Resuming French Life
Rentrée literally means reentry, and that’s just what everyone does in the fall in France. After the lazy days of late summer holidays, the Rentrée is the time to resume work, academia, and the routine. For visitors, this period is a unique and exciting opportunity to observe Paris in her element.
For the back-to-schoolers, there are incredible libraries all throughout Paris and beyond in which to be inspired and motivated. Some are so beautiful or historic that they might even appeal to many non¬-academics out there:
• BIBLIOTHÈQUE STE.-GENEVIÈVE
Open to students, this beautiful and airy library designed by Henri Labrouste features a reading room full of light with a twin vaulted ceiling. Inaugurated in 1851, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève boasts a historic and traditional feeling, especially through its rich dark wood interior. It faces the Church of Ste. Geneviève and Place du Panthéon in the 6th arrondissement. The general collection includes an extensive selection on history texts from the 19th century to today.
10 place du Panthéon
75005 Paris
Tél: +33 (0) 1 44 41 97 97
Métro: Luxembourg
For more information:
www-bsg.univ-paris1
• BIBLIOTHÈQUE MAZARINE
Considered by most to be the most beautiful of Paris’s libraries, this classic and beautifully manicured building sits on the quay of the river Seine across from the Musée de Louvre. A truly regal place, Mazarine is also the oldest library in France, containing a luxurious reading room replete with leather-bound reading tables and abundant Corinthian columns.
23 Quai de Conti
75006 Paris
Tél : +33 (0) 1.44.41.44.06
Métro: Pont Neuf
For more information:
http://www.bpi.fr
• AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS
Nestled just under the Eiffel Tower, this is a small and rather exclusive library that might interest book collectors or others interested in the literary curios that turn up in an American library abroad.
10 rue du Général Camou
75007 Paris
Tél : +33 (0) 1.53.59.12.60
Métro: Ecole Militaire
For more information:
http://www.americanlibraryinparis.org/
These are just some of the notable libraries found in Paris. General information on exhibitions/cultural events in all the libraries of Paris can be found at:
http://www.paris-bibliotheques.org/
A walk through the 5th arrondissement will surely take you past the Sorbonne (Paris IV site) at 1 rue Victor Cousin. As France’s oldest and most famous university, this is truly an educational institution. Be sure to check out the Cour d’honneur, a beautiful and historic pavilion just inside. Métro: Saint-Michel or Odéon
But La Rentrée doesn’t only mean back to school. To observe the buzzing routine of Working France, you can’t beat the Capital. For professionals both in Europe and the world beyond, Paris continues to be a premier business destination. Proof? Here are some professional destinations in and around Paris that are worth a look even on a vacation:
• First, of course, is LA DEFENSE. This soaring tribute to midtown Manhattan, with its skyscrapers and pavilions, crowds and eateries, hosts multitudes of corporate workers each day, almost all of whom commute in from the region in and around Paris. La Défense remains comfortably outside of the actual city zone, but it is still well within reach on the end of the line 1 of the Parisian Métro (the central yellow line). La Défense’s ties to its neighbor Paris are also found in its main architectural emblem, La Grande Arche. This impressive giant white arch, completed in 1989, lines up on the ‘historical axis’ created by L’Arc de Triomphe at Etoile, the Obélisque in the Place de la Concorde, and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the Tuileries Gardens. On a clear day, if you’re in the right spot, you can see all three arches!
• The TOUR MONTPARNASSE (Montparnasse Tower), at the crossroads of the 14th, 15th and 6th arrondissements, serves as the hub for one of Paris’s busiest working quarters. The only veritable skyscraper ever completed inside the city, the Tower stands as a very noticeable part of the Parisian skyline (all the other tall buildings were cleverly tucked away in La Défense). But Montparnasse Tower is not just an office building: accessible and open to the public, it offers a view that can’t be beat either in the tower bar or luxurious restaurant.
• The 13th ARRONDISEMENT, considered by some to be the most versatile of neighborhoods within Paris’s city limits, neatly encapsulates two very different but complementary sides of its host city’s character; the old and the new. Getting off the super-modern, super-fast Metro line 14 at Bibliothèque/Francois Mitterrand, you can find a playground of modern architecture that doesn’t impose on its surroundings and also achieves a certain urban, modern beauty. Find yourself staring up at the book-corner towers of yet another library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, a true architectural wonder. But now you have a sense not only of the students buzzing around (perhaps getting a drink at the Frog and British Library, 114 avenue de France), but also of the professionals, many of them young, on their way to and from work in the area. You remember that you are still in Paris after all, and a short walk in the other direction will bring you to more classic and older Parisian surroundings, most notably in the Buttes aux Cailles (which happens to be another popular hangout for the student set).
• For a more in-depth immersion into the lives and works of French professionals, the Office du Tourisme et des Congrès de Paris in association with Meeting the French offers an incredibly new approach: on-site visits with French artisans, craftsmen and professionals at their places of employment! Discover the crafts and savoir-faire of many French traditions and industries. Share in their passion as you visit Parisians’ offices, laboratories, bakeries, workshops and other locales normally closed to the public! Enjoy a guided visit by a consummate expert who lives what he or she presents. To gain a better view on what is on offer, go to the comprehensive Meeting the Parisians at Work 2006 Program.
For more information and to book/reserve: www.parisinfo.com or www.meetingthefrench.com. Group reservations are possible upon request.
©. Dan Heching
