The Paris Effect
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Press

Green Valium ... Paris Style

12/31/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
Paris --- a destination known for monuments, bright lights and big city glamor.
  But for me, Paris is a metropolis full of quiet places, too, grassy lawns and
welcoming spaces that provide a sympathetic alternative to urban lifestyle.

In a city celebrated for its careful arrangement of beautiful streets and harmonious
dwellings, isn't it nice to discover a surprising oasis of cool and calming green?
  You can take a few minutes to gather your thoughts, check your map or,
better yet, not think about what's around the next bend.
I once read that Paris boasts well over 400 different parks, squares and
small green spaces -- open stretches of green, some large but many small,
including gardens where Parisians and tourists alike can rest their weary bodies and souls.
 
I love these little revelations. 
Even when these small bites of local color are filled to the gills with people,
it often feels like a secret landmark, my own personal souvenir of Paris.

Oh sure, Paris can crow about more than a dozen famous parks,
all of them memorable for different reasons -- from the elegant Luxembourg and
Monceau to the sweeping vistas of Montsouris and the Bois de Boulogne --
you'll find all the right trappings we've come to expect in majestic Paris. 
  You might prefer a more casual and hip Parc de Belleville or Buttes Chaumont,
each with their own special brand of cool.
And of course, there are specialty parks as well.
  If you want a dose of roses, look no further than the Parc de Bagatelle.
  If you desire a more contemporary feel, check out Andre Citroen or Villette.
  The list goes on.....too many to name, we can sing the praises of all of them.
But that's not what I'm here today to talk about.

Today's feature are those out of the way little spots,
the happy surprises that appear out of nowhere. 
I always seem to find one just when I need a break -- my feet hurt or I need to sit
and eat something I've just picked up at the patisserie -- or I just want to gaze
at something green and growing while I count my Paris blessings.


If the legend of 400+ park-like places is true, then I hope one day to find them
  all --- unexpected, enchanting little tastes of the real Paris.

Picture
Sometimes I'm somewhere totally unfamiliar and not sure of what I'm looking at.
  Is the space in the picture above just a pretty part of an apartment complex?
  Or is it a defined city property?

  Wandering around the 18th away from the touristy part of Montmartre, I felt
   a little disoriented once I stepped out of the much traveled streets that surround the butte.
  As I wandered down rue Ordener (or so I think, I was lost), I happened upon
a pretty space surrounded by lovely trees and charming foliage -- including what
looked like the beginnings of a vegetable garden -- and, as always,
welcoming benches much peopled by locals.
  Within minutes after joining the natives, my composure returned and I felt
revived enough to return to my wanderings.

  That's what these small pleasure gardens do.
  Parisians are lucky -- and smart -- to attach such importance to them.
Picture
Picture
All over Paris, you'll find these cheerful, unpretentious gifts of green.
  One particular neighborhood that brims head to toe with such budding bounty is
The Marais, dead center in the middle of the capitol, its medieval streets
untouched by Baron Haussmann's quest for homogeneous perfection.

  The grandeur comes not from coherently straight, majestic streets and monuments.
  Here, Paris uniformity is replaced by quiet pieces of leafy parks,
tidy and tiny, each one more beautiful than the last.

My favorite little Marais park is the Square Georges Cain.
  I could sit on the same bench for a year and be forever content.
It's not the prettiest or the most exciting -- it just sort of defines Paris for me.
  Children quietly playing, mamas taking a time out to breathe in some fresh air,
and folks like me who can't believe such a space exists in the
middle of a very busy world capitol.

The Marais boasts, of course, the justifiably famous Place des Vosges,
the perfect legacy that King Henri IV constructed in the 1600's,
often called the most beautiful square in Paris.
  But beyond that, this neighborhood lays claim to the Jardin Anne Frank,
the Jardin du Clos des Blancs Manteaux, the gardens of the Musee Carnavalet
and the Archives Nationales.  And that's just the short list.
  The Hotel de Sens, the Square du Temple.....well, that's enough for one
day -- especially when you consider
 The Marais only covers two of the twenty
arrondissements in Paris.

  Many guidebooks recommend an (1!) afternoon walking
The Marais on their whirlwind tours of Paris. 
That's so sad.
  I've been walking the streets here for half a lifetime -- and I always discover
something new, starting with these little green spaces.

Picture
Picture
I get a kick out of all the verdant little parks, squares and gardens near
  the acres of flowers and shrubs that make up Parc du Luxembourg in the 6th. 
It's amazing that city planners would go to the effort and expense of creating
swaths of greenery when such a magnificent park is just blocks away.

  Hidden corners that delight -- no museum pass required.
Some do belong to museums -- Musee Zadkine is directly across the street
from Luxembourg (the garden is free to anyone) -- and others belong to the Church -- 
Jardin Catherine Lebouré sprouts a brilliant plant kingdom -- and still others are
  just in the middle of the district for no apparent reason at all -- Place Furstenberg
  exists seemingly just to delight residents of the posh neighborhood.
  The Jardin Marco Polo (part of Jardins de l'Observatoire) is tacked on to
the south end of Luxembourg Gardens -- as if you needed a reminder of
  the birds and the bees and the calm that corrals an addicted tree-hugger like me. 

But then that's Paris, that's what they do so well -- the pieces of love
that make our hearts ache to return again and again.

Picture
Picture
Is your withering traveler's carcass coming back to life yet? 
Yes, that's the reason these plant kingdoms exist.
  Paris seems to understand the human condition, the frailty that
stems from city clutter and busy street chatter. 
Whatever neighborhood you find yourself in, you barely have to open your eyes
to find a favorite refuge, an escape that's as special as any
of the dazzling monuments you'll find in the city.

The Jardin des Poètes is part of the
Jardins des Serres d'Auteuil -- a little poet's corner for lack of a better description.
Or how about the buildings in Paris that are covered in ivy and greenery,
capped off with fantastical roof-top gardens?

  Yes, it's very apparent that Parisians love their green space.
  Many of the universities have parks that boast public art and carefully tended gardens
to keep their young charges motivated to learn (and kiss).
  The Promenade Plantée has justifiably gained prominence with travelers
but have you discovered the Jardins de Tino Rossi yet? 
Seine-side, just a lovely nighttime stroll away from Notre Dame (on the other side of the river), you'll discover a mob of gyrating dancers to warm your heart and feed your soul.
 
Parc Georges Brassens isn't well known but it should be.
  Or a try a quick side trip just outside the boundaries of Paris -- leading
you to the brilliant Jardin Albert Kahn in Boulogne-Billancourt and
a taste of English, French and Japanese style gardens.

Wherever you go, you'll find more park-like spaces in Paris than any other city in Europe.
  If you have an opportunity to visit the Petit Palais, by all means, go to enjoy
the art-nouveau splendor of the building and its amazing collections -- but
don't forget to save enough time to savor its beautiful garden.
  Square René Viviani is a place you'll practically bump into next time you stop
at Shakespeare & Company -- so open your eyes and look for
its claim to fame -- the oldest tree in Paris -- a locust planted in 1601.
  Even Mr. Shakespeare would find inspiration in that.

Picture
Picture
Yep, that's Paris all right -- bubbling over with delightful places to hang your hat.  Neighborhoods breed these community corners -- places like the Square Léon Serpollet -- proudly named for the local inventor of the steam car.
This charming but humble vision is a neighborhood park -- and somehow
just what we need on a hot summer day.

  The Square Maurice Gardette is another such invention, a spot to sit and
contemplate the universe -- or your next marvelous meal.
I think by now you get the picture.

  Paris is a place full of hidden corners that delight all of your senses. 
Trees, flowers, shrubs, benches that look like open books....
  This is how you'll ripen your Paris experience.
  A little tenderness never hurt anyone and that's exactly what we've
come to expect in these verdant petite pieces of heaven.
  A genie in a bottle, a one-key-recovery-button, a prize winning lottery ticket --- that's
how good an hour feels in one of these special Paris places.


Pack your bags and get ready to stay awhile!
Picture
1 Comment
Lori b
1/11/2015 08:38:46 am

Beautiful pics!!!!!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    AUTHOR
    MICHELLE MOGGIO

    Thanks for visiting  my blog!

    I've been experiencing the joys of Paris since the ripe old age of eleven.
    As a big fan of duck fat, raw oysters and bad French movies, my long career in advertising helped pave the way for drinking at lunch. When not living la vie en rose, my husband Gary and I live in Brentwood, TN, where we stay busy planning our next travel adventure and offering unsolicited advice to our daughter.

    Archives

    January 2022
    November 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014


    RSS Feed

    Click below to buy
    The Paris Effect 
    book today
    Enter your email address to receive blog updates -
    Subscribe Now
    Buy Now

    Categories

    All
    100th Blog
    20th Arrondissement
    Abbaye De Fontfroide
    Absinthe
    Academie De La Grande Chaumière
    Adrian Leeds
    Aix-en-Provence
    Albi
    Aligot
    Alsace
    Ambassade D'Auvergne
    Amboise
    American History
    American Revolution
    Amphitheatre
    Antibes
    Apartments
    Aperitif
    April In Paris
    Arc De Triomphe Du Carrousel
    Architecture
    Arena De Nimes
    Ariége
    Armenian Cathedral Of Paris
    Art
    Art Deco
    Artistic Paris
    Artlover
    Art Museum
    Art Nouveau
    Atonement Chapel
    Auray
    Avenue Foch
    Avenue Frochot
    Avignon
    Baccarat
    Baden-Baden
    Baguette
    Basque
    Bastide Village
    Bayeux Tapestry
    B&B
    Benjamin Franklin
    Bénodet
    Bercy Village
    Biarritz
    Biot
    Biot France
    Bistros
    Bois De Vincennes
    Bonbons
    Books Set In France
    Boulangerie
    Brassaï
    Brittany
    Brittany American Cemetery
    Burgundy
    Cagnes-sur-Mer
    Cakes
    Canal Du Midi
    Candy
    Cap D'Antibes
    Caracalla Spa
    Caramels
    Catalan France
    Cathars
    Cathedral
    Cathedrale St-Just
    Cemetière De Passy
    Cemetière Saint-Vincent
    Chantilly
    Chapelle Expiatoire
    Chapelle Saint Vincent De Paul
    #Chapel Of Hospice Saint-Jean
    Charles Aznavour
    Charles Trenet
    Chartreuse Du Val-de-Benediction
    Chateau
    Chateau De Clisson
    Chateau De Foix
    Chateau De Fougeres
    Chateau De Malmaison
    Chateau De Vincennes
    Chateau Grimaldi
    Cheese
    Chinon
    Chocolate
    Choice Vs. Chance
    Christian Constant
    #Church Of Saint-Volusien
    Cimiez
    Cité Des Fleurs
    Cité De Trevise
    Claude Monet
    Clisson
    Cocktail
    Coco Chanel
    Cognac
    Cointreau
    Cole Porter
    Comedie-Francaise
    Cote D'Azur
    Coulon
    Cours Mirabeau
    Cours Saleya
    Coussin De Lyon
    Covid
    Crêpes
    Dessert
    Deyrolle
    Dijon
    Dreams
    Duck-confit
    Eating In France
    Ecole Des Beaux-Arts
    Ed Clark
    Edith-piaf
    Eglise Notre Dame De Clisson
    Eglise Sainte-Trinité
    Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Prés
    Elsa Maxwell
    Entrevaux
    Environmental Challenges
    Eric Kayser
    Espace Dali
    Eugene Delacroix
    Fabergé Museum
    Falling For Paris
    Famous-faces
    Fashion History
    Fauchon
    Fernand Léger
    Fete De La Transhumance
    Fête De Vendanges
    Fete Du Mer
    Fish Specialties
    Foix
    Folies Bergère
    Fontainebleau
    Fontaine Du Palmier
    Food Markets
    Fougeres
    Fragrance
    France
    Francois-premier
    Free Museums
    French Atlantic Coast
    French Bread
    French Cuisine
    French Food
    French History
    French-islands
    French Musee D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris
    French Music
    French Resistence
    French Revolution
    #FrenchRiviera
    French Riviera
    French Slave Trade
    Friedrichsbad Spa
    Fun Fair Museum
    Genevieve De Gaulle-Anthonioz
    Genièvre
    George Sand
    Germaine Tillion
    Germany
    Gertrude Stein
    Gordes
    Grand Mosque Of Paris
    Grand Palais
    Grasse
    Guerande Peninsula
    Guerlain
    Gustave Moreau
    Harvest Festival
    Hassan Hajjaj
    Haut-de-Cagnes
    Healthy Travel
    Hediard
    Henri Le Roux
    Henri Matisse
    Holocaust
    Hometown Memories
    Hotel Belles Rives
    Hôtel De Soubise
    Hotel Dieu
    Hotels
    Ile De Bréhat
    Ile De Ré
    Isadora Duncan
    Janet Flanner
    Jardin Samuel-de-Champlain
    Jay Z
    Jazz A Juan
    Jean Seberg
    Jewelry
    Josephine Baker
    Josephine Bonaparte
    Juan-les-Pins
    Keith Haring
    La Campagne A Paris
    La Couveroitade
    Lafayette
    La Jourrnée San Voiture
    Lalique
    Languedoc
    La Rochelle
    La Verrerie De Biot
    Lavinia Wine Store
    Le Bonbon Au Palais
    Le Bon Georges
    Le Capitole
    Le Carrousel Des Mondes Marins
    Le Clos Lucé
    Le Cochon à L'Oreille
    Le Coq Rico
    Le Croisic
    Legendary Lovers
    Le Grand Véfour
    Le Musée Art Du Chocolat
    Le Musée Montmartre
    Leonardo Da Vinci
    Le Rostand
    Les Cocottes
    Les Fauves
    Les Invalides
    Les Machines De L'Ile
    Les Sept Iles
    Lichtentaler Allee
    Lille
    Lisle-sur-Tarn
    Little Gourmand
    LoireAtlantique
    Loire Atlantique
    Luberon
    Luxembourg Gardens
    Maison Carrée
    Maison Européenne De La Photographie
    Malmaison
    Man Ray
    Marais Poitevin
    Marc Chagall
    Marché Beauvau
    Marché D'Aligre
    Marché President Wilson
    Marché Victor Hugo
    Marie Curie
    Market Street
    Marquis De Lafayette
    Matisse
    Maurice Utrillo
    Medieval Festival
    Medieval France
    Memorial De L'Abolition De L'Esclavage
    Memorial De La Shoah
    MEP
    MFK Fisher
    Minervois Wine
    #ModernArt
    Monolithic Church
    Montmartre
    Montmartre Museum
    Montparnasse
    Montparnasse Cemetery
    Montpellier
    Movies Set In France
    Musee Carnavalet
    Musée De La Chasse Et De La Nature
    Musée De La Vie Romantique
    Musée Des Arts Decoritifs
    Musée Des Arts Forains
    Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Dijon
    Musee D'Orsay
    Musée D'Orsay
    Musee L'Orangerie
    Musée Marc Chagall
    Musee Marmottan Monet
    Musée Matisse Nice
    Musée Picasso
    Musée Yves Saint Laurent
    Museum
    Museum Of Decorative Arts
    Museum Of Hunting & Nature
    Museum Of Modern Art City Of Paris
    Nancy
    Nantes
    Napoleon Bonaparte
    Napoleon III Apartments
    Narbonne
    Nashville
    Natalie Portman
    Nazi Atrocities
    Nice
    Nice France
    Nimes
    Normandy
    Not-far-from-paris
    Not-far-from-paris
    Notre Dame De Lorette
    Notre Dame De Paris
    Occitanie
    #Occitanie
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Opera-garnier
    Operation Dragoon
    Oradoursurglane
    Our Lady Of Paris
    Palais Lascaris
    Palais Royal
    Paloma Beach
    Pancake
    Pancake Pantry
    Pandemic Blues
    Parade
    Parc De Bercy
    Parc Floral
    Paris
    Paris 1968
    Paris Arrondissements
    Paris Art Museum
    Paris Art Schools
    Paris At Home
    Paris Cafes
    Paris Dreams
    Paris Fashion
    Paris Friend
    Paris Markets
    Paris Metro
    Paris Neighborhoods
    Paris Parks
    Paris Patisseries
    Paris Pets
    Paris Predestination
    Paris Retail Therapy
    Paris Travel
    Parks
    Passage Boudin
    Passerelle Simone De Beauvoir
    Pastis
    Patisserie
    Patricia Wells
    Paul Cezanne
    Perfume
    Pernes-les-Fontaines
    Pet Cemeteries
    Petit Palais
    Photography
    Picpus Cemetery
    Pinching Pennies
    Pink Granite Coast
    Place De Furstenberg
    Place De La Concorde
    Place Des Vosges
    Place Masséna
    Place Stanislaus
    Place Vendome
    Ploumanac'h
    Poilane
    Ponr Alexandre III
    Poster Art
    Promenade Des Anglais
    Provence
    #Provence
    Provence Markets
    Puffins
    Pyrenees-Orientales
    Rambouillet
    Raoul Dufy
    Regional Cooking
    Rennes
    Renoir
    Robert Doisneau
    Robert Wuhl
    Roquefort
    Rue Cler
    Rue Cremieux
    Rue De L'Eole Du Medecine
    Rue De Nil
    Rue Dénoyez
    Rue Des Ecoles
    Rue Des Martyrs
    Rue Irenee Blanc
    Rue Jules Siegfried
    Ruelle Des Chats
    Rue Montorgeuil
    Ruth
    Saintdenis
    Saint-Emilion
    Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
    Saint-Etienne-du-Mont
    Sainteustache
    Saint-Goustan
    Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert
    Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
    Saint-Malo
    Saint-Medard Church
    Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
    Saint-Remy-de-Provence
    Saint-Vincent Cemetery
    Salvadore Dali
    Sculpture
    Senlis
    Serendipity
    Shopping
    Sliceoflife
    Slice Of Life
    Small Paris Pleasures
    Small Town Saturday Night
    Social Media
    So-Pi
    Springtime In Paris
    Square Des Peupliers
    Square Montsouris
    St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral
    Street Food
    Surrealism
    Suzanne Valadon
    Suzy Solidor
    Sylvia Beach
    Taxidermy
    Texas
    The Avignon Papacy
    The-dreyfus-affair
    The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
    The Louvre
    The Moose
    The National Archives
    The Pantheon
    The-paris-effect
    The Pink City
    Toulouse
    Toulouse-Lautrec
    Tourrettes-sur-Loup
    Travel
    Travel Advice
    Travel Planning
    Trentemoult
    Troyes
    U.N. World Climate Conference
    Urban Art
    Uzès
    Vacation
    Vacation Planning Food
    Vel D'Hiver
    Vichy
    Vieille Bourse
    Vieux Nice
    Villa Eilenroc
    Villefranche-de-Conflent
    Villeneuve-les-Avignon
    Vincent Van Gogh
    Walking
    Walking Paris
    Willi Ronis
    Wine
    Wine Festival
    WWII
    #WWII France
    WWII Paris
    WWII Provence
    Yachts
    Yves Saint Laurent

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.