If you’re new to Postcards from Paris — WELCOME! My name is Teena Hughes, I’m an Australian who has lived in Paris several times, and I love to go back once a year and spend about six weeks feeling like a local Parisienne :-) I catch up with my friends I met there over twenty years ago, plus I host Adventures. I’ve also written a couple of books about Paris, and I love this city more than any other.
Enjoy the little French tidbits I have for you today, and do get in touch if you’d like to chat or ask a question. Here we go!
As part of the global Museum Night event, Paris museums will open their doors free of charge for visitors until 1:00 am, as part of the global Museum Night. There will be special events and much more in many Paris major museums.
22nd May to 11th June: The 2017 French Open at Roland Garros
This is one of France’s most exciting and important tournaments. The French Open continues to host some of the world’s unforgettable matches. Buying tickets several months ahead is highly recommended.
Throughout May: le Foire du Trone (Annual Fair)
Parents and kids can look forward to the annual Paris fair (Foire du Trône), which runs through the end of the month and delivers all the traditional fun of a county fair, with Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and cotton candy included.
The Jazz Festival!
and a video:
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11th to 22nd May: Saint-Germain-des-Prés Jazz Festival
This is Paris’ most famous annual jazz festival which is on in the St. Germain district for the 11th year running. Jazz lovers should save a day or two for this fabulous event.
Metro: St. Germain des Prés
19th to 22nd May: Artists’ Open House in Belleville Galleries
This annual event is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to get to know some of Paris’ contemporary artists and their work, with the plus side being you also get a glimpse of Parisian life. Over 200 artists living and working in the Belleville neighbourhood open their doors to show their work, art spaces and Studios every day from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Arts and Exhibits Highlights
Retrospective: Eli Lotar at the Jeu de Paume
Check out Franco-Romanian photographer and filmmaker Eli Lotar — a retrospective is at the Jeu de Paume National Galleries providing a fascinating look at Lotar’s perspectives on the world and his tremendous influence on artistic movements (including modernism).
Dates: 14th February to 28th May, 2017
Where: National Galleries at the Jeu de Paume
Vermeer at the Louvre Museum
This much-awaited exhibition is dedicated both to Vermeer and fellow Dutch masters at the Musee du Louvre and it is highly recommended.
Dates: 22nd February to 22nd May 22nd, 2017
Where: Musee du Louvre
The French Spirit: Countercultures in France, 1969-1989
A recent exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on the spirit of the 1960s drew huge audiences; and now Paris has an exciting retrospective on French counter-cultures from the late 1960s to the late 1980s.
Rock music, photography, paints, posters and multimedia are all part of the many counter-cultural movements which resulted from the May 1968 student rebellion — with similar movements in Berkeley, London and New York. The exhibition is at the Maison Rouge exhibition space which is unfortunately soon set to close.
Dates: February 24th- May 21st, 2017
Where: La Maison Rouge
Did you know Gustave Eiffel did NOT design the Eiffel Tower (la Tour Eiffel)?!
From Travelandleisure.com:
“While Eiffel earned the naming rights for the Tower, it was actually two men who worked for his company—Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier—who drew the original design, according to Live Science. The two engineers teamed up with French architect, Stephen Sauvestre, on the plans for the monument and entered them into a contest to choose the main attraction of the World’s Fair.”
Learning French with Postcards from Paris May 2017
There are some great free videos and courses for learning French!
I use the Duolingo App on my laptop and iPhone every day for 5 minutes, just to keep French in my brain on a daily basis, and I’m amazed at how much this helps!
Here is a video which is very easy to understand:
This one makes it easy to understand as well:
Free Museums to Visit on the First Sunday of each Month
Timeout has a great list of museums to visit where you don’t have to pay an entrance fee on the first Sunday of the month >>
Restaurants, cafes and a sandwich bar I visited in the 11th arrondissement
I hope you enjoyed Postcards from Paris May 2017 today!
Let me know if you have any questions or just want to share some tips about your trip to Paris.
Post a Comment below, or click the little “Say Bonjour!” tab on the right side of the screen, or pop over to the Facebook page — I’d love to hear from you!
Ciao ciao for now,
Teena
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UPDATE 27 Aug 2022 – a Google search shows Le Chat Gourmand – this cute little lunch bar as “permanently closed”.
Don’t despair – thre will be other new places I haven’t had the good fortune to find yet, as I haven’t been in Paris for a few years due to COVID
Today (10 Sept 2015) I popped into a little patisserie/lunch bar in Rue Saint Maur in the 11th arrondissement, which is owned by chef Alain (who loves cats, hence the name “The Greedy Cat” / Le Chat Gourmand).
This is not a café or restaurant – it’s where you can buy sandwiches and tasty treats, then walk to the nearest park and have a picnic :-)
Everything is made fresh by Alain, from baguette sandwiches with delicious fillings, to home-made quiches, fresh salads (carrottes rapées = shredded carrot, epinards – spinach, etc), tasty pasta and much more).
If you’d like your quiche etc heated, not a problem.
The menu is a “Formule” (a “set menu”):
1 x dish, 1 x salad, 1 x dessert or drink = 9,00 €
The prices are very reasonable, the food is fresh and delicious — eat in, or take away — yum!
If you’re in the 11th on or near Rue Saint Maur, do pop in and say Teena sent you :-)
Alain is a charming guy with a great personality, singing along to great songs on the radio, dancing a bit when and if required, always welcomes you with a big smile and a friendly “Hello!” :-)
PS — ask for a Carte de Fidélité (a Loyalty Card) – after 10 purchases you get ONE MEAL FREE!
Cafe/Restaurant: Le Chat Gourmand (The Greedy Cat)
West Country Girl creperie is a local restaurant in Paris
There are so many great eateries in the 11th arrondissement, and I decided to try out this one for dinner.
In a little side street called Passage Saint-Ambroise, this is the only foodie place in the entire street, making it easy to find. The menu is small, but boasts all quality local ingredients, and it looked very warm and inviting.
If you’re nervous about speaking French, don’t be — the servers also speak English :-)
I ordered a mixed salad (which generally means a green salad of lettuces and a dressing) for €3.
For a main course, I decided to try the Champignon, Chevre et ciboulette crepe, which is a Mushroom, creamy Goat’s cheese and chives for around €8.
Normally crepes are served with cider, but this little resto has all kinds of alcohol available. I went with a traditional cider for €3 a glass, which was delicious — the choices were a sweet cider or a very, very dry one. After tasting the dry one, I opted for the more regular sweeter one – t turned out to be an excellent choice.
Everything was tasty, and perfect for a very light meal; you may need a few more crepes to fill you up for dinner :-)
Ambiance was great, lots of laughter from the guests, great music, terrific vibe. If you’re in the area, it’s worth a visit.
In July 2012, we found Les Mandibules restaurant in Paris whilst wandering around the 11th arrondissement, and I really wanted to check it out.
We were there relatively early at 7pm and were the only customers for a short while. The decor was super cool, old album covers, an old portable record player in the front window, Rolling Stones album in prime position. Lost of memorabilia around the place and great music on the sound system set the mood for a great evening.
The Menu at les Mandibules restaurant
offered some delicious options and after choosing champagne as an aperitif, we decided on the duck and salmon for main courses.
Please note that “Entrée” in French is the “starter” course (as it is in many other countries apart from USA).
The duck was served with thinly sliced carrots cooked with cumin, absolutely delicious.
The salmon was servcd with wild rice and looked fantastic.
Our dessert of profiteroles was delicious – a small cup of chocolate was provided to pour over the profiteroles, which immediately hardened and provided plenty of crunch to go with the icecream inside the choux pastry.
If you find yourself anywhere near rue St Maur and rue St Ambroise, check out this delightful restaurant. The Patron was absolutely charming and quite a character, who ensured our visit was fabulous. (View the Where to Eat in Paris page and also the Famous French Food page.)
Prices:
champagne 12,0 euro per glass
entrées / starters 8,0 to 10,0 euro
mains 18,0 to 22,0 euro
desserts 8,0 to 9,0 euro
Map to les Mandibules restaurant
[mappress mapid=”29″]
Les Mandibules
5 rue Guillaume Bertrand 75011 Paris
Finding a traditional French restaurant in Paris is great!
On a drizzly evening when I was looking for something delicious for dinner, I wandered around a little quartier I wasn’t familiar with. There was a Lebanese restaurant and French bistrots, and then nestled – almost hidden – between some shops I found A Deux Pas.
I shook the rain off the umbrella and stepped inside this cute little place. I was disappointed to see “Reservé” (“Reserved”) signs on the tables, but I asked if there was room for one more. When the lady told me that they had one table left I was really pleased, and got settled at the first small table just inside the door on the left.
After reading the menu I could certainly agree that this traditional French restaurant in Paris had some marvellous options, and as soon as I saw “it” I knew what I was going to order.
While I waited to place my order, I took in the cool artwork on the walls, and had a good look around. There were 5 small tables along each of the two available walls, and the whole place was about 10′ or 3 metres wide. Each table could accommodate two people, so a maximum of 20 people in the entire restaurant. At the end of the room was the cash register and an open window into the kitchen where I could see the Chef.
I decided not to have a starter course, as I didn’t want to fill up before my steak with Bernaise sauce arrived (filet de boeuf avec sauce Bernaise is one of my all-time favourites from when I lived in Paris). I asked the delightful owner to recommend a glass of red wine (I think it was Corbierre) and I settled back to savour the thought of my dinner about to be prepared in the kitchen. My tastebuds were salivating with anticipation :-)
The owner returned and placed a gorgeous little bowl in front of me, and said it was a little “amuse bouche” to prepare my mouth for the first course. It was a small amount of soft white cheese, almost like ricotta, with hot bacon pieces sprinkled on top. A drizzle of honey had been added which made this a delicious and very interesting little taste sensation – what a lovely gesture!
When my dinner arrived, it looked absolutely fabulous. And it tasted delicious!
In fact I can remember the taste as I type this … the sign of an excellent meal. The filet de boeuf (fillet of steak) was resting in the centre of a platter, with a small bowl of Sauce Bernaise, and a larger bowl filled with small roasted potatoes drizzled with garlic and onion confit. Oh my! I’m in heaven :-)
The restaurant filled up very quickly with other diners, and I thoroughly enjoyed my little adventure here. I can highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the area.
A Deux Pas
Traditional French restaurant in Paris
55 rue Saint Maur 75011 Paris
Ouvert du mardi au samedi midi et soir le dimanche midi / Open from Tuesday to Saturday lunch & dinner, & Sunday lunch
From Travelandleisure.com:
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