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Category / My Secret Paris

Where to find Provence in Paris

Meet me on the Place Dauphine for a slice of Provence in the heart of Paris, one of the most, if not the most beautiful hidden gems this city has to offer on a warm summer’s eve. Tucked away on an island in the middle of the river Seine, this peaceful enclave with its picture perfect…

5 Secret Restaurants in Paris

Promise you won’t tell anyone…! 1. L’Etage de Pastavino – Saint Germain’s best-kept secret It just looks like an ordinary Italian deli (épicerie in French) on a bustling market street in Saint Germain … but it’s hiding a secret in a dark corner at the back. Indicated only by two blackboards nearly tucked out of…

A Walk along the Paris inner city Railway, abandoned since 1934

I spent my Saturday afternoon, avoiding the Parisian summer crowds and tiptoeing along the train tracks of the “Little Belt” railroad (La Petite Ceinture), a surviving relic of a bygone era, closed since 1934; open for pleasant summer strolls if you look hard enough for a way in … Built in 1862, the Petite Ceinture…

The Suburban Paris Ghost Town

Paris lies is the center of Ile-de-France, the most populated region in the country with more residents than Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal or Sweden alone. It boasts the world’s fourth-largest and Europe’s wealthiest and largest regional economy. But one small corner of the region paints a very different picture. Just a thirty minute drive north…

Country Bumpkin Lane in Paris

Okay, so that’s not its real name, but they should just call this place what it really is– a countryside paradise in the heart of Paris. A zippy ten minutes from the Eiffel Tower on my mobilette and I had putt-putted my way to Pernety in the 14th arrondissement, a very family-orientated neighbourhood with lots…

My Secret Champs Elysées Garden

At some point or another every Parisian has an errand to run on the Champs Élysées, as much as they despise its hellish high street hum and tawdry tourist tat. And like every Parisian that likes to claim his or her “coins“, or corners of solace around the city, this Parisienne is claiming a little…

The Clandestine Paris Party Planners with a taste for the Abandoned

So, there’s planning a party and then there’s planning a party in a secret abandoned location– in Paris! You’re about to delve into the world of the most unique underground party organisers in the world… A secretive group called We are the Oracle has surfaced in the French capital in recent years, throwing once in…

My Little Secret Montmartre

This is not Montmartre, the cupcake hilltop village of Paris where Miss Amélie Poulain resides. Today we escape to a different corner of the city in the 20th arrondissement with just as much charm and just as many steps. Upon first discovering it, my faithful walking companion duly declared, “It’s like a little Montmartre!” So…

Penetrating the Paris Catacombs: Level One

We were told to dress in inconspicuous clothing, wear sturdy boots and gloves, bring food supplies, an ID in case of arrest and a rosary in case of the unimaginable. We met our host to the underworld whose name will remain Mr. X, at a location I can’t reveal. And down the rabbit hole we went … As…

A Café Philosophique with Messy Nessy Chic

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” ― Simone de Beauvoir She was an inspiring lady that Simone de Beauvoir; the prolific French writer and philosopher who epitomised Parisian café society in the 20th century along with her circle of friends. So inspiring I thought, as I was writing the…

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