuesday and Friday to put the bins outside, returning two hours later when they have been emptied. No one in my building speaks to him, perhaps because they can’t understand his accent. I said hello to him a few years ago, and he looked at me through the visor of his helmet as if I was from outer space. I don’t dare try again. I remain silently grateful that he fulfils one of my most important needs.

Routine is essential. I need to run every day, keeping my mind as well as my body from falling into disrepair. I don’t need and I don’t like the woman who yells at me from the other side of the street, behind a mask. I never understand what they are saying when a mask is involved. A man walks towards me, noticing the puzzled look on my face, laughing. He explains that the woman doesn’t want me out running, despite the fact that I am following the law. It is 9.30am, the shops aren’t yet open, and she is yelling at me. I am tempted to turn around and scream at her in my smartest French. It’s what she deserves.

“Go take your anger out on smokers, car drivers, and all the others who pollute the air you breathe.” I practice my retort in my head, making sure to get the grammar correct. I say nothing. I keep running.

It turns out that the things I need are not the same as the things that clutter my life. I discover that it’s not the objects that I stalk on the internet, like books, pens, inks and bikes that I need to keep me going. I need new running shoes, but old ones will do. I need books, but I have enough for years in confinement. I thought I couldn’t live without nail varnish, that dress I’ve been eyeing in the shop window across the street, and Wednesday nights’ new releases at the cinema. Apparently, I need none of these. Who would have thought that the British Prime Minister, dinners with friends, and proximity to the train station would no longer matter.

What will the world look like when this crisis is over? Will it ever be over? I have no idea. What I do know is that whatever happens, I need to trust. I need to know that all will be okay. I also need a regular reminder that I can’t plan for the end. That doesn’t stop me from trying. When will it end? What will the end look like? Who will I be when it’s over? How will I get there? Enough.

Bourse de Commerce Paris

Five Cool Contemporary Art Centres in Paris

Private art galleries, especially those in the Upper Marais, are a great place to see contemporary art in Paris. However, since the turn of the 21st century, Paris has seen an influx in venues dedicated to art made by current artists. These are often in repurposed historic buildings or structures designed by top contemporary architects, which adds another fascinating level to your visit. Discover our favorite contemporary art venues below.

Bourse de Commerce Paris

Bourse de Commerce (and top photo)

Bourse de Commerce

Once used for storing grain at Les Halles, Paris’s former central food market, and then the grain stock exchange, the former Bourse de Commerce reopened in June 2021 as the home of French Industrialist Francois Pinault’s collection of modern and contemporary art. The building was reinvented by Japanese architect Tadao Ando who added a 10-metre-high concrete cylinder inside the main exhibition hall, allowing visitors to better appreciate the building’s glass dome and historic frescoes. The galleries surrounding it feature revolving thematic presentations of art from the 1960s to today.

Palais de Tokyo Paris

Photo Credit: Palais de Tokyo

Palais de Tokyo

First built for the International Exhibition of Arts and Technology of 1937, the west wing of this Art Deco building on the Seine has housed France’s largest museum focused on temporary exhibitions of contemporary art since 2002. Vast industrial style exhibit halls allow for large scale installations which often involve sound, video or other modern technology. Check their agenda as they sometimes host DJ nights and other events.

Photo Credit: Fondation Louis Vuitton

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Designed by star architect Frank Gehry, this curvaceous glass building is hidden in the Bois de Boulogne woods in western Paris. It hosts temporary exhibits, both featuring the works of the Louis Vuitton fashion house collection, as well as top traveling international art exhibits, usually on work from the late 19th century to the present. Read more on the Foundation’s architecture in our post on the best contemporary architecture in Paris.

Fondation Cartier

Photo Credit: Fondation Cartier

Fondation Cartier

Original located in the suburbs of Paris, the Fondation Cartier received a new home in the 14th arrondissement, not far from our Paris School, in 1994. The sleek glass and steel building was designed by leading French architect Jean Nouvel, who also designed the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Musée du Quai Branly and the new Philharmonie (also included in our contemporary architecture article). Part offices, part exhibition space and with a notable bookshop, the Foundation puts on significant temporary art exhibitions, usually of living international art stars like Damien Hirst or Junya Ishigami.

Photo Credit: Fluctuart

Fluctuart

Occupying a modern glass barge moored in the Seine near the Musée d’Orsay is this art space dedicated to street art. There are rooms displaying the centre’s permanent collection and then temporary exhibits every few months. Ponder the works afterwards at the barge’s cool terrace café overlooking the river. Learn more about street art in our article on top street artists to spot around Paris.

Looking for more art explorations in Paris?