Le Train Jaune, The Little Yellow Train by Eurostar

If you fancy a day trip from Perpignan you could take the open top Train Jaune up into the Pyrenees and enjoy the stunning views and the fresh, pine-scented, mountain air.

The Cerdagne line, better known as “Le Train Jaune (El Tren Groc)” owing to the livery applied on its rolling-stock, was opened in stages by Compagnie du Midi from 1910 until 1927.
Under the Nationalisation Act 1937, SNCF took this line over on 01/01/1938. Operation remains entrusted to SNCF, with regional passenger services part of the TER Languedoc-Roussillon network. Freight traffic ceased in 1974. Infrastructure passed to RFF in 1997.
This line features steep gradients (up to 6%) and tight curves, while it serves the highest station in France (Bolquère-Eyne, 1592m). Long-term projects include a diversion through the Spanish enclave of Llívia and to Puigcerdà (Spain), along with an extension to La Seu d’Urgell (Spain) and possibly Andorra-la-Vella (Andorra).

Pyrenees (Petit Train Jaune)

Perpignan today is primarily a place of arrivals and departures, with access, via its station, to the highest railway line in Europe, Le Petit Train Jaune. The train makes regular, year-round, trips onto the Cerdagne, the high mountain region near the Spanish border.

What is the highest train ride in France? The charming Yellow Train in the French Pyrenees or “Le Train Jaune” as they say in French. The Yellow Train is not just a tourist train, but a regular train that has been running for over 100 years.

The Yellow Train is perfect for family travel to explore the Pyrenees. We loved the colorful conductor and these ladies dressed as they would be if they took the train when it began.

When we stayed in beautiful Colliore we did this as a day trip via train and took this unique Yellow train from Villefranche de Conflent to the Unesco World Heritage Site, Mont-Louis which was built by the famous French architect, Vauban.

Unesco World Heritage Site Villefranche de Conflent is a gorgeous medieval village with charming stone houses and the views are are quite spectacular during the ride in this train with it’s bright Catalan colors with some open topped cars. A perfect day trip to escape the heat and enjoy nature, small villages and the charms of yesteryear.

Villefranche de Conflent

Andorra to Perpignan: ‘Le petit train jaune…’

If you don’t mind paying for a taxi between Andorra and Latour de Carol (the bus service was withdrawn in 2005), the scenic narrow gauge ‘petit train jaune’ runs from Latour de Carol through the Pyrenees twice-daily in winter, much more frequently in summer, connecting with a standard gauge service at Villefranche at the eastern end of the line into Perpignan. This makes for a very scenic and interesting alternative route into/out of Andorra. The ‘petit train jaune’ is run by the French national train operator SNCF, so train times, fares and online ticketing for the petit train jaune can all be done through the SNCF website, www.voyages-sncf.com or www.tgv-europe.com. For info of the Petit Train Jaune, see www.trains-touristiques.sncf.com/region.asp?menu=1&train=jaune&lang=fr. For train times between London and Perpignan, see the London to France page.

The Petit Train Jaune from Perpignan/Villefranche to Latour de Carol…

Le Petit Train Jaune

This remarkable yellow train on a one metre gauge can be joined at Villefranche. It then takes you up to Latour de Carol via the highest station in France at 1600 metres (5250 feet).

Location: The Petit Train Jaune runs between Villefrance-de-Conflent and Latour-de-Carol. Best approached from Perpignan via the N116.

General Info: Tel Enquiries: 08 92 35 35 35. €34 Euros return fare for the whole 63km. Shorter routes are possible (see the SNCF website for details). The SNCF (French Railways) official Train Jaune web site.
Description: The “Petit Train Jaune de la Cerdagne” runs along a 63km route, climbing steeply from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Bolquère and then crossing the plateau of the Cerdagne to Latour-de-Carol. Bolquere is the highest station in France at 1593m
Our recommendations: Although expensive for a family, there is some dramatic scenery here. The cost can be managed if you don’t go all the way. The best scenery is towards the Mediterranean.
For the children: 63km is a long way to sit on a train – don’t travel the whole distance and have a break part way along to make a day of it.

True symbol of the Languedoc-Roussillon, the colors red and gold, the yellow train TER travels throughout the year this territory for over 100 years.

The train trip, especially in open carriages, actually looks like a panoramic film, punctuated by swinging car halfway up the steep slopes of the valley of the Tet, the train then crosses the vacuum tu smooth bucolic open spaces at the foot of Canigou, the Cambre d’Aze, Carlit and Puigmal, with the distance the silhouette of the Serra del Cadi.
At the bend of a curve, we see a village or a Romanesque church, one guesses the entrance narrow valleys of Upper Conflent available only to hikers, winter is discovered hanging from the ski slopes of Cerdagne.
The yellow train is considered one of the Catalan heritage since it has non-standard features. This is the first railway line the highest in France (without rack) with station-Bolquère Eyne which rises to 1592 meters, a vertical drop of 1165 meters from the station of Villefranche (427 meters). Slopes up to 60% over a significant portion of the trail to track very sinuous curves which allow a very tight low-speed traffic.
Finally, the yellow train passes through a rich heritage with the Regional Natural Park of Pyrénées Orientales which it is the major axis. It also ensures the connection between two sites classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, Villefranche de Conflent and Mont-Louis, known worldwide for their fortifications built by Vauban.
Recognized as serving the public service, the yellow train line is also included links TER under agreement by the Regional Council. This is the only railroad that connects the Cerdagne to the plain of Roussillon, contributing to the opening of this region.
Despite its 100 years, the railway, electricity from its origin, is perfectly in line with modern transportation and environmentally friendly.

This train is a real adventure. and free of any supplements.

For details of the train schedule: train-schedules-europe-t1025.html
fill in Latour de Carol-Enveitg and Villefranche Vernet les Bains
the real train connection starts at the end of May with at least 5 connections per day. Train times London ? Andorra

Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 16:22 and arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 19:47. Cross Paris by métro to the Gare d’Austerlitz.
Travel from Paris to l’Hospitalet près l’Andorre overnight by ‘Lunéa’ sleeper train, leaving Paris (Gare d’Austerlitz) at 21:56 and arriving at l’Hospitalet at 07:20. This train has 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes and 2nd class reclining seats. It does not run on 24 or 31 December. It can sometimes be affected by engineering works, so check the service for your date of travel using www.raileurope.co.uk or www.tgv-europe.com.

A daily bus service connects with the train, leaving L’Hospitalet station forecourt at 07:35 for Pas de la Casa (arriving 08:15), Soldeu (08:40), Encamp, and Andorra La Vella, arriving 09:05. It’s a very scenic ride through the Pyrenees – try and get the front seats for the best views. The bus is operated by La Hispano Andorrana SL, www.andorrabus.com. Subject to cancellation when the mountain passes are blocked by snow!

You do need to book. We went to the Villefranche de Conflent station and were turned away because the train was full. I think we arrived about 1 hour early and it was too late.

Here’s the official website which has the times:

trainstouristiques-ter.com/train_jaune.htm

This site has some info also:

http://www.countrycousins.co.uk/yelltren.htm

Note: The Villefranche station is not in the town but a minute or two down the highway.

The trip takes approx. 3 hours one way so you can do it in one day.

Villefranche : departure 9.05 am

Latour de Carol : arrival 11.52 am

Latour de Carol : departure 3.27 pm and 4.20 pm

Villefranche : arrival 6.27 ap and 7.08 pm

Of course you can get off where you want provided you have a return ticket. But I do not see the point in doing so, most of the stations are in very small villages where there is not much to see. What is interesting about the ride is the view, especially after Fontpedrouse.

Fine Art lovers should Hurry up and book Paris breaks this spring if you want to see this impressive masterpiece. From May 11 to June 23, the artist Anish Kapoor is the guest of the 4th edition of the Monumenta exhibition. His enormous piece of work, entitled Leviathan, has been created specifically for the Grand Palais near the Champs Elysees, a popular desination for Paris breaks in any case. I’ll be there the week after next with more photos of this amazing art work by the creator of The Orbit Tower in London.

Paris is full of nice gardens and squares which makes it a magicq place to visit whenthe flowers are in bloom.

There are 31 national museums, including the Georges Pompidou Centre, and the Musée d’Orsay, known for its collection of Impressionist art. The Rodin Museum and Versailles are also well known in France and abroad, with much of the palace open to visitors.

Most of the Louvre is also open.

Conservationists at the Pompidou Center are concerned over government plans to replace any two civil servants who retire with only one new hire. The rule applies to all government departments, an effort to reduce a massive state work force that largely has guaranteed jobs for life and handsome state pensions. It is supposed to go into effect for museums and similar institutions in January. The state pays for a large portion of the budget of the Pompidou Center, as much as 75 or 80 percent, depending on other annual revenue.

Workers at the Pompidou Centre say that 44 percent of the personnel there will retire in the next 10 years, meaning the disappearance of more than 200 jobs, which they say would make their task of art conservation impossible.

Last year, some 8.5 million people visited the Louvre and 5.5 million visited the Pompidou Center.

Paris – Tour Eiffel

Originally uploaded by Añelo de la Krotsche

Well I suppose most people feel the need to visit the Eiffel tower once or twice whenever they first go on Paris breaks and all will take a picture or two. Maybe from the top of the steps at the Trocadero, or from right underneath or possibly of the Eiffel tower at night when it’s lit up. But this picture is a bit different which is why I chose to feature it today on the Paris breaks blog.

The arrondissments of Paris are more than just a type of postcode system. Each of the 20 Paris arrondissements possesses a unique style and flavour, to some extent, and they are talked about by Paris people almost as if they were distinct kind of villages or rather small towns within the larger central Paris city area, inside the peripherique ring road. So you might want to decide which district appeals most to you and then try to find a Paris hotel there and centre your Paris break on that one area. Later on, try to visit as many of the 20 areas as you can to get the full experience of Paris.

The 20 Paris Neighbourhoods in Brief

Descriptions of Paris broken down into the 20 arrondissments

Paris Breaks 1st Arrondissement  - Musée du Louvre, Les Halles

The Louvre was once a royal residence, and is a big attraction in the 1st arrondissement. Next to the Louvre is  the Jardin des Tuileries, Paris’s most formal garden park, which was originally laid out by Le Nôtre, gardener to Louis XIV. Place Vendôme, also in the area is the opulent location for the Ritz Hotel. Les Halles and the  Forum des Halles is a huge shopping mall, though done with Parisian style.

Paris Breaks 2nd Arrondissement – La Bourse

The Paris 2ieme is where the Bourse stock exchange lives. The district lies on the right bank, between the big Boulevards and the rue Etienne-Marcel. “Everything that exists elsewhere exists in Paris,” wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables, and this district proves it to be the case, for example much of the eastern end of the arrondissement Le Sentier is devoted to wholesale outlets of the Paris rag trade district, where thousands of items of clothing are sold in bulk to buyers from clothing stores throughout Europe.

Paris 3rd Arrondissement – Le Marais

This district embraces much of Le Marais (the swamp), one of the best-loved Right Bank neighborhoods. (It extends into the 4th as well.) After decades of decay, Le Marais recently made a comeback, though it may never again enjoy the prosperity of its 17th-century aristocratic heyday; today it contains Paris’s gay neighborhood, with lots of gay/lesbian restaurants, bars, and stores, as well as the remains of the old Jewish quarter, centered on rue des Rosiers. Two of the chief attractions are the Musée Picasso, a kind of pirate’s ransom of painting and sculpture, which the Picasso estate had to turn over to the French government in lieu of the artist’s astronomical death duties, and the Musée Carnavalet,which brings to life the history of Paris from prehistoric times to the present.

Paris 4th Arrondissement – Ile de la Cité,  Ile St-Louis & Beaubourg

It seems as if the 4th has it all: Notre-Dame on Ile de la Cité, and Ile St-Louis and its aristocratic town houses, courtyards, and antiques shops. Ile St-Louis, a former cow pasture and dueling ground, is home to dozens of 17th-century mansions and 6,000 lucky Louisiens, its permanent residents. Seek out Ile de la Cité‘s two Gothic churches, Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame, a majestic structure that, according to poet e e cummings, “doesn’t budge an inch for all the idiocies of this world.” You’ll find France’s finest bird and flower markets along with the nation’s law courts, which Balzac described as a “cathedral of chicanery.” It was here that Marie Antoinette was sentenced to death in 1793. The 4th is also home to the freshly renovated Centre Pompidou, one of the top-three attractions in France. After all this pomp and glory, you can retreat to place des Vosges, a square of perfect harmony and beauty where Victor Hugo lived from 1832 to 1848 and penned many of his famous masterpieces. (His house is now a museum.)

Paris 5 Arrondissement – Quartier Latin

The Latin Quarter is the intellectual heart and soul of Paris. Bookstores, schools, churches, clubs, student dives, Roman ruins, publishing houses, and expensive boutiques characterize the district. Discussions of Artaud or Molière over cups of coffee may be rarer than in the past, but they aren’t out of place. Beginning with the founding of theSorbonne in 1253, the quarter was called Latin because students and professors spoke the language. You’ll follow in the footsteps of Descartes, Verlaine, Camus, Sartre, James Thurber, Elliot Paul, and Hemingway as you explore. Changing times have brought Greek, Moroccan, and Vietnamese immigrants, among others, offering everything from couscous to fiery-hot spring rolls and souvlaki. The 5th borders the Seine, and you’ll want to stroll along quai de Montebello, inspecting the inventories of the bouquinistes (secondhand-book dealers), who sell everything from antique Daumier prints to yellowing copies of Balzac’s Père Goriot in the shadow of Notre-Dame. The 5th also has the Panthéon, built by Louis XV after he recovered from gout and wanted to do something nice for St. Geneviève, Paris’s patron saint. It’s the resting place of Rousseau, Gambetta, Zola, Braille, Hugo, Voltaire, and Jean Moulin, the World War II Resistance leader whom the Gestapo tortured to death.

Paris Breaks 6th Arrondissement – St-Germain, Luxembourg

This is the heartland of Paris publishing and, for some, the most colorful Left Bank quarter, where waves of young artists still emerge from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The secret of the district lies in discovering its narrow streets, hidden squares, and magnificent gardens. To be really authentic, stroll with an unwrapped loaf of sourdough bread from the wood-fired ovens of Poilâne at 8 rue du Cherche-Midi. Everywhere you turn, you’ll encounter historic and literary associations, nowhere more so than on rue Jacob. At no. 7, Racine lived with his uncle as a teenager; Richard Wagner resided at no. 14 from 1841 to 1842; Ingres lived at no. 27 (now it’s the office of the French publishing house Editions du Seuil); and Hemingway once occupied a tiny upstairs room at no. 44. The 6th takes in the Jardin du Luxembourg, a 24-hectare (59-acre) playground where Isadora Duncan went dancing in the predawn hours and a destitute Ernest Hemingway went looking for pigeons for lunch, carrying them in a baby carriage back to his humble flat for cooking.

Paris 7th Arrondissement – Eiffel Tower,  Musée D’Orsay

Paris’s most famous symbol, la Tour Eiffel, dominates Paris and especially the 7th, a Left Bank district of residences and offices. The tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, despite the fact that many Parisians (especially its nearest neighbors) hated it when it was unveiled in 1889. Many of Paris’s most imposing monuments are in the 7th, such as Hôtel des Invalides, which contains Napoleon’s Tomb and the Musée de l’Armée, and the Musée d’Orsay, the world’s premier showcase of 19th-century French art and culture, housed in the old Gare d’Orsay. But there’s much hidden charm here as well. Rue du Bac was home to the swashbuckling heroes of Dumas’s The Three Musketeers and to James McNeill Whistler, who moved to no. 110 after selling Mother. Auguste Rodin lived at what’s now the Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, until his death in 1917.

Paris 8 Arrondissement – Champs-Elysées, Madeleine

The showcase of the 8th is theChamps-Elysées, stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Egyptian obelisk on place de la Concorde. By the 1980s, the Champs-Elysées had become a garish strip, with too much traffic, too many fast-food joints, and too many panhandlers. In the 1990s, Jacques Chirac, then the Gaullist mayor, launched a cleanup, broadening the sidewalks and planting new trees. Now you’ll find fashion houses, elegant hotels, restaurants, and shops. Everything in the 8th is the city’s best, grandest, and most impressive. It has the best restaurant (Taillevent), the sexiest strip joint (Crazy Horse Saloon), the most splendid square (place de la Concorde), the grandest hotel (the Crillon), the most impressive arch (Arc de Triomphe), the most expensive residential street (avenue Montaigne), the world’s oldest subway station (Franklin-D.-Roosevelt), and the most ancient monument (the 3,300-year-old Obelisk of Luxor).

Paris 9th Arrondissement – Opéra Garnier, Pigalle

From the Quartier de l’Opéra to the strip joints of Pigalle (the infamous “Pig Alley” of World War II GIs), the 9th endures, even if fashion prefers other addresses. Over the decades, the 9th has been celebrated in literature and song for the music halls that brought gaiety to the city. The building at 17 bd. de la Madeleine was where Marie Duplessis, who gained fame as the heroine Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas the younger’s La Dame aux Camellias, died. (Greta Garbo played her in the film Camille.) Place Pigalle has nightclubs, but is no longer home to cafe La Nouvelle Athènes, where Degas, Pissarro, and Manet used to meet. Other attractions include the Folies-Bergère, where cancan dancers have been high-kicking since 1868. It is the rococo Opéra Garnier (home of the Phantom) that made the 9th the last hurrah of Second Empire opulence. Renoir hated it, but generations later, Chagall painted its ceilings. Pavlova danced Swan Lake here, and Nijinsky took the night off to go cruising.

Paris 10th Arondissement – Gare du Nord, Gare de l’Est

The Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est,along with porno houses and dreary commercial zones, make the 10th one of the least desirable arrondissements for living, dining, or sightseeing. We try to avoid it except for one of our longtime favorite restaurants: Brasserie Flo (tel. 01-47-70-13-59), 7 cour des Petites-Ecuries, best known for its formidable choucroute, a heap of sauerkraut garnished with everything.

Paris 11th Arrondissement – Opéra Bastille

For many years, this quarter seemed to sink lower and lower into decay, overcrowded by working-class immigrants from the far reaches of the former Empire. The opening of the Opéra Bastille, however, has given the 11th new hope and new life. The facility, called the “people’s opera house,” stands on the landmark place de la Bastille, where on July 14, 1789, 633 Parisians stormed the fortress and seized the ammunition depot, as the French Revolution swept across the city. Over the years, the prison held such luminaries as Voltaire and the Marquis de Sade. The area between the Marais, Ménilmontant, and République is now being called “blue-collar chic,” as the artistes of Paris who’ve been driven from the costlier sections of the Marais can now be found walking the gritty sidewalks of rue Oberkampf. Hip Parisians in search of a more cutting-edge experience are now living and working among the decaying 19th-century apartments and the 1960s public housing with graffiti-splattered walls.

Paris 12th Arrondissement – Bois de Vincennes, Gare de Lyon

Very few out-of-towners came here until a French chef opened a restaurant called Au Trou Gascon. The 12th’s major attraction remains the Bois de Vincennes, sprawling on the eastern periphery of Paris. This park is a longtime favorite of French families who enjoy its zoos and museums, its royal châteaux and boating lakes, and its Parc Floral de Paris, a celebrated flower garden boasting springtime rhododendrons and autumn dahlias. Venture into the dreary Gare de Lyon for Le Train Bleu,20 bd. Diderot (tel. 01-43-43-09-06), in the Gare de Lyon, 12e, a restaurant whose ceiling frescoes and Art Nouveau decor are national artistic treasures; the food is good, too. The 12th, once a depressing urban wasteland, has been singled out for budgetary resuscitation and is beginning to sport new housing, shops, gardens, and restaurants. Many will occupy the site of the former Reuilly rail tracks.

Paris 13 Arrondissement – Gare d’Austerlitz

Centered on the grimy Gare d’Austerlitz, the 13th might have its devotees, but we’ve yet to meet one. British snobs who flitted in and out of the train station were among the first of the district’s foreign visitors and wrote the 13th off as a dreary working-class counterpart of London’s East End. The 13th is also home to Paris’sChinatown, stretching for 13 square blocks around the Tolbiac Métro stop. It emerged out of the refugee crisis at the end of the Vietnam War, taking over a neighborhood that held mostly Arab-speaking peoples. Today, recognizing overcrowding in the district, the Paris civic authorities are imposing new, not particularly welcome, restrictions on population densities.

Paris 14th Arrondissement – Montparnasse

The northern end of this large arrondissement is devoted to Montparnasse, home of the “Lost Generation” and stomping ground of Stein, Toklas, Hemingway, and other American expatriates of the 1920s. After World War II, it ceased to be the center of intellectual life, but the memory lingers in its cafes. One of the monuments that sets the tone of the neighborhood is Rodin’s statue of Balzac at the junction of boulevards Montparnasse and Raspail. At this corner are some of the world’s most famousliterary cafes, including La Rotonde, Le Select, La Dôme, and La Coupole. Though Gertrude Stein avoided them (she loathed cafes), other American expats, including Hemingway and Fitzgerald, had no qualms about enjoying a drink here (or quite a few of them, for that matter). Stein stayed at home (27 rue de Fleurus) with Alice B. Toklas, collecting paintings, including those of Picasso, and entertaining the likes of Max Jacob, Apollinaire, T. S. Eliot, and Matisse.

Paris 15th Arrondissement – Gare Montparnasse, Institut Pasteur

This is a mostly residential district beginning at Gare Montparnasse and stretching to the Seine. In size and population, it’s the largest quarter of Paris, but it draws few tourists and has few attractions except for theParc des Expositions, the Cimetière du Montparnasse, and the Institut Pasteur. In the early 20th century, many artists — such as Chagall, Léger, and Modigliani — lived here in a shared atelier known as “The Beehive.”

Paris 16th Arrondissement – Trocadéro, Bois de Boulogne

Originally the village of Passy, where Benjamin Franklin lived during most of his time in Paris, this district is still reminiscent of Proust’s world. Highlights include the Bois de Boulogne; the Jardin du Trocadéro; the Maison de Balzac; the Musée Guimet (famous for its Asian collections); and the Cimetière de Passy,resting place of Manet, Talleyrand, Giraudoux, and Debussy. One of the largest arrondissements, it’s known today for its well-heeled bourgeoisie, its upscale rents, and some rather posh (and, according to its critics, rather smug) residential boulevards. The arrondissement also has the best vantage point to view the Eiffel Tower: place du Trocadéro.

Paris 17 Arrondissement – Parc Monceau, Place Clichy

Flanking the northern periphery of Paris, the 17th incorporates neighborhoods of bourgeois respectability (in its west end) and less affluent neighborhoods in its east end. It boasts two of the great restaurants of Paris, Guy Savoy and Michel Rostang.

Paris 18th Arrondissement – Montmartre

The 18th is the most famous outer quarter of Paris, containing Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, Sacré-Coeur, and ultratouristy place du Tertre.Utrillo was its native son; Renoir lived here; and Toulouse-Lautrec adopted the area as his own. The most famous enclave of artists in Paris’s history, the Bateau-Lavoir of Picasso fame, gathered here. Max Jacob, Matisse, and Braque were all frequent visitors. Today, place Blanche is known for its prostitutes, and Montmartre is filled with honky-tonks, souvenir shops, and terrible restaurants. You can still find pockets of quiet beauty, though. The city’s most famous flea market, the Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt, is another landmark.

Paris 19th Arrondissement – La Villette

Today, visitors come to what was once the village of La Villette to see the angular Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, a spectacular science museum and park built on a site that for years was devoted to the city’s slaughterhouses. Mostly residential and not at all upscale, the district is one of the most ethnically diverse in Paris, the home of people from all parts of the former Empire. A highlight is Les Buttes Chaumont, a park where kids can enjoy puppet shows and donkey rides.

Paris Breaks in the 20th Arrondissement - Père Lachaise Cemetery

The 20th’s greatest landmark is Père-Lachaise Cemetery, the resting place of Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Colette, Jim Morrison, and many others. Otherwise, the 20th arrondissement is a dreary and sometimes volatile melting pot comprising residents from France’s former colonies. Though nostalgia buffs sometimes head here to visit Piaf’s former neighborhood, Ménilmontant-Belleville, it has been almost totally bulldozed and rebuilt since the bad old days when she grew up here.

Paris – Tartempion

Originally uploaded by Añelo de la Krotsche

Tartempion restaurant is located in Montmartre on Rue du Mont Cenis which is just off the famous Place du Tertre. It’s one of the many restaurants which are in the area and around the square. Like many occasions during short Paris breaks when there’s not much time to choose, it can be difficult to decide where to eat from the many options available. In any case, I’d definitely recommend Tartempion, especially if you like duck salad.which is what I ordered. It’s a combination of duck leg and smoked duck served with fresh salad, bread and washed down with a nice glass of wine. I’ll be back!

During 2009 we posted twenty three times on the Paris breaks blog, and focused many of them on the different arrondissements of Paris.

Ok, the idea of going on Paris breaks in order to hang out entirely in the 20th is only semi-serious, it would be a bit like visiting London in order to spend all your time in Leytonstone or Newham, but that’s not quite as mad as it sounds. You’d be surprised at the number of young Europeans and Orientals wandering about in East London these days, I’m sure Brick Lane, Walthamstow and Stratford must feature in some offbeat guide books to trendy London. But back to Paris, and the Bellevile,  Barbes  area. It’s similar in some ways, with a history of immigration, a melting pot of world cultures and cheap accommodation for starving artists etc, but with a Parisian style that’s unmistakeable. So you might find a flourishing little underground Parisian indie music scene, or an ex-pat community linking South Sea islanders with Mexican sushi vendors. But you might just find the usual struggle against exploitation and discrimination that you wanted to get a short break from while abroad. You’ve only got a few days in Paris so why spend some of that precious away day time in the 20th?

Père Lachaise Cemetery

The single great tourist attraction in the 20th is a  graveyard.  The landmark is Père-Lachaise Cemetery, the resting place of Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Colette, Jim Morrison, and many others.

Père Lachaise is located on Boulevard de Ménilmontant. Métro station Philippe Auguste on line 2 is next to the main entrance, while the station called Père Lachaise, on line 3, is 500 metres away near a side entrance. Many tourists prefer the Gambetta station on line 3 as it allows them to enter near the tomb of Oscar Wilde and then walk downhill to visit the rest of the cemetery.  Abelard is also buried there, and the list goes on.

The Communards’ Wall (Mur des Fédérés) is also located in the cemetery. This is the site where 147 Communards, the last defenders of the workers’ district of Belleville, were shot on 28 May 1871 — the last day of the “Bloody Week” (Semaine Sanglante) in which the Paris Commune was crushed.

And so we come to the end of our little series of distributed articles about Paris breaks to each of the 20 arrondissements or districts of Paris, but not to the end of the Paris Breaks blog which continues with a new series coming soon looking at a number of aspects of our favourite city with one common theme.

Paris, 4* Holiday Inn Paris La Villette, 2 nights from £139.00pp
Available on selected dates, address :

216 AVE JEAN JAURES PARIS, 75019 FRANCE

The Holiday Inn Paris La Villette is a modern hotel located opposite the museums of music, science and industry and La Grande Halle (theatre and convention hall) and within direct reach of the main historical monuments, cultural and shopping areas of Paris by metro. The hotel has 182 air conditioned bedrooms with many facilities including a TV with in-house movies, minibar, safe, hairdryer and telephone. There’s also a fine restaurant and a mini gym. Great for Paris breaks with familiar comforts.

Holiday Inn Paris breaks

Within walking distance is a unique complex associating the Science and Technology complex, the Music complex, the Grande Halle and the Zénith venue.

The “Porte de Pantin” underground metro (line 5), situated only 50 m from the hotel will quickly take you to Notre Dame de Paris (20 min), the Eiffel Tower (30 min) and the Louvre Museum (20 min) .

Paris breaks in the 19th Arrondissement

Today, Paris visitors come to what was once the village of La Villette to see the angular Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, a spectacular science museum and park built on a site that for years was devoted to the city’s slaughterhouses. Mostly residential and not at all upscale, the district is one of the most ethnically diverse in Paris, the home of people from all parts of the former Empire. A highlight is Les Buttes Chaumont, a park where kids can enjoy puppet shows and donkey rides.