What’s your favourite Paris street?
Mine are rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement, rue Montorgueil in the 2nd, and rue des Abbesses in the 18th.
At a push, I’d include Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île in the 4th, though in reality I like the whole island, not just its main street.
But what’s the point of listing out street names when I can take you for a virtual walk along each of them? Well, this week I released four brand new YouTube videos with strolls down them all.
I’ve embedded them below with a few explanations.
1. Rue Cler
I used to live right by this market street. My son went to nursery at the far end of it, so I walked up and down rue Cler at least twice a day for a year. Many people say it’s too touristy but I disagree, I think it has a definite local vibe too!
This video features a recent walk down the street. The audio you'll hear is from February 2023, with my wife Lina as the special guest.
The video is below, but you can see and hear more about this street, including some beautiful pictures, via my website here.
2. Rue Montorgueil
This market street in central Paris was the backdrop of my first two years in Paris. I still love it, even though I’m not a local anymore. Full of action, tastes, smells, and exceptional people watching.
The video below is a recent walk down the street, paired with audio my podcast episode from February 2023, with guest Veronique Savoye (from France with Véro).
You can see and hear more about this episode and this street, including some beautiful pictures, via my website here.
3. The Ile Saint-Louis
There’s just something special about the Ile Saint-Louis. The Paris of your dreams, surrounded by the Seine, and with elegance on every corner.
Below is another new video, with the audio from an Earful Tower podcast episode from August, 2023.
You can see and hear more about this island, including some beautiful pictures, via my website here.
4. Rue des Abbesses
And finally, here’s the newest video, I literally just pressed publish. This walk includes the audio from a 2019 podcast, again featuring my wife Lina.
I’ve always loved this Montmartre street, but mostly because we lived right next door for two years. I had the fortune of seeing it as a local, befriending the vendors, and seeing it change with the seasons. Video below, more pictures and thoughts on my blog here.
Well, what do you make of all that?
The idea was to bring life my older podcast episodes, which I don’t think should just gather dust in the archives. But it’s also about bringing some exciting new action to my YouTube channel.
I would really like to put future pod episodes on YouTube, but also some more from the archives. I think the CountDown season would be a perfect match for videos, for example (that was when we spent 24 hours in each arrondissement and shared what we found).
Personally, I’ve found it really exciting to see your comments on the videos. One of the biggest shames about podcasts is that there isn’t a comments section for people to leave their thoughts, so I don’t get much feedback. But on YouTube, it’s right there and everyone knows how it works.
I’ll happily make more videos if you keep watching them! I even added those four videos to a playlist above, check it out. Maybe I’ll add more to it!
The French Revolution
And now for something completely different.
If the words “French Revolution” seem daunting to you, then you’re not alone.
It would take a whole series of podcast episodes to truly understand it all – and luckily for us – podcaster Mike Duncan has done exactly that. His Revolutions Podcast is world renowned.
And in this week’s episode of The Earful Tower, he breaks down the French Revolution to its simplest essence. You could call it “The French Revolution For Idiots”, where I, your humble host, played the part of the idiot and asked all the questions you are too shy to ask.
As for Mike, a self-confessed “complete history geek”, you can find more of his work via his Twitter page here. This episode was first aired on The Earful Tower in 2019, but given it’s about events from 200+ years ago, that doesn’t matter so much.
Do some cooking in Paris!
If you’ve been listening to the pod, you’ll have heard the new sponsor is CooknWithClass, a Paris cooking school that offers excellent courses. I’m planning to take one of their macaron-making classes soon, why not do the same? Please book using this link - it will be the same price for you, but they’ll know I sent you!
Ok, that’s enough from me. Thanks to all the Patreon and Substack members for keeping this show rolling along.
Have a lovely weekend,
Oliver
Thank you, Oliver. Your livestreams of Rue Cler, Rue Montorgueil, l’Ile St. Louis were magic, “just like being there” experiences. I’ll happily watch them again and again. Please keep making those videos of Paris, a Paris that you know by now like the back of your hand. When I was teaching French, students could choose from topics such as the following for their presentations/travel show stands/projects:
1. Paris by Night
2. Modern Paris
3. The Paris of Balzac, Baudelaire, Hugo, Maupassant, Dumas, Fitzgerald, Colette, Toulouse Lautrec, Degas, Monet, or any artistic/literary figure of their choosing.
4. Revolutionary Paris
5. Medieval Paris
4. Paris Gallo-Romain
5. Paris 16e Siècle, 17e, or 18e siècle
6. Gastronomic Paris
7. Le Paris de la Haute Couture
8. Les Jardins de Paris
9. Green Paris
10. Paris et Les Arts Décoratifs
11. Les Grands Magasins a Paris
12. Equestrian Paris
13. Le Sport à Paris
14. Paris des Enfants
15. Les Fêtes de Fin d’Année
16. Etc., Etc., Etc.!
Paris is inexhaustible! Please keep bringing it to us in the USA through your videos!
One Million Thank Yous!
Laura Bodin
Thanks for the tip on the Revolutions Podcast. Favourite street in Paris? Rue Vieille-du-Temple.