Parisians are almost as passionate about their culture as they are about their restaurants. The French government takes art and culture very seriously, pumping money into the arts, supporting French cinema against Hollywood imports, and embarking on extravagant
grands travaux (large projects), such as the
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, quai François-Mauriac (tel: (01) 5379 5959;
www.bnf.fr). The
Opéra Bastille (see
Music below) opened in 1989, on the bicentennial of Bastille Day,
although the merit of its architecture and the quality of its productions have since been questioned.
Major venues, in addition to those detailed below, include the
Palais des Congrès, 2 place de la Porte-Maillot, 17th (tel: (01) 4068 0005;
www.palaisdescongres-paris.com), for opera, ballet and pop-star performances, and the enormous
Palais des Sports, Porte de Versailles, 15th (tel: (01) 4828 4010;
www.palaisdessports.com).
Tickets for concerts of all kinds can be purchased at
FNAC Forum des Halles, 1 rue Pierre Lescot, 1st (tel: (01) 4041 4000;
www.fnac.com), or
FNAC Musique, 2 rue Charenton, 12th (tel: (01) 4342 0404). There is also the
Carrousel du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, 1st (tel: (01) 4316 4747
or 7272 1700;
www.carrouseldulouvre.fr), located directly beneath the Louvre, or
Virgin Megastore, 52 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th (tel: (01) 4953 5000;
www.virginmega.fr). How ever long the queue, ticket touts at the Opéra and concert venues are to be avoided due to high prices and the prevalence of worthless fake tickets.
Music: The
Paris Opéra (tel: 0892 899 090;
www.opera-de-paris.fr) performs ballet and opera at the
Opéra Garnier, place de l'Opéra, 9th, and
Opéra Bastille, place de la Bastille, 12th. Large opera productions are also performed at the
Châtelet Théâtre Musical de Paris, 1 place du Châtelet, 1st (tel: (01) 4028 2840;
www.chatelet-theater.com). The varied program at the
Cité de la Musique, at La Villette (
www.cite-musique.fr), is strongest in contemporary music and home to the internationally renowned
Ensemble Intercontemporain (
www.ensembleinter.com). It also features ancient music, jazz, chansons and world music. The Cité
has an important venue at the
Conservatoire National de Musique, 209 avenue Jean Jaurès, 19th (tel: (01) 4040 4545;
www.cnsmdp.fr).
A series of orchestras, including the
Orchestre Colonne (
www.orchestrecolonne.fr),
Orchestre Lamoureux (
www.orchestrelamoureux.com) and
Orchestre de Paris (
www.orchestredeparis.com) are based at
Salle Pleyel, 252 rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, 8th (tel: (01) 4561 5300). Other prestigious venues for classical music include the
Salle Gaveau, 45 rue de la Boétie, 8th (tel: (01) 4953 0507),
Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 15 avenue Montaigne, 8th (tel: (01) 4952 5050;
www.theaterchampselysees.fr), and the
Théâtre Musical de Paris, 1 place du Châtelet, 1st (tel: (01) 4028 2840;
www.chatelet-theater.com).
Theater: The
Comédie Française, 1 place de Colette, 1st (tel: (01) 4458 1515;
www.comedie-francaise.fr), is the national theater, renowned for its production of the classics.
Théâtre National de la Colline, 15 rue Malte-Brun, 20th (tel: (01) 4462 5252;
www.colline.fr), plays contemporary French drama. New talent is sought out at fringe theaters, such as
Guichet-Montparnasse, 15 rue du Maine, 14th (tel: (01) 4327 8861;
www.guichetmontparnasse.com) and the
Bouffes du Nord, 37 bis boulevard de la Chapelle, 10th (tel: (01) 4607 3450;
www.bouffesdunord.com). The
Odéon, 1 place de l'Odéon, 6th (tel: (01) 4485 4000;
www.theater-odeon.fr), hosts foreign-language productions.
Dance: The main ballet venue is at the
Opéra Garnier (see
Music above). Major productions are also held at the prestigious
Théâtre de la Ville, 2 place du Châtelet, 4th (tel: (01) 4274 2277;
www.theaterdelaville-paris.com), where the works of high-profile choreographers, such as Karine Saporta, Maguy Marin and Pina Bausch, are frequently shown. The theater has another venue,
Les Abbesses, with the same contact details at 31 rue des Abbesses, 18th. The
Théâtre Musical de Paris (see
Music above) hosts ballet companies from abroad.
Film: The first public film screening ever (‘
Le train entrant en gare') was shown by the Lumière brothers in Paris in 1895. Today, Paris remains an important cinema capital - in any given week, over 300 films are shown. Hundreds of movies have been shot in Paris since then, but the most recent one to cause a stir was
The Da Vinci Code (2006), starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou, in which the Louvre features prominently. The scenes of the interior of the Ritz, incidentally, were filmed in a mock up room in a UK studio, with all the furnishings brought in from Paris). There is no English-language cinema in the city; however, most films are shown in the original language, with French subtitles. UGC have a major presence in Paris with the city's largest (18-screen) cinema
UGC Ciné Cité Bercy, 2 cours St-Emilion, 12th (tel: 0892 700 000). There is also a 16-screen
UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, place de la Rotonde, Nouveau Forum des Halles, 1st (tel: 0892 700 000). Although the multiscreen UGCs
and Gaumonts
are on the increase (many based on the Champs-Elysées and in Montparnasse), Paris is still teeming with small art house cinemas, clustered in the 5th and 6th
arrondissements. Among these are
Le Champo, 51 rue des Ecoles, 5th (tel: (01) 4354 5160;
www.lechampo.com), near the Sorbonne, and
Racine Odéon, 6 rue de l'Ecole-de-Médecine, 6th (tel: 0892 689 325), known for its all-night showings. Some cinemas are worth seeing just for their decor - one such is kitsch
Le Grand Rex, 1 boulevard Poissonnière, 2nd (tel: (01) 4508 9358;
www.legrandrex.com).
Amélie or
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (of
Delicatessen (1991) fame) and
Moulin Rouge (2001), directed by Baz Luhrmann, were both set in Montmartre and took box offices worldwide by storm.
Paris, je t'aime (2006) is a filmic tour of the city, consisting of 18 short films of the capital's 20 arrondissements. A stellar cast including Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Portman and Marianne Faithfull worked with celebrated directors such as Gus Van Sant and the Coen brothers.
Literary Notes: The written word and those uttered during long cafe discussions on the Left Bank have done much to create the mythical Paris that visitors still hunt out today.
Victor Hugo's historical novel
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) is set in 15th-century Paris and his
Les Misérables (1862) in the poverty-stricken Parisian underworld. Ernest Hemingway's
A Moveable Feast (1964) depicts the bohemian Paris of the inter-war years. Henry Miller's
Tropic of Cancer (1934) and
Tropic of Capricorn (1939) portray a sexier city. A more reflective image is portrayed in Anais Nin's interlocking works. For Nin, Paris allows the development of her sexuality and (perceived as equally sinful) creativity. George Orwell describes the poverty of the 1920s in
Down and Out in Paris and London (1933).
Traces of literary heroes and heroines and their fictional creations are sought throughout the city - in the lingering smoke of the
Café de Flore and
Les Deux Magots, boulevard St-Germain, 6th, where the existential discussions between Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir used to rage. James Joyce used to drink at chic
Le Fouquet's, 99 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th, while such luminaries as Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Oscar Wilde frequented
Le Procope, 13 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, 6th. Ernest Hemingway dined at the
La Cloiserie des Lilas, 171 boulevard du Montparnasse, 6th, still popular with the publishing world, and Samuel Beckett's favorite haunt was
Le Select, 99 boulevard du Montparnasse, 6th.
The place of literary pilgrimage
par excellence is the
Père Lachaise Cemetery, presumed resting place of medieval lovers Abélard and Héloïse. They lie in good company, along with the great 17th-century playwright Molière and fable-teller La Fontaine, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Champollion, Delacroix, Ingres, Géricault, Bizet, Balzac, Proust, Colette and Edith Piaf. Contemporary poet, singer and icon Jim Morrison was famously buried here in 1971. Heather Reyes'
Zade (2004) is set in Père Lachaise. Ellie Nielsen's
Our Own Piece of Paris (2008) is a light-hearted account of a couple's attempt to buy the type of idyllic Parisian apartment so many visitors dream of owning in only two weeks.
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