Too much has been written about Paris to believe in the "blank spots" on its map. Even someone who has never been to the capital of France can confidently list a dozen of its main attractions that appeared in the novels of Hugo, Dumas and Maupassant. Local guides compete with each other in attempts to convey new details about iconic places to listeners, and attentive tourists, according to purchased tickets, enthusiastically listen to old and modern legends. But there is also an unknown Paris, which is not guided by excursions. His destiny is independent travelers, for whom each trip is a chance to realize themselves in search of a rare tourist route or object.
Hire a Clochard
In the capital of France, walking tours of the city, conducted by homeless Parisians, are gaining popularity. The Clochards are collaborating with a travel agency that has figured out how to get sophisticated travelers interested and enable antisocial elements to return to decent life.
This format of the walk includes visiting not the most popular places in the city, but it is the absence of tourist crowds that gives the excursion a special charm. Unknown Paris, its entrances, walls, squares and even toilets become the subject of research not only by visitors, but also by the townspeople themselves. A special highlight of tours with the homeless is the many amazing Parisian legends, told by "guides" with special warmth and knowledge of the details.
To the traveler's notebook
Any house, park or street sculpture can become an interesting attraction in unknown Paris. In the most romantic city in the world, if the mood is right, a guest can like anything:
- Stones on the pavement, left over from the time of public executions. On the asphalt near the house N16 on Rue de la Croix-Faubin in the 11th arrondissement, strange stone "patches" are clearly visible. Here, until 1899, a guillotine was located in the prison yard.
- The Dermatology Museum in District X is not only popular with doctors or medical college students. Dummies showing manifestations of skin diseases are exhibited on Avenue Claude-Vellefaux at St. Louis Hospital.
- The church of the same name is located next to Madeleine metro station. They have been selling flowers since the century before last, and there is a public toilet in the basement near the market. If you're after an unknown Art Nouveau Paris, these public spaces are a godsend! Stained glass doors and porcelain sanitary ware showcase a luxurious style, now irrevocably lost in the pursuit of modern advances in toilet fashion.
