Late this afternoon I took a long walk to the northern edge of Paris. After yesterday, when I found myself amid throngs of tourists in the Marais, I felt the need to get out and away from all that.
I didn't get out until about 4:15, which, these days, is dusk, but sometimes the lights and colors are worth a walk in the dark. I headed up to the top of my street, Rue du Faubourg St. Denis and took a left on the Boulevard de Magenta. This took me past the Gare du Nord and up toward the Porte de Clingancourt. The Boulevard de Magenta is a 'grand boulevard' and at this time of day it was relatively quiet. From my street up to Barbes Rouchechouart the shops are mainly clothing: shoe shops, discount clothiers and close to Barbes, mostly wedding boutiques.
At Barbes Rochechouart there is a clothing store, Tati, that is, a 'grand magazin' for what we might call the regular folks. This part of town is populated mostly by Africans, and the further north one goes, the faces on the street are increasingly black. Unlike the grands magazins of the Boulevard Haussmann, where are the tourists go, this is a place for low cost clothing and shoes. The Metro runs above ground here, so I passed under it and headed north on the Boulevard Barbes. This street is wide and the crowds picked up here. For the most part, the shops are phone stores and more discount clothiers. At the Rue Ornano, I headed left, still going north to the Porte de Clingancourt.
Just north of the Porte is the Marche aux Puces (flea market) to which I have been a few times, both when I lived here and when I visited with Valery and Maddie in 2012. By the time I got there, it was really starting to get dark, so I turned right and headed up toward the Porte de La Chappelle. This was a long leg, and completely empty--I was the only one walking on the rue Belliard.
I turned right, back toward the center of Paris on the Rue des Poissionnieres, which runs all the way back down to Barbes. At first, it was a solitary walk, but after crossing the Rue Ordener again, it got narrower and much more crowded.
This part of town is almost exclusively black. In fact, I was the only white person I saw for a long time. At this time of the evening the street was thronged with shoppers, and the shops were all small food stores featuring mostly African and Haitian goods. There were a lot of clothing stores, shoe shops and a many small African boutiques, featuring brightly colored dresses, scarves and hats. Small hotels, restaurants with fogged up windows and tiny cafes line the street.
By the time I got back on Barbes, the street was completely crowded with shoppers and families out for a walk. Again, I was the only white face in the crowd. At Barbes Rouchechouart the intersection was so crowded that it was difficult to thread my way through, but soon enough I was back on Magenta and down past the Gare du Nord and home to Faubourg St. Denis.
This only took about an hour and a half, but it was fascinating, a reminder that Paris is full of much more than tourists. It was a relief to see real people going about their lives in a way that has been going on for centuries. One of the things I wanted to experience here was the 'real' Paris, and today, I got a wonderful dose of just that. I will start going out to the edges more often--perhaps I can make a full tour of the city from the 'outside' in the coming weeks, in spite of the cold and dark.
I didn't get out until about 4:15, which, these days, is dusk, but sometimes the lights and colors are worth a walk in the dark. I headed up to the top of my street, Rue du Faubourg St. Denis and took a left on the Boulevard de Magenta. This took me past the Gare du Nord and up toward the Porte de Clingancourt. The Boulevard de Magenta is a 'grand boulevard' and at this time of day it was relatively quiet. From my street up to Barbes Rouchechouart the shops are mainly clothing: shoe shops, discount clothiers and close to Barbes, mostly wedding boutiques.
At Barbes Rochechouart there is a clothing store, Tati, that is, a 'grand magazin' for what we might call the regular folks. This part of town is populated mostly by Africans, and the further north one goes, the faces on the street are increasingly black. Unlike the grands magazins of the Boulevard Haussmann, where are the tourists go, this is a place for low cost clothing and shoes. The Metro runs above ground here, so I passed under it and headed north on the Boulevard Barbes. This street is wide and the crowds picked up here. For the most part, the shops are phone stores and more discount clothiers. At the Rue Ornano, I headed left, still going north to the Porte de Clingancourt.
Just north of the Porte is the Marche aux Puces (flea market) to which I have been a few times, both when I lived here and when I visited with Valery and Maddie in 2012. By the time I got there, it was really starting to get dark, so I turned right and headed up toward the Porte de La Chappelle. This was a long leg, and completely empty--I was the only one walking on the rue Belliard.
I turned right, back toward the center of Paris on the Rue des Poissionnieres, which runs all the way back down to Barbes. At first, it was a solitary walk, but after crossing the Rue Ordener again, it got narrower and much more crowded.
This part of town is almost exclusively black. In fact, I was the only white person I saw for a long time. At this time of the evening the street was thronged with shoppers, and the shops were all small food stores featuring mostly African and Haitian goods. There were a lot of clothing stores, shoe shops and a many small African boutiques, featuring brightly colored dresses, scarves and hats. Small hotels, restaurants with fogged up windows and tiny cafes line the street.
By the time I got back on Barbes, the street was completely crowded with shoppers and families out for a walk. Again, I was the only white face in the crowd. At Barbes Rouchechouart the intersection was so crowded that it was difficult to thread my way through, but soon enough I was back on Magenta and down past the Gare du Nord and home to Faubourg St. Denis.
This only took about an hour and a half, but it was fascinating, a reminder that Paris is full of much more than tourists. It was a relief to see real people going about their lives in a way that has been going on for centuries. One of the things I wanted to experience here was the 'real' Paris, and today, I got a wonderful dose of just that. I will start going out to the edges more often--perhaps I can make a full tour of the city from the 'outside' in the coming weeks, in spite of the cold and dark.
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