Chopin’s First House in Paris on Boulevard Poissonnière
Chopin wrote of his 5th floor walkup, "You won't believe how nicely I live...many envy my view, but not the stairs"
Music
Bimbo Tower Record Store, for lovers of Coldwave, electronica and avant-garde
A hole-in-the wall record shop for lovers of that hard to find vinyl.
Ephemeral Street Art – Le Mur (“The Wall”)
A billboard devoted to urban art that rotates every two weeks!
La Gaîté Lyrique: Concert Venue Review
See electronic arts and hear modern music in a building that dates back to 1862.
INSIDE THE GRAND PALAIS for “LA NUIT DE L’ELECTRO”
It's not just the re-purposing of historical architecture that's important about this gesture, it's the concomitant recognition and elevation of the electro movement amongst the venerated art pieces exhibited inside. Still however, there was an element of lo-brow mixed in...
Dinner and Drinks Along Père Lachaise
Untapped went on a Père Lachaise adventure, beginning at the Philippe Starck-designed hotel and bar, Mama Shelter in the 20th arrondisement, situated across from music venue La Fleche D'or. It has some of the best cocktails in town and with rooms running at around 110 euros per night, it's my top recommendation for hotels in Paris.
CONCERTS at PARC DE LA VILLETTE
The Parc de la Villette is the largest landscaped park in Paris. Designed by Bernard Tschumi, the park is home to numerous concert halls. This summer I checked out the National, Pavement, Fanfarlo, Temper Trap and Plastikman.
La Flèche d’Or: Frightened Rabbit Show
I love this music venue--it's small which means you can get really close to the bands, there's always a great lineup of bands from all-over the world, it's perched atop an old railroad track and it's in a hip area of town in the 20th arrondisement, next to Père Lachaise.
RUE DE ROME: Luthier Row
I recently needed to rent a cello to play with the Brooklyn-based band, Laura Stevenson and the Cans on their European tour. Music stores tend to cluster together in cities. A Googlemap search of "luthier" in Paris shows just how many there are, completely overlapping on the map.
