Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Something for the Weekend (3rd - 5th June)

A long weekend for many Parisians as Thursday is a Public Holiday and Friday becomes a 'pont'. Expect to find the city quieter than usual, but still with plenty of things to do!

Activities


Rendez-vous aux jardins

Across France, 2,200 gardens will be opened up to the public, most offering a special series of events over the weekend. In Paris, the Palais Royal will be home to a 'jardin nourricier' over the period displaying fruits and vegetables, and there will also be rare opportunities to visit the gardens of the Hotel Matignon (Prime Minister's residence) and the mini forest at the heart of the Bibliothèque nationale. For a suggestion outside of Paris, see below.


For the full programme, see the official website: http://www.rendezvousauxjardins.culture.fr/?-Accueil-

Les Nuits Photographiques

Les Nuits Photographiques is a new festival held each Friday evening until June 24th in the wonderful surroundings of the Buttes Chaumont park. Join others at the Pavillon du Lac for a 'before' drink, then - when the sun goes down - enjoy projections of a selection of photo projects from around the world accompanied by DJs and live music.


More details can be found here: http://www.lesnuitsphotographiques.com/site/


Les Musicalles de Bagatelle

Staying on a bucolic theme, but with a rather more sedate event, les Musicalles de Bagatelle is a four-day classical music festival at the Bagatelle gardens in the Bois de Boulogne.

See the full programme here: http://www.fnbp.fr/-Programme-2011-.html


Bar (and Restaurant) of the Week


Le Floreal

A non-descript neighbourghood bar that suddenly became flavour of the month when a new team took over, Le Floreal has reopened this week following extensive renovations. It is much cleaner now with a more defined identity, but will it succeed in bringing back the crowds or have they all moved on elsewhere now? Several people reported that the house burger was one of the best in Paris, which should bring back some of the more curious, but the best looking addition to me is a corner of the bar that sticks right out into the street. Paris's first walk-through bar?


73 rue du Faubourg du Temple
75010, M°Goncourt


Take a Break from Paris

A midsummer night's dream
The Loire valley is an easy trip from Paris, and the Rendez-vous aux jardins event gives you an excellent reason for getting out and exploring. Amongst other locations, the spectacular gardens of the Chatonnerie castle near Tours will be hosting a performance of a Midsummer night's dream on Saturday evening.



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