The Philosophy of Shopping

On Saturdays, when noon = the break of dawn, I take my favorite Parisian walk. This is a loose promenade in the North of the city - from Montmartre, with a slight dip into Pigalle, then on to the Barbès, the Arab section. You can do it in a few hours, or take all day. This is not a blockbuster approach to seeing a city - just a quiet walk in some charming neighborhoods, with hopes of a nice meal and picking up a few new world music recordings. I look at it this way: eventually all the paintings in all the museums in Paris will visit New York, but old French 45s?

Around the end of the 19th c. and until the First World War, Montmartre was the literary and artistic center of Paris; after, artists still lived there, but it evolved into an entertainment center known more for the artistic nudes at the Moulon Rouge than artists' models trudging up a garret stairwell. This is Paris as a small village, the Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Braque, Gris, Utrillo. Cubism was born here at the studios in the Bateau-Lavoir, Renoir, Dufy and Van Gogh lived on Rue Cortot, and both artists and writers proposed 'isms' galore at the Lapin Agile, a cafe that's still open.

In the 30's Edith Piaf gave her first professional performances in Pigalle, at Juan-les-Pins. Later she offered an emotional tour of an entire neighborhood in the film "Montmartre sur Seine" (1941). Need more background on "scènes de la via de bohème?" Re-read Henri Murger. Have a "pastis" as you slap an analog Puccini on the ol' turntable. Join in on the very apt and charming waltz, "Quando me'n vo soletta" ("As through the streets I wander"). La Butte

Wander up towards Le Sacré-Cæur. (35 rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre. Free, open every day 6:45 am - 11 pm.) If your lucky, one of the few remaining hurdy-gurdy players left in the city will be at the base of the steps. No monkey, but a variety of cabaret, chanson and java numbers will delight as the punched cards crank through the barrel. If your hungry and the day is fine, join the busloads at one of the many cafés and restaurants in the Place du Tertre. "The Companion Guide to Paris" recommends, Eugène's or La Mère Catherine. For redemption, aerobic fitness or a wonderful view of the city climb the stairs to the actual Basilica and light a candle.

Continue west, down Rochechouart. Soon the street will seem more Maghreb than Paris, with businesses catering to immigrants from Francophone Africa and the Caribbean. As the metro become an elevated line, you'll see the Luxor Cinema (53 bd. de Chapelle). Now is partial ruin, the Luxor was a high point of 'Orientalism" in building design, and one of the most amazing structures in Paris. Once glimmering in polychrome tiles, the appreciably duller exterior is plastered with adverts of local cultural and political importance.

An option is to veer into the 9th onto rue de Dunkerque, near the Anvers metro, before you get to the Luxor. Here is another world music store, Rythmo Disc (6 rue de Dunkerque, Tel : 42 03 64 54). Go to the end of Dunkerque onto Faubourg Poissonière. Look for Deb's Musique (170 rue du Fg. Poissonière. Tel : 42 81 17 42), a legendary outlet and record label specializing in the music of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Go north on Fg. Poissonière and it will turn into boulevard Barbès.

If you stayed on Rochechouart, turn left at the cinema. You are now on the boulevard Barbès, in the Barbès, (M° Barbès) a major North African (some West Africans) section of Paris. It goes by a few other names, all drawn from street names in the area, including La Chapelle, and La Goutte d'Or (the Golden Droplet - also the title of the excellent Michel Tournier book, offering insight into the life of this part of the city and a vivid description of Oum Kalsoum's only Parisian concert.) Explore the many crowded byways. Here you can find music from Arab and Berber North Africa, available almost exclusively on cassette. A myriad of shops like Editions Bouarfa (28 rue de la Charbonniè), Editions MK7 (27 rue de Chartres) and Hilali Disques (8 rue Caplat) offer a Carte de Fidélité. This is a card that is punched once for every cassette you buy. Purchase 10 and the next one is free.

If you can handle the metro before 7 am on the weekends, begin your walk at the very top of Paris, still in the 18th, but way, way North. Here sprawls the St-Ouen/Clignancourt flea market . (Sat, Sun & Mon, dawn till about 7 pm. M° Porte de Clignancourt, Porte de Saint-Ouen. At this point hum Piaf's 1937 hit, "Entre Saint-Ouen et Clignancourt".) You should be able to see the bustle that is the market as you exit the metro. Gongrats, you're officially beyond the outer walls of the city of Paris, the Périphérique, - a good word, worth saying aloud. "Les Marchés aux Puces" (flea markets) are not the cluttered catch-as-catch-can events we're used to in the States. In Paris they are made up of many clearly defined and permanently located smaller markets, all with numbered stalls - many dealers having the same location for decades.

Saint - Ouen/Clignancourt is my favorites and one of the largest in the world. There's a real junk/people's ("hobo") market near the metro. Most expensive stuff, i.e., real antiques, are at the Marché Brion. My favorite music stall (and unlike Piaf, I know I'll regret telling you) is that of Nicolas Gueye (23 rue Jules Henri Fabre). This outdoor stand specializes in 50s and 60s oldies but goodies from Africa and the Caribbean. Nearby is Marché Malik, a jumble of clothes stalls and other record vendors.

Ya Gotta Dig For d'Or

What do I look for? Singles mostly. Soundtracks, odd things from Africa and the Antilles, anything by Brigitte Bardot (punk progenitor- "la grand-mòre of blasú-faire"), Serge Gainsbourg, his daughter Charlotte (gotta love 'em, they once recorded a song called "Lemon Incest"!), Barbara, Charles Trenet, Eddie Constantine, (American singer who stared in Godard's "Alphaville"), Jeanne Moreau, Johnny Hallyday, Francis Lai (who began as Piaf's accordionist!), Yves Montand, the "Yeah Yeah Girl" - any 50s or 60s singles with someone trying to look like an American teenager, any LP boasting a song title in English or cover version, any single featuring a dance craze, modern furniture, or dated clothing. Oh, by the way, back to that philosophy of shopping thing, no matter what your beliefs; the best stuff is gone by 9.

It's probably about noon. If you didn't buy so much that the weight keeps you from walking comfortably, or your not completely worn out, head south towards Sacré-Cæur to continue this "bon plan."

Tryst & Shout

Guide books don't really mention these areas as places to spend the night, but they're wrong. Pigalle is a wonderfully seedy area that still serves as an unofficial red-light district. Be daring and wake up at one of the tidy, incredibly inexpensive, sometimes pretty noisy little hotels that dot the area. Two I like are the Hotel de Paire (55 rue Pigalle, Paris, 75009, tel: 48 74 37 53, M¡ Pigalle / St-Georges) and the Hotel Victor Massú (32 bis, Rue Victor-Massú, Paris, 75009, tel: 48 74 37 53 or 48 74 43 46, M¡ Pigalle). You're looking at about $25 - $45 for a single or a double.

If you're more Bohemian than demi-monde, sleep in Montmartre. Try the Ermitage Hotel (24 rue Lamarck, 42-64-79-22 , M¡ Lamarck/Caulaincourt or M¡ Anvers). This 12-room mansion offers wonderful views of the city and has a terraced garden where you are served breakfast. Hotel Montmartre (11 rue Ravignan, off the Place Emile-Goudeau, tel 42 55 74 79) is a relatively large place, 60 rooms, some on the 4th & 5th floor offer views of that famous tower. Both offer doubles at about $100, breakfast included. Also in that price range: "Time Out" recommends Prima Lepic (29 Rue Lepic, M¡ Blanche, tel: 46 06 44 64).

back to top