Activities Round Up For Paris
The months of September, October, November and December are my favorite months to be in Paris and the best times to visit Paris. Pourquoi, you ask? Four main reasons: the weather, particularly in Sept. and Oct., is usually great, number of tourists has thinned out, prices on hotels and flights are usually reduced, and there are so many great things to do during this time of year.
So tuck this away for next year’s trip planning and read on for our fav fall/winter things…
NUIT BLANCHE: How fantastic of the French to create and name a
major cultural event after my company name (wink)! France started this
popular venue in 2002, and since then, many international cities have
adopted a similar event. This year, my friends and I prowled the
streets of Paris all night long and experienced so many fantastic,
unique things that I couldn’t even begin to describe it all. Except for
one special highlight: we stumbled on a huge community outdoor garden
inside a private courtyard, complete with long tables and intimate
seating areas spread throughout and lit with fairy lights and
chandeliers in all the plants and trees and pathways, a beer garden,
lounge music/videos, and a Moroccan-style hash and tobacco den
featuring huge lounging pillows and giant bongs. We also took in
concerts, film festivals, art, photography and multi-media
installations and every other conceivable form of entertainment and
culture. In Paris, Nuit Blanche occurs on the first Saturday in
October. http://www.nb2006.paris.fr/.
FêTE DES VENDANGES DE MONTMARTRE: Celebrated during the second weekend
in October, this is when the grapes are harvested from the vines in
Montmartre. Now, there is just one vineyard left near Lapin Agile, at
the corner of the Rue des Saules and the Rue Saint-Vincent. Although
the few hundred bottles of wine produced largely suck in taste, it’s
still fun to attend the parade and all sorts of other activities going
on here for the festival. http://www.fetedesvendangesdemontmartre.com/.
BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU: Beaujolais Nouveau comes at the strike of midnight
on the third Thursday in November. In Paris, everyone heads out to
their local cafe, resto or wine store to celebrate the newest wine
offerings, made famous worldwide by the brilliant marketing strategies
of Georges Duboeuf. Beaujolais Nouveau is about as close to white wine
as a red wine can get, mainly due to the way it is made. It’s an easy
to drink, fruity wine that tastes best chilled. It also makes a great
transitional wine for anyone wanting to move from white to red wines.
Wine snobs can just enjoy it for what it is, rather than critique it.
Personally, I had some great ones this year.
LE GRAND TASTING: A brand new event introduced this year, this venue
gets added as a permanent ‘must-do’ on my list. Held on Nov. 24 &
25, 2006 at the prestigious Carrousel du Louvre at the Louvre Museum,
the 30 Euro admission gets you unlimited tastings at 200 stalls,
featuring over 1,500 different wines and champagnes, the majority of
which are from France. If anyone is still in doubt that the French are
the wine gods of the world, this venue should permanently pop their
corks! A top sommelier from a local Parisian cooking school took us
under his wing, and further helped with our wine education. Most
pointedly, he informed us what the big rubber funnel-looking things
were for: you DON’T actually drink ALL of the wine that is poured,
ladies, you swirl it around in your mouth and then spit it out. OH,
REALLY? Also held during this weekend, is the gigantic Salon des Vins
des Vignerons Independents at Porte de Versailles. After both of these
events, there is a particularly jovial atmosphere in the metro, with
many people transporting huge rolling cases full of wine home and
imparting their newfound wine knowledge.
NOËL À PARIS: The City of Light shines it's most brilliantly during the
Christmas season, which seems to start in early November. Fav dazzlers:
Galeries Lafayette/Printemps, Rue Mouffetard, Champs-Elysees, Noël à
Levallois (go on the swishy metro line 3 to the upper-class banlieue at
metro stop Anatole France. This whole area is lit up for blocks and
blocks: most spectacular is the magnificent Mairie de Levallois which
has a great Christmas market and a huge patinoire (ice-skating rink)
close by.
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Karen Henrich spends her time between Paris and Vancouver, running a
tour company (www.NuitBlancheTours.com) and writing about joie de
vivre. She is constantly on the look-out for cool Parisian sites to see
and memorable experiences to be had. She also practices the fine art of
finding ways to creatively stretch her tragically low Canadian dollars
when in Europe. Her exciting new ‘novelettes’ about Paris can be
purchased online by visiting the eBooks section of her website/blog.
