I’d like to ask the audience please
I’m taking myself to Paris for the day on Wednesday. The aim is to immerse myself in the French language, but in reality I just want to go book and record shopping. So to that end, can any of you suggest any good second-hand record stores in central Paris? I’d like to buy some French pop on vinyl and I promise to put any funky finds up on the site.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
to my shame I never been to paris for an extended period of time time out might help?
February 9th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Whilst I appreciate you answering this question BLTP, I am concerned that you’re not watching Masterchef at 8.37pm.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I can type and watch, there was only 3 contestant so catching all their wacky job titles wasn’t too hard!
February 11th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I guess I’m too late but hopefully you found Crocodisc – they sell “long-playing and compact records”
February 12th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Hi Nigel, Thanks for this. I have seen Crocodisc, yes, but since they were on the other side to where I was and I didn’t have too much time, I was forced to behave myself and not go there. Next time…
February 14th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I haven’t been to Paris for years but am planning a sortie sometime soon. I’d be very grateful for recommendations: music shops and venues, but also any tucked-away type markets, museums, cafes, bookshops, etc etc. I’ve just read an article on Gilles Peterson which tells me that Paris is *the* place to go for world music and jazz…
February 15th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I’m afraid that I am not the best person to ask about Paris. I don’t go there very often and when I do, the fact that it is allegedly a good place to buy music usually tends to escape me.
If you’re going there for a few days though, these sites could provide some useful hints:
http://www.discogs.com/groups/topic/97484
http://www.laventure.net/tourist/paris.htm
I am definitely going to try and track down some of the jazz shops when I’m there for a bit longer.
If you like museums, I’d recommend the Musee Carnavalet in the Marais district. I went there last week and had a great time. It’s a fantastic old Hotel/house filled with paintings and objects telling the history of Paris. I also like the Maison Europeenne de la Photographie.
Bercy is also worth going to. You can (kind of) walk there along the Promenade Plantee/Le Viaduc des Arts which starts near the Place de la Nation (11e) and goes along Avenue Daumesnil. Above the railway tracks is the promenade which is now a planted garden and below are the studios of lots of creative industries type businesses. At the end of the promenade, you can cross over a nasty tangle of railway tracks to get to Bercy. In Bercy village there are some nice restaurants and a nice bookshop called the Alice Media Store, which is a bit like an FNAC really – lots of French books, CDs, DVDs etc.
Have a good time!
February 16th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Hey thanks for all the tips. That alone should be enough to fill a weekend! I’ll let you know how I get on.
:-)