The 13th arrondissement of Paris may, a priori, sound less appealing than injecting yourself directly into that characteristic cosmopolitan atmosphere of the 10th arrondissement, but East arondissement Parisian has more and more to say as an alternative.
It is not the same to enter Paris through the bustling Gare du Nord that for the loneliest Austerlitz Gare . Is not the same the multicultural rampage of the tenth district that extensive asepsis and silent thirteenth.
Nord, warm and almost maddening, seems designed for welcome; Austerlitz, defenseless in front of its great square, feels like a farewell . for not looking like doesn't even look like him Sign , absent in the first and meek and distant in front of the second.
And although, in fact, it may be more appealing to inject yourself directly into that cosmopolitan atmosphere characteristic of the French capital and which is so well displayed in the tenth district, the thirteenth arondissement of Paris has more and more to say as an alternative.
Over there everything is less obvious, less conspicuous, more remote . Instead of assaulting the visitor, he waits for him and demands that he squeeze his curiosity out of him.
Gare de l'Austerlitz.
The Seine River will serve as a catalyst. Between the fifth and thirteenth zones (remember that they are distributed on the spiral plane), on the river bank stands the open air sculpture museum , which opens the doors to a more contemplative Paris.
With works of Sorel Etrog, Marta Colvin or Nicolas Schöffer under the weeping willows and the fresh wind of the river, one confirms that it is not necessary to queue or buy tickets to enjoy the art that this city offers in every corner.
It is no less aesthetic Simone de Beauvoir catwalk, that entangles itself like one more wave of the river and vindicates the multiple ways in which the architecture it can be as useful as it is beautiful.
Simone de Beauvoir Footbridge with the Francois Mitterand Library behind.
The distances lengthen, and the route through wide public spaces leads us to the National Library of France (Francois Mitterrand).
your architect, Dominique Perrault , take to the extreme this particular sense of emptiness by creating one of the most unique and alien squares in the city: a dense jungle refreshes readers from underground, collected between four large symmetrical towers that form a rectangle of overwhelming loneliness.
Groups don't matter. young people practicing skate or parcour ; Far away are those who dance or record Tiktok videos. Any human presence is little before the volume of this complex.
We witnessed the opposite just a few meters further to the east, where, between trees and fences, Les Frigos takes the gold medal as an alternative proposal of this unknown neighborhood and even of all of Paris.
Numerous graffiti and murals reveal the reconversion that it underwent in recent years this industrial-type facility, which now houses the workshop of several dozen artists.
The Francois Mitterrand National Library, by Dominique Perrault.
LES REFRIGERATORS
From 1921 to the 1960s, this atypical installation pointed out by its sturdy concrete tower served as refrigerated warehouse for the Paris-Orléans train company. Long-distance convoys entered here every day to stock up on food before starting their journey. Inside, various photos and indications remind this past.
After a period of inactivity, SNCF, the next owner and current French railway company, decided to rent its spacious rooms (some of them are still accessible through freezer doors ) and corridors to a generation that was crying out for a place to express themselves.
Since 1981, numerous artists they have their own fortress here of ideas, a space isolated from the city, which generates synergies and favors the conditions to be able to develop different disciplines.
Les Frigos.
An example of the divergence of proposals is Jacques Remus, who defines himself as a mixture of futurism and nostalgia. His "thermophones" are a set of tubes that, when heated, emit pure, singular sounds , powerful and disturbing.
East fancy organ evokes specific musical scriptures that engage with the viewer in profound ways.
Another unusual type of art comes from the hand of office , a gastronomic proposal in which chef Emilie Suzanne-Birot offers private dining with surprising dishes (of her choice) for small groups. A kind of restaurant to order.
There she also exhibits the work of her father, Michel Birot, old Fashion Photographer, sports and portraitist, who had his workshop in this same place. It is one of the few ways to access this unique space.
An old freezer door in Les Frigos.
But if it is not enough for us to enjoy the atmosphere of Les Frigos and mingle with the artistic spirit of the residents, we can always book a table in Aiguillage , a gallery with a restaurant that occupies the only ground floor open to the public.
Although with a very reduced letter, the menu of the day is affordable and as original as its paintings, with light dishes, ingredients and pairings that could be described in pictorial terms.
Administrative and business buildings follow one another in its surroundings, with their orderly movement during the week and their artificiality on the weekend. To rest, we always have the tree-lined banks of the Seine and other green spaces As the Kellermann Park or the Plaza of Italy.
In Aiguillage, gallery with restaurant.
Part of the revitalization of this district comes from the City of Fashion and Design, a building whose appearance, more pretentious than successful, reminds us of a kind of frustrated Pompidou Museum that sinks into the Seine.
It is so close to the river that it is only possible to appreciate it from the opposite bank. In any case, its relevance is increasing, having since the last decade the French Institute of Fashion and Art Ludique, a recreational museum that includes comics, animation and video games.
Although it is perhaps the least Parisian of the French capital, the XIII District of Paris develops with the same force that once were neighborhoods engraved in our collective imagination. Understanding it takes time, being open to what Paris has not accustomed us to. And for that reason, visit it too It is a relief one step away from the most suffocating center.
City of Mode and Design.