PARIS!

[Rachel Wynn Hill]

I am in Paris for a couple of days – are there any must-sees?  Old and new are welcome.  But I am interested in contemporary stuff primarily.  Suggestions!

[Thomas J. Johnson]

Is this a trick question!?

Start at La Grande Arche at La Defense. There is a metro stop there. Easy to get to.

La Grande Arche is on axis with La Arch du Triumphe. Start walking towards La Arch du Triumphe. This whole area is very modern and you could easily spend days wandering the offshoots of this corridor. One park in the area I highly recommend is Parque Diderot (Intersection of Rue de Strasbourg and Cours Diderot). There are some other great modern parks immediately surrounding Park Diderot, so wear comfortable shoes and have fun exploring!

If you have time, check out
Parque André Citroen
Parc de la Villette
Mitterand National Library

[Rachel Wynn Hill]

Thanks! Great advice!

[Nikolaos Miller]

I really enjoyed the La Defense area; I’ll add Parc du Bercy (right across the Seine from the National Library) to the list of parks to check out. Luxembourg gardens aren’t contemporary, but it was pretty cool seeing how heavily used it was, practically every square foot of sod was covered in picnickers, an art class drawing and parents with their kids.

[Thomas J. Johnson]

+1 for Parc du Bercy. If you make it to the library, you have to check it out.

Nikolaos – You must have gone on the Europe trip with Brad! What a great time! It was so fast, it was a blur. I don’t know the names of half of the places we went but my mental image library runeth over… I wish I could do that every year!

[Dennis J. Jarrard, PLA, CLARB]

You will probably be very disappointed with Parque Andre’ Citroen. I was there at the beginning of September and it has fallen under great disrepair!! There was only one fountain working out of hundreds, all pools were empty, with broken water lines. Two big green houses exhibiting plant cultures from other parts of the world. One of them was completely empty. It is very modern as is this entire area. It might be worth a look just to try and envision the possibilities of what it could be. Have fun in Paris.

[Nikolaos Miller]

Yes I was, this past summer! It would be great to make it back some day, there were so many places i want to see or spend more time at. I’ll have to add Parque Diderot to the bucket list if I make it back.

[Kevin J. Gaughan]

Dennis, it is so sad to hear this. That was going to be my #1 recommendation…I absolutely loved it when I was there back in 2006.

[Jay Ryan Courtney]

I second Niko’s Luxembourg pick. Out of all the places I visited it was the place that the locals seemed to enjoy the most and the place where I felt most inclined to just kick back and hang.

[Brittany Brock Birdsong]

I’m loving this post since I’m currently living in Paris for 4 months! If you’re looking for contemporary, I would check out the Pompidou. If you want I have a great book of descriptions of LA projects made for the LSU field trip a could years ago I can send to you if you message me.

[Dennis J. Jarrard, PLA, CLARB]

My partner insisted we go to this park. He lived in Paris for 5 years while getting his Masters degree. He loved this park and could not wait to show me. He was soooo disappointed with what we found when we got there..

[Dennis J. Jarrard, PLA, CLARB]

I nicknamed Pompidou as the Human Habitrail! But Georges Restaurant at the top is a must!!!

[Trace One]

Monet exhibit gets glowing review – looks like a must-see to me..

ehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/arts/design/05monet.html?_r=1&ref=arts

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