Free and low-cost events in Paris this summer
July 19, 2009 // 1 CommentParis offers summer visitors a range of free and cheap entertainment options
Recession? Quel recession? For Parisians and tourists alike, this summer in Paris is chock-full of free and low-cost entertainment. With the euro still on the high side, and travellers’ budgets just the opposite, this comes as welcome news. Paris, long considered an expensive place to visit, has made summer a bargain, with lots of things to do, some cultural and some just plain fun, that leaves you with your euros to spend on that blowout dinner.
Some of these events, like Paris Plage, the “beach” along the Seine, started as experiments and have become beloved summertime traditions. Paris Plage actually began as a way for those beleaguered Parisians who could NOT take the month of August off to be able to experience something like a “stay-cation” in the city. The result has been to make Paris a much more interesting and lively place to visit in summer than the ghost town it used to become.
The original urban beach, Paris Plage, is back for its eighth season until August 20, with sites along the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette. The first year, many scoffed at the city carting in tons of sand to line the Seine, but no one’s laughing anymore. You’ll find palm trees, sand, lounge chairs, activities for kids, and plenty to eat and drink. There are also impromtu concerts that break out. Look for the sand — and the sunbathers — along the voie George Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement (near Notre Dame) and the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement.
Free concerts are keeping Paris parks humming this summer. One concert series is Festival Fnac Indétendances which runs from July 25 to August 15 and the first three weekends of August. Outdoor shows run Friday through Sunday. The festival is put on by the French music megastore Fnac and favors rock and roll. To see who will be playing, click here.
For jazz lovers, the Paris Jazz Festival runs through July 26. This annual Jazz Festival takes place in the verdant Parc Floral, part of the huge Bois de Vincennes in Paris’ 12th arrondissement. Free concerts are held on the grand scène (big stage) every Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 and 4:30 p.m. You can buy food and drinks in the park, but most people bring their own picnics, liberally lubricated with wine. Admission to the Parc Floral is €2.50, but the concerts are all free. And classical music takes over from jazz in August with the Classique au Vert concert series (August 1–September 20) featuring the works of Ravel, Dubussy and Mahler. As with the jazz festival, the classical music series is great chance for lazy picnics before and during the concerts, which play at 4:00 p.m.
Paris abounds in free and low-cost film festivals in summer, many of them outdoors under the stars, making them perfect for a twilight picnic of crusty baguette, a bottle of wine and those cheeses you picked up in the market..a nice change from popcorn.
The biggest and best-known of these is the Festival Cinéma en Plein Air (July 15–August 16) an outdoor film series that is, thankfully,once again free in 2009. Screenings begin at nightfall (usually between 9:30–10:00 p.m.) and picnics are encouraged. Chairs and blankets can be rented for a small fee. Tis year’s program includes recent English language titles like Brokeback Mountain and Little Miss Sunshine. August 5–23 you can take in the Clair de Lune Festival (in French only) which projects classic films like Godard’s Pierrot le Fou in fun, offbeat locations all over Paris every Thursday–Sunday in mid-August.
From August 29 to September 6, off the beaten track in the 19th arrondissement in Paris’ northeastern corner, Festival Silhouette makes short films the focus in the beautiful restored Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Screenings take place every night after dark on the lawn in front of a charming lake.
As it does all year, the Louvre opens its doors for free the first weekend of every month. But there are other museum and cultural freebies happening this summer. Through August 31, visitors can see Magicien de Fer (Magician of Iron), a free, fun and worthwhile exhibit about the career and personal life of Gustave Eiffel. The exhibit is part of the celebration of the Eiffel Tower’s 120th birthday. But don’t go to the Eiffel Tower to see it! The show is located at another Paris landmark: Place de l’Hôtel de Ville in the 4th arrondissement…one of Paris’ prime locations for its perennial and best free activity: people-watching.
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