Author Archives: Parisian Fields

Unknown's avatar

About Parisian Fields

Parisian Fields is the blog of two Toronto writers who love Paris. When we can't be there, we can write about it. We're interested in everything from its history and architecture to its graffiti and street furniture. We welcome comments, suggestions, corrections, and musings from all readers.

The once and future Paris transport museum

The huge Maison de la RATP on the quai de la Rapée has a sweeping view of the Seine and an impressive central atrium in which are positioned a few examples of historic trams and omnibuses. What it does not … Continue reading

Posted in Paris metro, Paris museums | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Le Musée Valentin Haüy: A different vision of history

This is no ordinary terrestrial globe. And you’ll find it in a museum that is anything but ordinary. When we move in closer, we find that it is labelled in Braille. And the map shown below is not your average … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris museums, Paris typewriters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Going, going, gone

In the 1850s, as the old Paris of narrow streets and ramshackle houses gave way to the broad boulevards and uniform apartment blocks planned by Napoleon III and carried out by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Charles Baudelaire wrote an epitaph for the … Continue reading

Posted in Paris bookstores, Paris shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The colours of the Batignolles

The Batignolles does not attract many tourists. That, in itself, is part of its charm. But there are many reasons to venture there. Food. Gardens. Places for children to play. And colour, because that is what struck us both – … Continue reading

Posted in Paris gardens, Paris parks, Paris quartiers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Mushrooms, manure, and the secret of French food

Recently, at The Astrolabe Gallery, a print and map store on Sparks Street in Ottawa, I chanced upon a page from the London Illustrated News, Dec. 4, 1869. Two woodcuts depicted “Mushroom Culture in France.” The “entrance to a mushroom … Continue reading

Posted in Paris food, Paris gardens, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Death and taxes

Whenever I buy postcards or other pictures of Paris, I gravitate to anything unfamiliar. So when I was leafing through some inexpensive engravings at an antiques fair on the Place St-Sulpice in June, I was immediately drawn to this one. … Continue reading

Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history, Paris maps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Michael Caine: an English traditional typographer in the heart of Paris

One evening in 2007, we left our rented apartment on rue Charlemagne for a walk in the Marais. On the rue de la Cerisiaie, we peered at a small poster on the glass door of a narrow workshop. Suddenly, the … Continue reading

Posted in Paris art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

An honourable education

Every time we plan a trip to Paris, we have a list of things we want to do there. And every time we get to Paris, we end up doing fewer than half of those things. After all, opportunities arise … Continue reading

Posted in Paris churches, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Nuns’ Tale

A few months ago, I was working at my desk while the radio played in the background. All of a sudden, I heard something extraordinary. I had been vaguely aware of some orchestral music that suggested foreboding and sorrow, but … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Buttes Chaumont: The Park for the People

Although it lacks the aristocratic pedigree of some Paris parks, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in the 19th arrondissement is my favourite. The Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes were formerly royal domains for hunting. But the Buttes … Continue reading

Posted in Paris parks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments