Let's admit it. In Paris in August it can sometimes be difficult to get...
a doctor's appointment...
a pedicure...
...even a bottle of wine.
In fact this month half Paris seems to be on holiday, from the workers in the wholesale fashion warehouses on rue Popincourt...
to the staff at, erm, this place just round the corner on rue de la Folie-Merincourt...
Some holidays are fiercely justified...
...Others are an excuse for déménagement, re-management or travaux (you'd be amazed how much travail goes on in Paris right in the middle of the holidays).
Opening hours can be a lottery...
...and sometimes you can walk for miles just to find a loaf of bread.
Luckily, the Hotel de Ville provides some useful lists.
and you'll always find somewhere that prides itself on being open the whole summer.
as well as an establishment whose politeness and imagination make it almost a delight to find shut.
Of course, not everything closes and there's nothing like the reward of spending an extra fifteen minutes wandering down dusty city streets free of the usual crowds: nothing like discovering a new cafe for your apero, a new boulangerie for your morning croissant, a new street, a new neighborhood...
Enjoy Paris in August. Paris in August belongs to you.
*Aoûtiens - nm/f August holiday-maker
I now want to visit Le Quai Gourmand solely based on its 'closed' sign!
Posted by: Rachel | August 24, 2010 at 06:19 AM