City of arts, music, and life

Finally, I can write a blog post about Paris. Besides the OECD, Paris is the host city of world-leading museums, the huge festivals, and, as you might have guessed, quite some boulongeries. In this blog post, I would like to share with you my three recommendations for any visitor to Paris.

The highlight of my stay in Paris was the Fête the la Musique: a night of music everywhere in the city. Amateurs and professionals alike fill the streets of Paris with jazz, rap, rock, pop, chanson, and techno. All for free! Be it a small, shy duo playing Edith Piaf chansons by the river Seine, or a DJane making a whole intersection full of people jump to electro beats – there is something for everyone. And that shows: that day, the whole city is on their feet. Mark your calendars: the next fête the la musique is on the 21st of July, 2024. Actually, delete that. There are so many other music festival (some for free) happening over the summer, too. It feels wrong to only recommend one single event in Paris.

It’s easier with the museums. My favorite museum is the relatively small Musée de l’Orangerie in the Jardin des Tuileries (a famous beautiful park). It is perfect because it is so small that you have time to really see every piece of art. You’ll find an assessable collection of mainly impressionist paintings and sculptures, and finish your visit with the Water Lilies by Claude Monet. It’s like walking into a beautiful, dreamy garden.

The Seine by night, however, was the one thing that impressed me the most about Paris in summer. The Seine esplanade is alive. Most of the promenade of the Seine is used for romantic picnics with wine, meeting friends over some beers, singing accompanied by a guitar, families with kids climbing on the various playgrounds, or small groups of young & old dancing to some techno or afro beats from a bluetooth speaker. Oh and many rats, but they somehow belong. Of the many well-known dancing spots of Paris, this one by the Seine has great Salsa parties. The Seine felt like the back garden that most Parisians don’t have. The (sometimes painfully expensive) city of Paris suddenly became accessible and inclusive.

—

And because I had a hard time limiting myself to only three recommendations, here are more: fantastic veggie restaurant in Paris: Le Potager du Marais, best coffee selection and café vibes: The Caféothèque of Paris, calling greens: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, great Lebanese buffet à volonté (aka all you can eat): Restaurant LiBeyrouth