Subject: Paris Music Information List PARIS and MUSIC Michael Hauben , 8/22/95 I did not get to fully explore the Paris Music Scene, but here are some tips and hints that will help you find your own way. DISCLAIMERS: Also, this list is based on my first eight day stay in Paris, so it is not meant to be exhaustive. I do not plan to maintain this list, but would encourage someone else to. If you want to take this list and expand upon it, please let me know. Also, this list is NOT meant for commercial use, so please do not print it out and sell it. There are plenty of guidebooks that are much more extensive than this list. Please don't correct my addresses, etc as I left out any diacritical marks that don't show in 7-bit ASCII. MUSIC STORES ============== I only found a couple of stores, but I am sure there are plenty more. Typical prices are high compared to what we are used to paying in the USA. CDs seemed to go for 130 FF - 160 FF for single CDs and 160 - ?? FF for double cd sets. CDs on sale were 90 - 110 FF at Virgin and FNAC. Singles went for 60 FF. Other stores might have been less expensive. The stuff I purchased was pricey since they were imports from England. Chains: - Virgin Megastore. LARGE stores, with CDs, Vinyl, Cassettes and LPs, Videotapes (different format than VHS), books, computer CD-Roms, and more. Also concert listings, flyers and you can buy tickets here. LOTS of listening stations. Might have been possible to request to listen to any CD, but I am not 100% sure. LOCATIONS: Carrousel de Louvre (the shopping mall underneath the Louvre) and on the Champs Elysees. - FNAC. These were all over the city. The branch I visited was smaller than the Virgin Megastores, and seemed to focus on recorded music, but with videotapes too. Could also buy tickets and see concert listings. LOCATIONS: I visited the one near the Bastille Metro stop, and there is another branch in the Forum des Halles. (Metro: Chatlet-Les-Halles or Etienne-Marcel, 1-7, rue Pierre-Lescot. 1er.) I passed by at least two others elsewhere in the city. - Galeries Lafayette. There is a bookstore/music store/video store in the basement. Not wonderful, but another place to purchase tickets. LOCATION: 40 Bd. Haussmann, 42-82-36-40 / 42-82-34-56, 9e. Metro: Opera or Havre-Caumartin) Note: The choice and selection for techno, trance, ambient, and progressive rock were all much better in these Paris chain stores than say in Tower or HMV in the States, so don't shy away from visiting them. Non-chain: **BPM Records** (Bastille Paris Musique) Trance/techno/house white label store. Mostly LPs, and mainly a DJ store. Don't remember what their listening facilities were like. Had flyers for raves, clubs and parties. LOCATION: 1, rue Keller 75011 Paris tel. 40.21.02.88 fax. 40.21.03.74 Metro: Bastille / Ledru Rollin / Voltaire There are several music stores along rue St. Michel in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Nothing spectacular. Some were music, and some were music/book/video stores. All had new CDs and some had used CDs and LPs. Also cassettes (called K7? - one store was called K7) Vinyl is much more present in Europe in the USA. MAGAZINES =========== Try and pick up a copy of "Paris Capitale" in one of the many Kiosks. This is an English-language Paris magazine that has pointers to things going on in the city, etc. The issue I picked up (August "Summer Time" issue) had a section on Paris's live music scene. List of museums (phone and hours), shopping, fashion, restaurants and (unfortunately) what amounts to a large advertisement area that look like articles. French-language "Pariscope: une semain de paris" (or just Pariscope) is a weekly which comes out on Wednesdays which has most everything going on in the city. Pick this up at a kiosk too. There is a small English section in the middle (called TimeOut Paris. I guess based on the London Magazine.) This is really helpful even if you don't know any French. It is easy to understand the listings to get important information like times, days, prices, and so on. Listings for theater, classical music, rock, jazz, world Music, other concerts, movies and movie festivals, art exhibitions in museums/galleries/elsewhere, parks, boutiques, monuments, restaurants, sports, marionette shows, zoos, television, discos, clubs, bars, radio, erotic entertainment and so on. Sorry, but I do not have enough knowledge of French to check out the music magazines. BOOKSTORES ============ Shakespeare and Company (37 rue de la Bucherie, Metro St-Michel, 5e.) on the Left-Bank side of the Seine Can pick up free monthlies here, but they were all out when I was in Paris. (Such as The Free Voice, FUSAC) Gibret Jeune. Several stores with different inventories (Economics, Literature, Science, Course Books, etc) also in the Latin Quarter surrounding rue St. Michel. People and books recommended another English-language bookstore called Village Voice, 6 rue Princesse, 6e. tel: 46-33-36-47, Metro: Mabillon) MISC. ======= I went to two concerts while in Paris. There was a free violin concert in a cloister at the Cochin Hospital (A l'hopital Cochin, Au Cloitre de Port-Royal - Choeur des Regligieuses) that was quite beautiful, with pieces by Handel, Haydn, Gliere and Beetoven. The next few in the series were on 9/3/95 at 4:30pm and 9/10/95 at 4:00pm. (Metro: Port Royale, 123 Bd. Port-Royal) I paid 100 FF (90 ff reduced admission + 10 ff service fee) to see Mozart's Requiem at the church Eglise de la Madeleine. This was georgeous. During the summer months there are many classical and other early music concerts in the churches. Try to check out a concert at St. Chapelle on lle de la Cite. Oh, and before I go, let me heartily recommend the hostel I stayed at for my eight days in Paris, the Foyer International Des Etudiantes near the Metro/RER Luxembourg stop. At least during the summer the Foyer is open to everyone for minimum stays of 5 nights. Prices this summer (including a continental breakfast) was 160 FF per night for a single room 110 FF per night and per person in a twin-bedded room Kitchens on floors. Dorm-sized fridge and sink in room. Toilets and Showers in the halls. Bring your own towels. No curfew and no lockout. Foyer is open all night for you to come and go. Also, make sure to visit the terrace on the top floor - nice views of the Paris landscape. The Foyer was clean, and rooms were airy. This foyer is in a great location - near the Sorbonne and the Pantheon in the Latin Quarter and smack dab between the Fifth and Sixth Arrondissements. A minute walk from the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens and a 5-10 minute walk from the Seine. The area was a bit touristy when I was there. For example, beware the Greek restaurants off of St. Michel. The one I visited had sub-par food compared to the rest of my dining experiences in Paris. Write to foyer with dates you want to stay and what type of room, and they will write back if they have room. Otherwise visit it while you are Paris early in the morning to see if anything available, or if you can reserve for the next day on. 93 boulevard Saint-Michel. 75005 Paris Tel: 43.54.49.63 Enjoy your visit to Paris! And please let me know of any other stores/clubs/etc you might find. Once again, if you or someone else you know would like to turn this list into a proper FAQ, please feel free to do so - just let me know, and let me know where to find it so I can link it to my WWW page at http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/