Event overview
020 7919 7390/7016
Organised by the Centre for Urban and Community Research, this guided walk will take place on 4th and 5th June 2011. Walk led by Peter Coles. Accompanied by Caroline Knowles and Paul Halliday
Parisians can become very attached to their neighbourhoods (quartiers). So much so that the city is often experienced as an archipelago, a string of islands arranged in a snail-shell spiral, formed by the twenty ‘arrondissements’, or administrative districts. Indeed, many street orientation maps only show the arrondissement that the map is in, as if it were an island, divorced from streets in the adjacent arrondissements, even if they are just a few steps away. Yet the compactness of the city within the ‘péripherique’ (ring road) invites the curious explorer to wander on foot, exploring the quality of the light, sounds and smells, the juxtapositions of old and new, wealth and poverty, wide pavements and café terraces, technocratic innovations that come and go – and pronounced variations in ethnic mix, with shops, restaurants, markets and places of worship catering for communities as far apart as South-east Asia, North and West Africa, as well as Sephardic Jews from Tunisia... And, across the péripherique, the ‘banlieus’ (suburbs), with their high-rise social housing (cités), as well as their sedate detached houses, chateaux, parks and woodlands…
The first day’s guided walk invites a slow-paced exploration of these subtle variations, often passed unperceived by the tourist on a short visit. It will follow the Number 96 bus route, from the terminus at Montparnasse station, through the up-market shops of the Left Bank, across the Seine and into the Marais – the medieval district of mansion houses, now turned into flats, bakeries that now sell shoes – and into the more bohemian 11th and 20th arrondissements. The walk ends by climbing the steep rue de Ménilmontant, with its multicultural mix of North African and Asian communities, as well as chic bars and artists’ studios, to the bus terminus. This is an all-day walk, with plenty of time to stop for drinks, snacks and lunch. The walk ends by taking the bus back to Montparnasse, watching it slowly fill and empty with people of different social and ethnic backgrounds.
The second day will allow participants to explore the city on their own, possibly inspired by the first day’s walk, and informed by an introductory presentation before setting off, which outlines some of the historical, current, topographical and social characteristics of different areas of the city, as well as the work of photographers and writers who have walked these streets before them.
Logistics
You will need to make your own travel and accommodation arrangements. We will travel on an early Eurostar train from Kings Cross on Saturday 4th June. Early Eurostar booking is advised to get the best rates. Booking for this period opens in February. Attached are some links to hostels you might like to stay in. There are many others. Again, early reservation is advised.
http://www.hostels.com/paris/france
http://www.luckyyouth.com/price.html
Dates & times
Date | Time | Add to calendar |
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4 Jun 2011 | 9:00am - 9:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.