Rue de Lappe
Metro : Bastille. 11th
Arrondissement.
This small paved street, whilst narrow and discrete, is still one of
the hottest Parisian nightspots. Filled with bars, restaurants and
trendy boutiques it really comes alive during the nightly “happy
hours”. The street’s reputation emerged with the famous popular dance
clubs located there before the war. Well located in the Bastille
quarter, it was where Parisian’s came to dance and drink absinthe. The
street was named after a market gardener, Gérard de Lappe, who
once sold his wares here. The number of cafés opened in this
spot by natives of the Auvergne region of France lead the writer
Alphonse to label it a Auvergnat ghetto. Over the years though the
jolly folk dances of the Auvergne region gave way to the java and then
the Argentinean tango. Located at number 9 was the infamous Bal Vernet.
Whereas at number 32 one could find Jo France, creator of le Bal
à Jo, which came to be called the Balajo from 1936 onwards. Well
known patrons of the Balajo were Arletty, Marlene Dietrich, Francis
Carco, Joseph Kessel and numerous other personalities. Whilst closed
during the war the Balajo afterwards welcomed many of the stars of the
French Liberation, Edith Piaf, Django Reinhardt, Francis Lemarque and
Mouloudji. Even today it manages to retain the feel and charm of
yesteryear.
PARIS
MYSTERIOUS :
Trocadero
and Palais de Chaillot history
Arc-de-Triomphe
Les Champs-Elysées
La Place de la Concorde
L'Opéra Garnier
Père-Lachaise Cemetery
Pigalle
Notre-Dame
Musée d'Orsay
Musée du Louvre
Montmartre
La Madeleine
Buttes-Chaumont
Les Invalides
Ile St-Louis
Bastille
Tuileries Gardens
Saint-Sulpice
Musée
Marmottan
Eiffel Tower
Passages and Galeries
Palais-Royal
