March 2015 ~ Invisible Paris

The Morrison Hotel Mystery

The death of Jim Morrison is not the only mystery in the Rue Beautreillis. On this street where the leader of The Doors spent the last few months of his life and where he (probably) died, another door stands curiously alone. But what is it?

The last bastion standing

Today only one significant element of the city’s 19th century fortifications remains standing. Where is the Bastion n°1 and what purpose does it serve today?

The World's Oldest Surviving Basketball Court

How did a game invented by the YMCA in America cross the Atlantic in the late 19th century, and why has this Paris court survived so long?

The Longest Street in Paris

An attempt to find the soul of the city's longest thoroughfare.

Belgium by the Seine

A trip to Elisabethville on the trace of old postcard locations leads me to abandoned beach resorts and experimental 1950s architecture.

Saturday, 21 March 2015

Tracking Charles de Gaulle in Petit Clamart

Given the ubiquitous nature of the name today – on airports and train stations, avenues and public buildings – it may be assumed that Charles de Gaulle was universally popular in France. And yet during his time as President, he was the target of over 30 assassination attempts. Most schemes barely got off the drawing board, but one came within centimetres of success. Finding myself close by to the scene of that attempt, I went in search of those significant centimetres.

Mystery Visits in the Paris suburbs

Last week I was invited to take part in the first of the ‘visites mystères’ organised by the tourism office of the Seine Saint-Denis department to the north-east of Paris. Although the clue given beforehand was short on mystery, the tour that followed – of the Saint Denis basilica - was an exceptional opportunity to discover the unknown and unseen.

The visit organised in Saint Denis on a Friday evening promised ‘contact avec les âmes millénaires qui peuplent ce royaume’ (contact with thousand-year old souls who people this kingdom). This could describe only one location – the Saint Denis basilica – the ancient resting place of the French royal family, and it was no surprise when we were led in that direction.