Flâneurs of Belleville

(29 reviews)

Paris audio tour: Flâneurs of Belleville

This is a 1.1mi walking tour

It takes an average of 45 mins to complete.

Paris

France

$7.99

Access all 17 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

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About the Tour

Flânerie (or city wandering) is a cherished rite of modern Parisian culture. But how does one wander à la française? On this tour, we focus on the in-betweens of Paris: we will walk the seam between the historically and culturally rich neighborhoods of Belleville and Ménilmontant, and explore lesser-known neighborhood gems, history, and culture. At the same time, this tour will teach you the art of flânerie: how to wander a city and read it like a storybook, or play it like a game, rather than simply choosing the straightest and quickest shot from one famous monument to the next.

Your tour guide, Jennifer Solheim, is a French and Francophone literature scholar, so it only makes sense that with this tour you get a reading list! These can be read in advance or after you've taken the tour - or not at all. But if you're interested, here are the works mentioned along the way:

Charles Baudelaire, The Painter of Modern Life and The Swan
Calixthe Beyala, Loukoum: The Little Prince of Belleville
Guy de Maupassant, Bel-Ami
Georges Perec, W: Or the Memory of Childhood
Abraham de Pradel, Le Livre commode des adresses de Paris pour 1692

Tour Producer

Jennifer Solheim

1 tour

I am a French scholar, fiction writer, literary translator and teacher. I lived in Paris for several years and maintain close ties to the city. I have taught courses on Parisian literature and culture, and my book on contemporary immigrant cultures in Paris, The Performance of Listening in Postcolonial Francophone Culture, was published by Liverpool University Press in 2018.

Preview Location

Location 1

Parmentier metro exit

Hello! You should be standing at the staircase exit of the Parmentier metro.

My name Jennifer Solheim, and I'm a French scholar and fiction writer. I've taught several courses on Paris literature and culture, and I often use the cityscape as a pedagogical narrative. Today, ... Hello! You should be standing at the staircase exit of the Parmentier metro.

My name Jennifer Solheim, and I'm a French scholar and fiction writer. I've taught several courses on Paris literature and culture, and I often use the cityscape as a pedagogical narrative. Today, I'll be taking you on a wandering walk—what we call flânerie in French literary tradition. To be a flâneur, or a flâneuse, is to walk not with the end goal in mind, but with the idea of exploring new things and observing people and things around you that you might not notice if you were in a hurry.

I see Paris as a big, ever-changing book to be read. A walk down any street can tell a story. I'll be telling you some stories about the history and culture of the places we'll be passing, but I would also encourage you to slow down and take in any space that catches your attention—or even to stop in random spots to see what you notice.

If you're facing the stairs, to your right is a quiet side street, away from the hustle and bustle of one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in contemporary Paris. Here you can find traditional French restaurants and cafes, music venues to suit almost any taste, art galleries, and pop-up shops. We won't be exploring this street today, but remember it for later!

The route you'll walk today serves as a seam between Ménilmontant to the south and Belleville to the north—but along the seam, between these two neighborhoods, and within the neighborhoods themselves, there is a lot of hidden history and culture.

[1 SECOND PAUSE]

So let's get started! If you're still facing the stairs, start following the road leading away from you on the left, parallel to the small side street.

Let me tell you how this works. VoiceMap uses GPS to pinpoint your location and trigger the relevant audio. This means you can put your phone away now and relax. I will tell you where to go. Some sections of silence are normal; we're just between locations.

[1 SECOND PAUSE]

Belleville, in front of you, was one section of a vibrant Jewish socialist neighborhood. It was in fact divided across four arrondissements to diminish its political power.

Ménilmontant, which you're walking away from, is one of the sites of the 1871 Commune revolt against the Franco-Prussian monarchy that briefly reigned in France after the Franco-Prussian War. But today's walk is not a history lesson, so much as an exploration of neighborhood gems.

Continue walking up the road. Read More

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How VoiceMap Works

Focus on your surroundings, not the screen

The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

Resume playback to go at your own pace

If you'd like to stop for a drink or go into a museum, end your tour then use the Resume feature to pick up exactly where you left off.

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Major Landmarks

Belvédère de Belleville

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
75011 Paris, France
Total distance

2km
Final location
47 Rue des Couronnes, 75020 Paris, France
Distance back to start location

1km

Directions to Starting Point

Take line 3 of the metro to the Parmentier stop, and exit the metro station. Our tour begins at the top of the stairs, on the corner of Avenue Parmentier and Avenue de la République.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

On the tour, we make a point of stopping at Henri de Launay's doll restoration shop and the pastry shop and tea salon La Bague de Kenza. But you'll pass numerous cafes, restaurants, bookstores, and boutiques on this tour, and in the spirit of flânerie you are encouraged to stop anywhere that piques your curiosity.

Best time of day

The hours for our final destination, the Parc de Belleville, vary somewhat. It's usually open between 8am and 5:45, but check the website before you leave to be safe: http://equipement.paris.fr/parc-de-belleville-1777#local-calendar

Precautions

As in all cities, keep an eye on your belongings, and watch out for traffic and other pedestrians.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”