Comments on: More CT travel

By: nick

nick — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:28:15 +0000

Museums? The Soane, of course, which is the best house in the world. And the Wallace Collection, which is invariably deserted during the week, and is a great way to catch your breath from the morass that is Oxford Street. (Heavy on the Fragonard, but the big gallery with the Reynoldses et al has something for everyone.) Brick Lane—from the beigel [sic] bakery nr. Shoreditch station down through the Bangladeshi restaurants; hunting Hawksmoors; Chiswick House; um… the London: City Secrets guide is wonderful.

By: jacob

jacob — Sun, 13 Jun 2004 18:18:25 +0000

As someone else already said, I’m sure you’re thinking of the Paris city modern art museum, but it’s closed for renovations this year. It’s not a small museum by any means, but I’d highly recommend going to the Louvre’s current exhibit on art in Paris in 1400, which is part of a national collection of exhibits on art during he reign of Charles VI. Some of the most extraordinary illuminated manuscripts I’ve ever seen, and when I went (for the second time) yesterday, it was nearly empty. I also like the Rodin Museum (in the 7th, around the corner from the Invalides) and the Musee Carnavelet, about the history of Paris, in the 4th (and it’s free!).

By: yabonn

yabonn — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 15:40:36 +0000

They unfortunately lowered the speed of the montarnasse walkway. Bit sad, but the grannies were flying all over the place. Half of the times out of order too. Last update from the south of buttes chaumont area (i-e belleville, more or less) : the chinese are taking over. Clandestine workshops, restaurants, ridiculous pastries and huge mercedes. I’d advise a bo-bun or canard laqué at da-lat (vietnamese, belleville place). Buttes chaumont is a sight too. Not only for the place (which is ok) imho, but too for the way they carved false wood bark in the concrete that makes the stairs and stuff there. To “make natural”, you know. You rarely see bad taste so intensely concentrated. The nearby canal st martin, if not too crowded, is well worth a stroll and a beer. Oberkampf can be nice too, now that it’s uncool again.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 14:26:02 +0000

In Paris, I like the “Parc des Buttes Chaumont” in the 19th (Metro Crimee); it was build by Napoleon III, and is a fairly natural park, rather than a formal garden like most of the Paris parks. The guignol there is awesome, if you speak French. The area around the park is also interesting; it’s a mixture of ethnicities (Senegalese, Algerians, Orthodox Jewish, and French). It is a thus a good area to get Algerians or Moroccan food.

By: James

James — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 11:10:28 +0000

If you like shopping in Paris all the Grand Magasins have been refurbished and are looking particularly swish, especially the new Galeries Lafayette. If you want something really odd and find yourself in Montparnasse, go to the Gare Montparnasse and try the world’s first treble-speed moving walkway (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3001182.stm) Also (thought quite well known) the Musee Guimet of Asian and Oriental works is quite good. In London the markets are always worth a visit. Columbia Road flower market on Sunday is nice, as are Borough and Portobello markets. The John Soames museum is shut on Sundays, but it very near the LSE so you could probably go before/after your lecture. Also the Museum of London (in the City) has been improved a lot in recent years.

By: Marco

Marco — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 07:08:59 +0000

Second the recommendation for Barbès, (Métro Barbès Rochechouart or Château Rouge), a very nutty place I once spent a year in.

By: Nabakov

Nabakov — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 03:09:19 +0000

If you visit the Sir John Soane museam, ask to see their collection of original Hogarth prints (tucked away behind some panels). There is an absolutely hysterical series there that I haven’t seen anywhere else, about electioneering in rural 18th century England. And in Paris, if you want a bit of third-world funkiness, rendered with gallic elan, and some amazing African food and clothing shops, visit the Chateau Rouge district. (Metro Line 4)

By: fyreflye

fyreflye — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 02:52:16 +0000

You seem to be thinking of the Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris… That’s the one that popped into my mind when I read Eszter’s description. A lot of great Calders and Brancusis.

By: Ham

Ham — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 01:54:13 +0000

Daytime and accompanied, visit an old address of mine: Peckham, Lewisham and the bad end of the Old Kent Road. Inspect the sixties towerblocks, rubbish and graffiti. Visit the market, go to a pub, eat some chips, sit on the bus. Consider how such deprivation could exist in a state with a welfare system and within a few miles of banks controlling trillions of dollars. Guardian article Nov.2000: They call it the Peckham frontline. It is a desolate stretch of road, lined by rundown shops. The children and teenagers who loiter along this stretch of Peckham high street, on their way to and from school, are used to violence. Backpacks slung over shoulders, they pass by, oblivious to the yellow police boards calling for witnesses to the latest assault or stabbing. They are also, by and large, oblivious to the drug dealing – often conducted openly on these streets, and often by youths much like themselves. And just as they accept the violence here, the children accept that it will follow them into the school playgrounds. It is not uncommon for schools in this part of south-east London to have security guards patrolling their playgrounds and CCTV cameras monitoring their corridors. But however accustomed these schoolchildren may have become to violence, nothing could have prepared them for the news that the blood of a 10-year-old had been spilt on these same streets. “He was just a tiny kid,” says Ellen, 13, tears welling in her eyes as she stares towards Oliver Goldsmith primary school.

By: ham

ham — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 01:38:10 +0000

Get a tasty slice of Cyprus. Ever since the 1974 conflict in Cyprus, London has become home to thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots which has provided a host of great restaurants and different foods. One of my several favourites was Andy’s Taverna in Camden, great for a table of 6-8 friends to chat and scoff the night away over meze and rich red wines.

By: Linca

Linca — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 01:33:32 +0000

You seem to be thinking of the Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, and of the Palais de Tokyo, side-by-side museums, but the first is closed this year. If you get in Paris before the 28th, there is a quite interesting exhibition of Chinese classic painting at the Grand Palais. Among the smaller museums to visit there is also the Musée Rodin with its very nice garden. And the Paris Jazz festival should be on while you’re there.

By: Ham

Ham — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 01:26:35 +0000

Riverside pubs – it is June so you have the light late evenings. Spend some time in a riverside pub courtyard, gazing across the Thames at the tired old brickwork and try and figure out what is was that led this old port to leadership of the world. Hammersmith has a couple, Windsor too.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 22:46:19 +0000

If you happen to get thirsty while you’re in the neighborhood of the Tower of London you might stop in at the courtyard bar of the Grange City Hotel (Coopers Row). It incorporates a well-preserved stretch of the original Roman Wall.

By: nelly

nelly — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 22:30:54 +0000

It’s not exactly a museum (although you do get great views of fine works of architecture), but if you rent a pair of rollerblades at Bastille on a Sunday afternoon, one of the roads along the Seine is open exclusively to pedestrians,roller-bladers, cyclists etc. It’s a great way to see the city (you pass under Pont Neuf, and go by Notre Dame and the Conciergerie,)for those who are up to it and it’s definitely off the beaten tourist track. Not to mention that it’s the freshest air to be had in the city in Summer.

By: H.

H. — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 22:16:03 +0000

It sounds to me as if you thinking of the Palais de Tokyo, which houses the Musée de l’art moderne. In the 8th arrondissement, probably metro Trocadero.