It's Saturday and our destination is the Richard Lenoir Art Market near the Place de la Bastille. The Bastille Creative Art Market (Marche de la Creation) takes place every Saturday on Boulevard Richard Lenoir; it is the largest art market in Paris with over 200 artisans participating.
So we hop on the #1 Metro and head out to start our day of exploring the area around the Bastille.
The Bastille Metro stop. The walls are a tiled mural telling the story of the French Revolution and the "storming of the Bastille".
Place de la Bastille.
The new Opera Bastille.
The beginning of the art market on the north side of the Place~lots of food in addition to the art.
This is truly an 'art' market ~no crafts here. All of the artisans are accomplished professionals.
Hats~the Parisians do love their hats!
In hindsight I should have bought one of these~the little fat blue one caught my eye immediately.
Entry to the walking path (Promenade Plantee)
This walkway is the first elevated park; built on an abandoned railroad viaduct.
Plantings were wild and varied~a very natural setting.
"The last roses of summer"
View of St. Antoine des Quinze-Vingte from the walkway.
I was curious about the name; quinze-vingte translates to 1520. Could that be? It turns out that it really relates to the number of beds (300) in the original facility which cared for the blind.
(quinze-vingte= 15 x 20=300)
Joggers stretching.
An enormous (!) clump of lavender and quite aromatic.
Ah yes, you are in Paris.
A view from the Promenade.....(note the graffiti)...I like the rooftops.
This was fabulous. Another one of the places that I can't believe we've missed all these years.
Some of these boats are pleasure boats and some people actually live on full-time.
On the walkway beside the marina we saw this open-air photography exhibit.
Can you detect the 'theme' of this exhibit?
It was great! These photos were both provocative and funny.
The lovely park and cobbled walkway along the water.
Sculpture and rose garden.
This huge roundabout is the site of the Bastille, the prison which was torn down during the French Revolution in 1789. In it's place is this monument, the July Column, which commemorates the July Revolution of 1830 (the overthrow of Charles X and the end to constitutional monarchy).
Boulevard Richard Lenoir
We walked down one side and up the other. It's a beautiful and lively place. I did buy a pair of earrings and a little leaded glass box to put them in. The stained glass was beautiful!
(Unfortunately for us, all the wonderful things we coveted would cost one arm to buy and two legs to ship home.)
We stopped for a bite to eat, then headed passed the Opera toward the Promenade Plantee.
The Opera Bastille (French President Mitterand is responsible for the new opera).
The building was inaugurated on July 13, 1989~the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille.
Both the Viaduc des Arts and Promenade Plantee are located along Ave Daumesnil.
This walkway is the first elevated park; built on an abandoned railroad viaduct.
I was curious about the name; quinze-vingte translates to 1520. Could that be? It turns out that it really relates to the number of beds (300) in the original facility which cared for the blind.
(quinze-vingte= 15 x 20=300)
A public water fountain~ we saw these in other parks also.
From the Promenade, we walked back towards the Bastille along the Viaduc des Arts, artisan shops built under the walkway, (click on the link to see web photos) to the new marina, Port de l'Arsenal.
The marina is actually a man-made lake created to connect the Canal St. Martin (beyond the Place Bastille) to the Seine River.
Some of these boats are pleasure boats and some people actually live on full-time.
It was great! These photos were both provocative and funny.
Remember this? Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
Pedestrian bridge over the marina. In the foreground is a kid's play area filled with things to climb on and play in...the pirate ship was popular that day.
Here you can see the variety of boats; many houseboats.
We crossed over the pedestrian bridge and walked back to our apartment through the Marais and passed the Pompidou center. I wish I had had my pedometer, it was a long walk and my feet told me all about it.
The area around the Bastille has so much to see.
We loved our excursion and the art market and would definitely do it again; maybe in springtime when the flowers along the Promenade are in bloom.
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