The ParisSharing Blog

Archive for the ‘Uniquely parisian’ Category

Here’s a very sweet scoop for you and your sweetheart, and another reason to choose ParisSharing for your Valentine’s escapade in 2012.  We’ve teamed up with Chloe Chocolat, Paris’ up-and-coming boutique chocolate artisan or chocolatier, to help you melt her (or his) heart.

When you book any stay on ParisSharing from February 1st to 18th, we will offer you a chocolate gift from Chloe. You can also pre-order as much chocolate as you’d like, and it will be ready for you in your apartment or B&B when you arrive.

This is not just any chocolate, and you won’t find it just anywhere. Chloe’s creativity is like that of a chef:  she assembles ingredients to create a new and delicious blend.  She has tasted and analysed the best chocolates in the world, and her talent and intuition have given birth to a small collection of chocolate bars, a personal and secret blend of some of the best chocolates in the world. These chocolates are not available on the market, only directly from Chloe and hand-picked merchants.

Indulge while you’re in Paris ! To benefit from our offer, simply request your Chloe chocolatwhen you book on ParisSharing. If you want to see price information for ordering more, see ChloeChocolat.com.

ParisSharing is all about joie de vivre for your stay in Paris. Chloe Chocolat is all about joy and passion. What more can you ask for your Valentine’s stay in Paris ? When you click on any of the chocolate images below, you’ll see a surprise Valentine’s apartment show up. Which will be yours ?

One last thing: if you are hesitating on Paris for your Valentine’s destination and wondered why it’s universally known as a city for lovers, we actually answered that question last year at this time.  You can refresh your memory here.

La Parisienne par excellence

Those who hold Paris to be the most (or one of the most) beautiful cities in the world usually also consider its women to be among the most attractive (for men) and envied (by women).

Sophisticated or sultry,  stylish and stiletto-heeled, free-minded or frivolous, the Parisienne has maintained her international reputation over the centuries. As recently as three months ago, a collector’s book was published entitled “La Parisienne dans l’art“. Théodore de Banville is cited there as having written in 1876:

“If you want to know how a Parisienne will act in any given situation, imagine just the opposite of what is customary and you will know exactly. You can be sure that she will always behave contrary to popular notions of elegance and intellect”.

What does it mean to be a Parisienne in 2012? Let us unravel her for you, all the way down to her culotte.

As imagined by Yves Saint Laurent, the inventor of the perfume that bears the name Parisienne, her main characteristic is boldness to do as she pleases. In the current advertising campaign (seen below), she is shown in her black trench coach, strutting across the Pont des Invalides in the wee hours, presumably after a steamy night out.  She seems to have misplaced most of her attire, but fortunately only has to walk a short distance before arriving at her Seine-front penthouse.

Parisienne - Ad by Yves Saint-Laurent Perfumes

Along with the trench coach, a slim-fitting black dress is an unconditional part of her wardrobe. According to Inès de la Fressange, muse of Chanel and one of the most emblematic Parisiennes, every parisienne should own at least five variants. In her book, Parisian Chic: A Style Guide she hints on how to dress like a hip Parisienne. The core doctrine is summarized in this slideshow featuring her daughter, Nine d’Urso, as a model.

The most familiar Parisiennes are those we see (over and over again) on the big screen. Remember Juliette Binoche in the Lovers on the Bridge? Or Audrey Tatout as Amélie ? They have the astonishing particularity, like great Bordeaux wines, of becoming more admirable with age.

Actrice parisienne, Audrey Tatout

Actrice parisienne, Juliette Binoche

Now for the unraveling part. What do Parisiennes wear underneath? Aubade is one of the most famous and successful parisienne lingerie brands. Its advertising campagne “Lessons in seduction” is second to none.

Culotte by Germaine des Près, Bed & Breakfast by ParisSharing

But do Parisiennes wear such things on an ordinary Sunday morning?  We recently scouted out a counter-chic underwear brand called Germaine des Près, based as the name suggests in the heart of the ultra-hip St. Germain des Près. Germaine offers a series of lollipop-style cotton culottes, describing them as quintessentially parisienne: delicate with a fighting spirit, fresh, spontaneous, joyous…maybe a bit stubborn and een fierce on occasion.

Perhaps the idea here is that even the most ordinary clothing item, with a just a “touch of Paris”, invites you into a different mode of being.

If  underwear can’t even be ordinary for a Parisienne, are there any ordinary Parisiennes ?  Do they indeed have a certain je ne sais quoi that captures your attention? For ParisSharing, that is the most interesting of questions, since it is mostly Parisiennes who invite you to stay in their homes, either while they are away on vacation or in a bed & breakfast.

Over the course of 2012, ParisSharing will organize a series of interviews with parisiennes with panache who you may well run into while buying your baguette at the local boulangerie. Many of these will be ParisSharing hosts. We will ask them about what they love in Paris, how they think of themselves as Parisiennes, and their favorite places in the city to dine or shop. Read the introduction to these interviews here.

Until we release our first interview, here are some shots of stumbled-upon parisiennes going about their daily affaires. With an eye for detail, you will see that there is something particularly parisienne in each of them.

By j'faisc'quej'veux on Flickr - click to see more

Ultimate chic on a public bike

Was it her shoe?

..that came to hang here?

From feet to the street, from street art to art, this is the story behind the bunches of  talking shoes that currently hang from a cedar of Lebanon in the Jardin des Plantes.

The origins of the hanging shoe phenomenon remain the subject of speculation. Like any social and cultural movement, no one can be exactly sure where it begins and why.

The first hanging Parisian shoe was reported in the Butte aux Cailles neighborhood in the 13th arrondissement. It was a single high-heeled shoe having belonged to a parisienne, perhaps the woman rendered in several works of street art in the same neighborhood. The reasons for which her shoe now hangs gracefully above the street are shrouded in mystery.  Soon after this first shoe, others began to congregate on wires nearby. This second bunch included some men’s sporty models.

What had remained street art took  an officially artistic turn when Malachi Farrell conjured up the bunches of used shoes that now hang in a Paris public park. The work is called “Strange Fruits” and is on display in the Jardin des Plantes as part of Paris’ international contempary art fair (FIAC – Foire Internationale d’Art Contomporain).

The shoes carry on a conversation in the form of a hilarious parody of the Beatle’s song “She Loves You” by Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove. Although the YouTube video clip doesn’t have the best sound, you can hear the audio clearly here.

The “shoe story” is only one of many unique bits of Paris that you can discover thanks to ParisSharing. Through our home sharing approach, we want you to experience Paris in your own, individual way.  Off the beaten path, closer to local culture. Look for your place to stay on ParisSharing today. Come and maybe leave a pair of shoes behind?

If you have visited Paris before and seen the main attractions – Notre Dame, Les Invalides, Louvre and other hotspots – you may be looking for other ways to enjoy this exciting and vibrant city.  Here are ideas for some of the more unusual things to do in Paris.

Guided Tour of L’Opéra Garnier

Be transported back to the luxury and opulence of the Second French Empire in the 19th century when you take a tour of the palatial L’Opéra Garnier. As you go around this sensational building prepare to be blown away by the sumptuousness of the interiors. At every turn, the surfaces are upholstered in velvet, decorated with gold leaf, or embellished with statues.

Highlights include the Grand Escalier (Main Staircase), the great chandelier in the auditorium, and the painted ceiling by Marc Chagall.

Perfume Making Workshop in Paris

One of the most delightful things to do in Paris is to make your own perfume during a special hands-on class! This enjoyable workshop introduces you to the perfume-maker’s skills and secrets. You will also find out about the origins of Eau de Cologne, which may surprise you. Its birthplace is actually Florence and not Paris or indeed Cologne!

Learn to smell and describe the ingredients of an Eau de Cologne and also gain an understanding of the constituents and characteristics belonging to different families of odours.

Horse and Carriage Tour

This is surely one of the most romantic things to do in Paris! Return to the pre-automobile era as you ride in an elegant carriage drawn by magnificent glossy horses. Enjoy the jangle of the harness and the envious stares of the onlookers. And there is need to worry about the weather – there is a covered top in case of rain and plenty of blankets to keep you warm in winter.

Montparnasse Tower

You may have been up the Eiffel tower, but did you know that the views from the soaring Montparnasse Tower (210-meters high) are even more spectacular? From the 56th or 59th floor of Montparnasse Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Paris, you can see for 40km (24 miles). Below you is the busy city with its famous landmarks – Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Sacré Coeur, Musée d’Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe and many more – laid out like a map. The Tower is open every day till late and there is a café on the 56^th floor, where, if the mood takes you, you can sip Champagne while gazing out at a Paris sunset.

Cooking Lesson and Wine and Cheese Tasting

Keen cooks and gourmets looking for things to do in Paris will just love this experience. In a hands-on master-class you can learn to make classic dishes and interact with people who share your passion for French food. You can also enjoy sampling the dishes you have cooked in class as well as tasting some delicious French cheese and wine.

About the author

Guest blogger Vik has been traveling around Europe since 1985, the tip he offers to first time visitors is to opt for skip the queue by booking your Versailles tours online.

Some people think that France, or especially Paris, is a destination that isn’t too kid-friendly.  We even have a friend who passed on a trip to Paris as she didn’t know what she was going do with her young daughter.  Well, we’re here to tell you that Paris is just as much fun for children as for adults – especially if you know where to take them!

Here are 10 fun things to do with your kids while in Paris.  And these are just the tip of the iceberg.

1. Bateau Mouche

-       Boat tour of the Seine, catch boat in front of Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower – the guided tours are offered in multiple languages, and are also available as lunch or dinner cruises

2. Eiffel Tower

-       Beat the lines by buying your tickets in advance online. The Eiffel Tower is open from 9 am until midnight in the summer – there’s also a restaurant on the first floor and a self-guided children’s tour

3. Notre Dame

-       Climb the 380 steps to the top of the bell tower to see the Emmanuel bell and then get an ice cream at Berthillon on the Ile St. Louis

4. Luxembourg Garden

-       Features an enclosed play area for kids ages 2-12 years old  (tickets are aprox. 2€) and a Guignol Theatre, which is a typical French marionette show – take the Metro to RER B Luxembourg

5. Jardins des Plantes

-       Includes not only beautiful gardens and recently renovated Art Décor greenhouses, and for the kids there’s a small zoo and the Natural History Museum

6. Discovery Museum

-       This science discovery museum regularily features hands-on exhibits with explanations in English  and also houses a planetarium

7. Cite de la Science et L’industrie

-       A wonderful kids science museum with a special kids’ discovery section  (must reserve in advance), plus an IMAX/Geode movie theatre

8. Parc d’acclimatation

-       Located in the Bois de Boulogne, the park features a small amusement park and a Guignol Theatre – every inch is filled with activities for kids including shows, farm animals and workshops

9. Bois de Boulogne

-       This lovely forest on the western edge of Paris with row boats, playgrounds and cafes is two and a half times larger than New York’s Central Park

10. Disneyland Paris

-       You may have visited Disney in the US but the Paris version is worth the trip – there’s something familiar yet uniquely French about DisneylandParis that makes it worth the trip

Not only can you enjoy these fun activities with your kids, but you can rent a ParisSharing apartment and feel at home in Paris while doing them.  What are your top things to do with kids in Paris? Let us know on our Facebook page.