{"id":3075,"date":"2023-03-22T13:41:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T13:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/?p=3075"},"modified":"2023-03-24T10:26:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T10:26:30","slug":"our-guide-to-the-13th-arrondissement-beyond-la-bibliotheque-nationale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/2023\/03\/22\/our-guide-to-the-13th-arrondissement-beyond-la-bibliotheque-nationale\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Guide to the 13th Arrondissement, beyond la Biblioth\u00e8que nationale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of our Kent Paris School students will be spending a good deal of time at la Biblioth\u00e8que nationale, France\u2019s National Library, especially as they work on their final papers and dissertations. But if you want to take a break from your research, Paris’ large 13th district has plenty of gems to discover. From street art to Chinatown and from former villages to thought-provoking contemporary architecture, here are our favourite things to do in the 13th:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Station F and La F\u00e9licit\u00e0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Just next to the Library is the large co-working venue, Station F. Located within a former rail freight depot dating from 1927, since 2017 it has been home to the world\u2019s biggest start-up \u201ccampus\u201d or incubator. Many of the dynamic creatives who work there drift over to the restaurant part of the complex, <\/span>La Felicit\u00e0<\/span><\/a>, a massive Italian food emporium where you can find great coffee, dine in a former train car or sip aperitivo on its terrace at the end of a long day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cit\u00e9

Photo Credit: Cit\u00e9 de la Mode et Design<\/p><\/div>\n

Paris Rive Gauche – <\/b>Contemporary Architecture District<\/b><\/h3>\n

The 13th has positioned itself as a cluster of innovation – evidenced not only through the high concentration of start-ups, but also through its rapidly evolving architecture. Throwing off the Haussmannian rigidity, the 13th arrondissement contains<\/span> a particularly rich collection of exciting contemporary buildings just to the east of the Biblioth\u00e8que nationale. Called <\/span>Paris Rive Gauche, the district has a mix of residential, office and university buildings. You can explore these thanks to<\/span> this useful article<\/span><\/a> (in English) available on the Paris City Hall website.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"portPort de la Gare<\/b><\/h3>\n

On the quais just in front of the Biblioth\u00e8que nationale is one of the nicest – and coolest – sections of the Seine river banks within Paris. The pedestrian walkway is the perfect place to stretch your legs during a study break, for a picnic in balmy weather or to end your day. Its floating bars (known as p\u00e9niches<\/em> in French), including one on an old-fashioned boat, are very popular with eastend Parisians. From late spring to late summer, and especially on weekends, these p\u00e9niches expand with quai-side seating and activities. There is also a CROUS (university canteen serving low-cost meals), the\u00a0<\/span>Le Caf\u00e9t\u00e9ria Pont sup\u00e9rieur<\/span><\/a>, inside one of the barges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir. Photo: AHert<\/a><\/span> \/ CC<\/p><\/div>\n

Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir<\/b><\/h3>\n

The newest of Paris\u2019s 37 bridges, the footbridge was inaugurated in 2006 and named in honour of France\u2019s great feminist philosopher and writer. It was designed by Feichtinger Architectes and constructed by the Eiffel company (yes, Gustave Eiffel\u2019s company lives on to this day!). You can gaze up at the bridge from the Port or access it from the Library\u2019s esplanade. Looking west, from the bridge you have a great view of the Pont de Bercy where m\u00e9tro line 6 zips by every few minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Street Art<\/b><\/h3>\n

Over the last decade or so, the 13th has come to boast one of the highest concentrations of street art. Today the district\u2019s large tower buildings are decorated with over 50 murals as well as scores of smaller works by French and international artists like Obey, Inti and C215. Although these are scattered around the 13th, you can see many larger ones as you walk down Boulevard Vincent Auriol and see smaller works around Les Buttes aux Cailles (see below). You can locate them with the help of this <\/span>interactive map<\/span><\/a> and you can learn more about top Parisian street artists in <\/span>this blog post.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/b>B<\/b>utte-aux-Cailles<\/b><\/h3>\n

A stone\u2019s throw from both Chinatown and busy Place d\u2019Italie is one of the loveliest of Paris\u2019s former villages. Once a small hamlet on the outskirts of the city, the Butte-aux-Cailles gradually became associated with the Parisian working class. Luckily, the neighbourhood escaped Haussmann architectural injunctions. Today, the quartier <\/em><\/span>is lined with <\/span>restaurants and bars popular with students from nearby campuses. A favourite neighbourhood haunt is Le temps des c\u00e9rises<\/a>, a cooperative-model bistrot. Opened in 1976, the bistro’s menu, prices, and operating model pay hommage to the working class (and the bistro’s name, the Time of Cherries, is a nod to the Paris Commune of 1871). <\/span>Read more in our guide to the former villages of Paris <\/span>at this link<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Les Olympiades, Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Gornet<\/p><\/div>\n

Chinatown<\/b><\/h3>\n

A section of the centre of the 13th district, the area around the modern high-rises of Les Olympiades, is well-known for its bustling Chinatown. The largest Chinatown in Europe, this can be found between Avenue d\u2019Ivry, Avenue de Choisy and Boulevard Mass\u00e9na. You can learn more about its history, as well as dining recommendations, in <\/span>our guide to Paris\u2019s Chinatowns<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Le

Le Ch\u00e2teau de la Reine Blanche. Siren-Com<\/a><\/span> \/ CC<\/p><\/div>\n

Le Ch\u00e2teau de la Reine Blanche\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Ch\u00e2teau de la Reine Blanche, or Castle of the White Queen, (6 Rue Gustave Geffroy, 75013) is one of the arrondissement’s hidden gems. The structure dates back to 1290 and takes its name from <\/span>Blanche de France who inherited the manor house from her mother. Parts of the building are from the 14th and 15th century. Today the castle is privately owned and unfortunately rarely open to the public (except on the Journ\u00e9es du Patrimoine held in mid September), but you can still view it from the street. Discover other lesser known medieval sites in Paris <\/span>in this article<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Square

photo: Sonia Yassa\/ Ville de Paris<\/p><\/div>\n

Square Ren\u00e9 Le Gall<\/b><\/h3>\n

The 13th arrondissement does not have an abundance of parks, but this pretty one is tucked away on a side street near the Ch\u00e2teau de la Reine Blanche. The <\/span>Square Ren\u00e9 Le Gall<\/span><\/a> is located next to where the Bi\u00e8vre River once flowed, Paris\u2019s second river that only exists underground now within the city limits. The park was built over a land mass in a fork of the river previously called Monkey Island; a little stream runs through the garden, tracing the path of the semi-defunct river. The perfect place to read on a sunny day, the park has some rose arbors, a quirky obelisque, fruit trees, sycamores and a huge Indian chestnut tree planted in 1894.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of our Kent Paris School students will be spending a good deal of time at la Biblioth\u00e8que nationale, France\u2019s National Library, especially as they work on their final papers and dissertations. But if you want to take a break from your research, Paris’ large 13th district has plenty of gems to discover. From street […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74581,"featured_media":3077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[252353,124,172971],"tags":[252432,252433,252391,250818,172970],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3075"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3100,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3075\/revisions\/3100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}