It is pretty clear that the majority of my audience has kept his child's soul. Indeed, just like toddlers attracted and stimulated by colors, many of you have visited and questioned me about the graffiti in the gallery that I entitled "the color of walls" and in particular on their locations.
As I love my audience, I take the time to share my favorite spots to admire these temporary artworks blooming all over the city’s wall. However, I need to warn you first: once you got hooked, it's hard to get to take a step back from street art. You will spend all your walk time with your head pointed to the sky and every ten meter you will stop and you will turn your head in the middle of your walk, because a graffito could possibly hide on this piece of wall that you have just passed by. Similar to a Pokemon hunt, you will love rediscovering Paris by these little touches of color that painters have sprayed on sad and gray walls. If the capital is often considered the most beautiful city in the world, it is also thanks to these street painters.
I cannot write an article about Parisian street art without mentioning a district best known for its sautéed noodles, beef soups and its Asian supermarket chains, Paris 13th district. This area of the capital contains a multitude of monumental frescoes. I believe that the best point of view to admire them is through the windows of the aerial subway line 6 between Quai de la Gare Station and National Station. Get ready to dump a massive load of rainbows because your retinas will absorb the best color palette in all Paris. Aside from the masterful frescoes on either side of Vincent Auriol Boulevard, you can also admire more modest artworks (in size, not in talent) in almost every corner of the area. Just keep your phone in your pocket and let your eyes wander all around.
Around The Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, you can find the old refrigerated station transformed into a creative and art production site, les frigos. After touring this huge building, René Goscinny and Françoise Dolto Streets will, with no doubt, amaze you. In fact, on both sides of the Avenue de France, there are a great number of empty spaces for artists to freely express the color of their soul. Just look at the architectural style of this new neighborhood to be convinced. Following the railway of the tram on the Boulevard du General d'Armée Jean Simon toward Baron le Roy Station, you will automatically slow down near the Lavo // matik and it will be completely legit. It's anarchic. It's colorful. It's beautiful.
Still in the 13th district, lose yourself in the small streets of Butte-aux-Cailles for two good reasons. One, it's a funny name that rolls under the tongue. Repeat it three times in a row. Butte-aux-Cailles, Butte-aux-Cailles, Butte-aux-Cailles. Admit it, funny name! In this graphic hike, if you feel weak, take a seat in one of the many bars of this student and dynamic neighborhood. That is the second good reason.
This street art hunt cannot omit the nerve center of Chinatown, between Porte d’Ivry Station and Porte de Choisy Station; you will discover other monumental frescoes on the high buildings around the gallery Massena. Sweet candies for the eyes.
The North of Paris has a certain charm, and its walls are equally rich in paintings. The surroundings of the Canal of Ourcq and the La Villette Basin are ideal to satisfy Street Arts lovers. Going down the Quai de la Loire you will come across the very charming and famous Henri Noguères Street. You will easily find it. That is the one with the strong smell of piss...
A few steps away from the canal, in the district of La Chapelle, the streets of Aubervilliers and Riquet are clearly a must see. Several hundred meters of facades are perpetually colored by many painters. Moreover, it is at the crossroads of these two streets that is the little masterpiece of P-boy entitled,"Papa, c'est quoi l'argent?" ("Dad, what is money?"). The Gardens of Eole also sheltered some colored sweets for the retina.
I also love Montmartre district for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the small village atmosphere and also its numerous frescoes, collage and other art installations. Clearly, the hillock has many hidden treasures. Just take your time and enjoy every corner of this beautiful place. Stroll around, walk every street between Blanche and Châteaux rouge Stations. Do not forget Véron Street, Robert Planquette Street, Émile-Goudeau Square, Androuet Street, the Abbesses crossing...
Eastern Paris is not left out from street artists, from the Oberkampf Station to Belleville Station via Ménilmontant Station; you will travel, feel different atmospheres. You will be blown away. Denoyez Street is mythical in the graffiti scene of the capital. You will thank yourself for sticking to your new year resolutions and especially the one of getting in shape, because you have to climb a bit to reach the Belleville Belvédère and admire one of the most beautiful panoramic views of the city and the artworks that cover the walls of the park. Frehel Place and its many tables in terraces, the Ménilmontant Street and its mythical fresco of the men of Ménilmontant, Oberkampf Street, Saint-Maur Street... Really, there is a lot to see in this part of the city.
In the center of Paris, around the Pompidou Center, Châtelet - les Halles Station and Sentier Station, these spaces have also been massively invested by the artists of drawing and painting. In those districts, avoid big arteries of circulation. It is only in the small streets of the city center that the charm reveals all its potential. In pell-mell, you can currently discover a lot of Federici's work, for fans of Tintin or Captain Haddock will appreciate the fresco at the intersection of the Street des Petits Carreaux and Aboukir Street.
I think I'm done for the moment with this list, which is neither exhaustive nor definitive. There are still so many areas that I have not explored yet. But with this article, I hope that your appetite for the graffiti hunt has grown and that I have succeeded to give you the desire to put on your walking shoes for a hike on the urban art theme. We'll meet again next week. Take care.
Kisses,
Kitofoto