It was opened in 1846. Today, according to SNCF estimations, nearly 300 million travelers pass Gare du Nord every day, on SNCF trains, Eurostar train, and RER trains, not counting the three metro lines stopping at Gare du Nord (lines 4 and 5) and nearby La Chapelle (line 2, linked via a pedestrian tunnel).
The Gare du Nord building is on the list of historic monuments. When it was enlarged in the early 1860s (and the façade was moved to Lille), most of the columns were made in Glasgow (Scotland) whose foundry plant was the only one capable of creating pieces that size.
The long distance trains connect Paris to northern France, notably Lille. The train station Lille Flandres inherited part of the old Gare du Nord building when the latter was enlarged. However, the Eurostar train linking Paris to London via Lille, stops at the newer Lille Europe station.
Since the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area, passengers taking the Eurostar to London have to go through customs and passport checks in a separate area on the +1 level in the main hall.
Stairs and escalators leading up to the UK Hall
The UK Eurostar area is not accessible on ground level
The continental Eurostar, formerly known as Thalys, connects Paris to Brussels (Belgium) and from there, Amsterdam (Netherlands), or Cologne and Dortmund (Germany). Since all these countries are part of the Schengen area, no passport checks are required and the passengers can access the platforms and trains without any barriers on ground level.
The continental Eurostar (ex-Thalys) can be accessed directly from ground level
The main hall seen from the track side with Thalys trains in 2023
Suburb trains can be found in the newer glass-roofed hall on the eastern side of the historic building. This is also where numerous escalators lead to the lower levels and the RER and metro trains serving Gare du Nord.
Have you been in the area between the Place de la Bastille and the Seine and happened to cross riders on horseback?
Chances are you met members of the Garde Républicaine, the Republican Guard, on patrol. Yes, those same ones you see parade on July 14 on the Champs Élysées.
Note the traditional helmets which date back to 1876, inherited from the dragoons and cuirassiers of the First Empire.
The cavalry of the Republican Guard is housed in the Célestins Quarter with its main entrance on boulevard Henri IV.
Its most visible role is in the honor missions (escorts, also carried out by the motorcycle squadron) although those represent only about 20% of the total. The majority consists of security missions such as patrols in Paris, the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes, but also in the forest of Chambord royal palace and other royal forests.
Chambord Palace
They also carry out surveillance of the sites at summit meetings for certain sports events and in areas with difficult access, for example a missing person search in the woods, and also surveillance of tourist areas.
Napoléon Ier
The origins of the Republican Guard go back to Napoléon Ier, who created the Municipal Guard of Paris in 1802. After many back and forth over the turbulent period of the early 19th century, it was integrated into the Gendarmerie in 1849 by Napoléon III.
Contrary to other cavalry units, the Republican Guard did not participate in WWI as its mission was to maintain order in Paris and oversee the city’s defense. That is how it survived as the last mounted regiment. During WWII, the Republican Guard was demobilized and attached to the Police Prefecture under the name of Paris Guard. Part of the troops secretly joined Charles de Gaulle, and the Guard participated with the French Forces of the Interior in the combats for the liberation of Paris. The Guard also participated in the Indochina War from 1947 to 1954, and in 1978 it changed its name back to Republican Guard.
President Emmanuel Macron initiated a “horse diplomacy” by giving a Republican Guard horse to the Chinese president in 2018. He gifted another Republican Guard horse to Queen Elizabeth II for her Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
On Heritage Days in September, the Republican Guard will open the doors of the Célestins Quarter where you can see riding demonstrations, visit the horses in their stables and see the blacksmith at work.
Did you know the horseshoe sizes range from 28 to 50, with the smallest fitting inside the largest?
Republican Guard at Célestins Quarter
At the Paris International Agricultural Fair 2024, the Republican Guard, including their fanfare or orchestra, put on an impressive show. A few highlights below.
Did you know that for a while, official Paris time was 9 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)? Let me tell you how that happened.
First of all, I assume you know a meridian is a line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. It is used to indicate the longitude of a location.
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (a town just outside London), is the reference point for both the Prime Meridian, putting Greenwich at 0° longitude, and Greenwich Mean Time. Both these references were progressively adopted around the world over the second half of the 19th century, some international conferences helping the process along.
The Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
Paris is in the GMT+1 time zone and at a longitude of ~2°20’E. New York is in the GMT-5 time zone and at ~74’W.
Back in the 17th century, Sun King Louis XIV authorized the building of the royal observatory of Paris (today the Paris Observatory). On Midsummer’s Day 1667, scientists traced the outline of the building in such a way that the Paris Meridian bisected the site from north to south. Meridians were really important in that time as scientists attempted to determine the size and the figure of the earth.
The Paris Observatory
So we now have the Paris Meridian. What about Paris time?
Once upon a time and ironically long before the Sun King came along, people told time by the sun. Later, church bells calling to prayer marked time during the day. Each village, each town lived by the time of their local clocks.
It was only with the arrival of the train that France started to feel the need to unify time across its territory. In order to assure a regular train service, the train companies used Paris time. Progressively, over the second half of the 19th century, French towns adopted double display, local time and Paris time, and in 1891, Paris time was enforced by law across the country.
However, in the meantime, the Greenwich Meridian and GMT had been widely adopted around the world, first by navies, then by train companies and then (nearly) everyone else.
Finally, with the law of March 9, 1911, France adopted the time of the Greenwich Meridian and the division of the day into 24 hours instead of two times 12 hours. However, the text of the law never mentioned Greenwich. Indeed, the reference time remained “Paris time” which is 9 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of GMT. This corresponds to the distance between the Paris Meridian and the Greenwich Meridian.
La Mire du Sud – a sight that originally stood on the Paris Meridian in the gardens of the Paris Observatory, allowing to focus on the Meridian (today it can be found in the public Parc Montsouris)
Paris Observatory and Paris Meridian
In Paris, the Meridian is materialized both inside and outside the Observatory, as well as across town by the Arago medallions, named for Astronomer François Arago (1786-1853) whose statue near the observatory was destroyed by the Vichy Regime in 1942.
Many of the Arago medallions have gone missing since their installation in 1994, not least due to the Da Vinci Code, which has their location all wrong, so don’t go looking for one at the Louvre Pyramid! (Please don’t take any of the remaining medallions. Eiffel Tower key chains only cost 0.50€.)
And if you go to Villers-sur-Mer in Normandy, you will find a marker materializing the Greenwich Meridian on the beach wall. That’s how much 2°20’ are in distance!
Location of the Paris Observatory on a map of Paris
Line 4 is one of the oldest métro lines in Paris. Its construction began in 1905. In 1908, the first section was opened, running from Porte de Clignancourt (which is still its northern terminus today) in the 18tharrondissement to Châtelet in the center of Paris (1st and 4tharrondissement). A year and a half later, a second section was opened on the south bank, running from Raspail in the 14tharrondissement to Porte d’Orleans on the southern city limits. In 1910, the line 4 became the first métro line to cross the river via a tunnel when the section linking Châtelet and Raspail was opened.
For over a century, the line 4 did not pass the city limits. Only in 2013 was it extended to the southern suburbs with the opening of the new terminus Mairie de Montrouge.
Métro 4 at Châtelet before full automation (the platforms are still open and the terminus is still Montrouge)
This station didn’t remain the terminus for long however, as in 2022 two more stations were opened to reach the current terminus Bagneux – Lucie Aubrac. (Both Montrouge and Bagneux are located in the département 92 Hauts-de-Seine.)
new terminus: Bagneux
The line is frequently used by tourists as it calls at Saint Michel-Notre Dame as well as three of the six Paris train stations: Gare du Nord, Gare de l’Est and Gare Montparnasse.
Métro 4 and some other lines at Gare du Nord station
Here are some fun facts about the line 4:
It’s the only line with correspondence to all other métro lines (except the very short 3bis and 7bis).
It’s the only métro line that has two stops at Châtelet-Les Halles, one of the largest underground stations in the world: At Châtelet, you can change to 1. 7, 11, and 14, at Les Halles to the RER A, B, and D.
It’s the second-most frequented lien after line 1.
It is one of currently 3 fully automated métro lines, after line 14 (which was automated from the start) and line 1.
It is the only métro line with a stop on one of the Seine islands, Cité, a stone’s throw from Notre Dame cathedral.
The stations Cité (on Cité Island) and Saint-Michel Notre Dame (right next to the river) were built in caissons assembled on the surface and then lowered into the ground.
Due to its proximity to the river, the middle section of the line is temporarily closed again shortly after its opening when the Great Flood of Paris leads to leaks inside the tunnel and stations.
As a fully automatic métro, is it much appreciated by commuters during transport strikes.
Come along for a ride from Mairie de Montrouge to the former terminus station Porte d’Orléans:
In 1537, King François 1er issued the Ordonnance de Montpellier, by which one copy of each published book had to be deposited in the king’s library.
Today, the French National Library (Bibliothèque Nationale de France – BnF) consists of seven sites, and receives 70,000 books, 250,000 magazines and thousands of specialized documents every year.
The oldest site of the BnF is the Richelieu site. It was home to the king’s library since 1721. Located in the heart of the 2ndarrondissement, the former palace of Cardinal Mazarin (not to be confused with Mazarin’s library La Mazarine) was built in the 17th century and subsequently enlarged up until the 20th century.
The salle Ovale reading room is open to the public
The new BnF museum on the Richelieu site showcases exceptional objects from the BnF collections, among them the throne of King Dagobert (King of the Franks in the 7th century), Charlemagne’s chessboard or the largest gold piece ever found.
The Richelieu site of the Bnf is open to the public. The salle Ovale reading room has free access, for the museum you need to purchase a ticket. Guided tours are available. For access to the research libraries (of which Richelieu is only one site), you need to sign up advance.
The Salle Ovale is a reading room with over 20,000 volumes for reference, among which 9,000 comic books and mangas.
The Labrouste reading room was created for the Imperial Library. Today it hosts the library of the national institute for art history.
The location of the BnF-Richelieu on a map of Paris
The Place des Vosges is one of the five Royal Squares in Paris. Inaugurated in 1612, it was initially named Place Royale after kings Henri IV and Louis XIII. Its name was changed to Place des Vosges in 1792 for the département Vosges in eastern France which was the first to pay its taxes under the French Revolution.
This royal square for once is a square, 140m to each side, with identical façades all along, two stories high, built of red bricks with strips of stone quoins. On the ground level, vaulted arcades allow pedestrians to go around the entire square shielded from the elements.
Only at the center of the north and south sides, the pavilions of the Queen and the King rise above the regular roofline. Despite all those names, the only royal who ever lived on the Place des Vosges was Anne of Austria, and even her residence in the Pavillon de la Reine was short-lived.
At the center of the square stands the equestrian statue of Louis XIII. The original statue, built in 1639 was destroyed during the revolution. Up until the revolution, the square served as a meeting place for the nobility. Today, when the weather is fine, it becomes a meeting place for families, friends, students, and kids’ birthday parties.
Over time, the square has seen many famous residents come and go. The most well-known is probably Victor Hugo who lived at number 6, house which is now the Victor Hugo museum. Other writers who lived on the square include Colette, Alphonse Daudet and Georges Simenon. It was also home to contemporary French politicians like Jack Lang and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It is said that even Cardinal Richelieu lived at number 21 for a while.
The numbering begins at the rue de Birague at the south side of the square with the Pavillon du Roi being number 1. From there, it’s rising even numbers to the right-hand side and rising uneven numbers to the left-hand side, making the Place des Vosges an exception to the systematic street numbering in Paris.
rue de Birague and the Pavillon du Roi
The square can be accessed via the rue de Birague on the south side, which connects the Place des Vosges to the rue Saint Antoine, the rue des Francs Bourgeois from the Marais on the northwest corner, the rue du Pas de la Mule at the northeast corner from the boulevard Beaumarchais, and through a door in the southwest corner leading into the gardens of the Hôtel de Sully.
exit from the Place des Vosges in the southwest corner
If you leave the Place des Vosges this way, you can cross the courtyard of the Hôtel de Sully and emerge onto the busy rue Saint Antoine which a little further becomes the rue de Rivoli, a main east-west axis of the city.
Garden of the Hôtel de Sully
Hôtel de Sully on the rue Saint Antoine
The location of the Place des Vosges on a map of Paris
Have you ever been to a French market? I don’t remember my first experience which dates back to a school exchange in 9th grade, but I do remember first venturing by myself to what I think is the biggest market in Lille, the city in northern France where I began my studies. It was a little disorienting at first, all those marketers advertising their wares in loud voices, sometimes trying to shout one over the other. This is a staple of every French market I’ve visited so far.
And the sheer quantity of food on offer! There are fruit I’ve never seen before but fortunately a little sign will give me the name. There are many kinds of fish (all much fresher than those on offer in a certain Gaulish village), including shellfish, and don’t get me started on the cheeses!
Unhygienix’ fishmonger’s stall in the village of Asterix
A huge advantage of a market over a supermarket is that when you want to buy fresh fruit such as, say a melon de Charente, the market seller will ask you when you plan to eat it (Tonight? During the next few days?) and find you one with the matching degree of maturity. Another highlight of markets for me are the local farmers selling their yogurts and other fresh milk products that you would have a hard time finding on supermarket shelves. Finally, and that’s my husband’s go-to place, the chicken-roaster. Go to the Sunday market, buy your groceries, and get home with a chicken fresh from the spit (or half a chicken, or chicken legs) for Sunday lunch.
But let’s go back and look at Paris markets. According to the City of Paris website, the first market was located on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Lutetia in the 5th century.
Though not in Paris, this is an old French market hall
Fast forward to 1860, when there were already 51 markets. One of them is the oldest existing covered market, dating back to 1615 under King Louis XIII, the Marché des Enfants Rouges. It is located in the 3rdarrondissement and open every day except Mondays from 8h30 till 20h30, (closing later on Thursdays but earlier on Sundays).
Place d’Aligre market in the 12th arrondissement
As of today, Paris has a total of 95 markets, with around 9,000 marketers. This number includes food markets, flea markets, and specialized markets. The City of Paris website gives these details: 72 open-air food markets (including 3 organic markets), 10 covered markets, plus the specialized markets such as flower market, bird market, clothes market, flea markets and 2 creative markets where artist show their original art.
Generally, the food markets are open from 7am to 2.30pm on weekdays and from 7am to 3pm on weekends. Due to customer demand, five markets were created that are open in the afternoon once or twice a week.
For outdoor markets, the market team of the City of Paris sets up the “skeleton” of the market stalls. Indoor markets have it easier, everything is already in place.
If you travel across France, you will find old market halls that are basically wooden roofs open on the sides, or open-air markets in small villages or mid-sized towns. Every town in France has a market, just check their website or ask at the tourist office about market day. And don’t be afraid if you don’t speak French, you can always point at the items and hold up a few fingers.
The International Agricultural Show (Salon International de l’Agriculture, or SIA) is a huge annual event, one of the world’s largest and most important, dubbed “the biggest farm in France”.
It lasts nine days at the end of February/beginning of March, and is open to the public for all of those, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year (2019: 672 568 visitors according to the official website, four of which were me).
The show is held on the Porte de Versailles fairgrounds, where it occupies most of the halls, only the one where the Concours Général Agricole is held is closed to the public.
Agriculture is written large in France, as one of the main economic activities in the country. “Don’t anger the farmers” is advice any French politician knows well to heed, or face the consequences.
So it is no surprise that the show is opened by the French president himself. Jacques Chirac (president from 1995 to 2007) was a big fan of agriculture, and his memory is honoured today with a collection of photos in the main hall.
A number of elected officials, and in election years, candidates, parade through the show during the week, and it is not unusual to run into a crowd of journalists and bodyguards around, say, the prime minister.
2018: Prime Minister Edouard Philippe
2022: Prime Minister Jean Castex
The main attractions of the show, according to who you ask, are either the food (two entire halls are reserved for delicacies from the different regions of France, French overseas territories, and a number of guest countries) or the animals – over 4,000 of them in the 2022 edition, representing 360 different breeds of cows, sheep, goats, horses, ponies, donkeys, bunnies, pigs, dogs, cats, and various poultry.
The stars of the show are unquestionably the cows. Since 2000, a cow has featured on the official posters, entry tickets and other promotional material. Every year, one bovine breed is in the spotlight, and for the past few years, an individual cow of that breed occupies the place of honor and becomes the star of the show. The 2022 cow, for example, was a 4-year-old cow of the Abondance breed from the Savoy Alps named Neige (Snow).
But it’s not all about the animals and the food, a major part of the show is also reserved for the presentation of technologies, companies, equipment, research, linked in some way or other to agriculture, from veterinarians to high-tech tractors to hunting outfitters.
METADATA-START
Another important aspect of the show is educating the public. Here kids (and adults) can see up close how cows are milked, chicks hatch, and win prizes in various activities and quizzes.
Speaking of prizes, all week long, the different breeds are presented in the ring, and proud farmers return home with medals and plaques. Food also gets prizes, at the prestigious Concours Général Agricole, and the gold, silver, or bronze medal will feature prominently on the products when they hit store shelves.
Cows are being groomed before the show
My favorite part? Hugging cows, winning a useful prize (like an eggplant screen wipe or a lunch box) or adding another cow-themed object to my collection. Occasionally I get interviewed for the radio or TV, and I’ve made friends with the owner of the 2016 poster cow Cerise (a Bazadaise from the Landes, in southwestern France).
In the mid-19th century, a train track was built circling Paris like a belt just inside the boulevard des Maréchaux (see The Adolphe Thiers Wall). Called La Petite Ceinture, or Little Belt, it had junctions with all major train lines, so there was no need to go to the terminus stations. Initially meant for freight traffic, it started opining to passenger trains in 1862, giving workers relatively moderately priced train service through the suburbs of the capital to which Baron Haussmann’s works had relegated them.
Ouest Ceinture station near Porte de Vanves
At the end of the 19th century, another belt-like railway line was built, 15km outside the Boulevard Périphérique (which roughly corresponds to the official city limits). This was called La Grande Ceinture and meant to connect the radial train lines linking Paris to the rest of the country and relieving the Petite Ceinture.
Nevertheless, peak traffic of 39 million passengers was reached on the Petite Ceinture during the 1900 World Fair. However, afterwards Parisians gradually abandoned the line in favor of the newly created métropolitain and omnibuses, which provided alternative offers better adapted to urban needs.
The Montrouge station on Avenue du Général Leclerc in the 14th has become a restaurant, behind it (to the left), there’s a staircase giving access to the Petite Ceinture.
The train line closed down definitely in 1934. It was immediately replaced by a bus line taking its name, shortened to “PC”. Only a few night trains still ran for a while, freight trains kept running until the 1990s.
A passenger train on the Petite Ceinture for a special occasion in 1992
The PC bus line has since been partially replaced by the T3A and T3B trams, but the last section between T3A terminus Pont du Garigliano and T3B terminus Porte d’Asnières is still served by the PC bus.
The Petite Ceinture infrastructure was largely abandoned and is today invaded by vegetation, which has given the line a special atmosphere and allowed for the development of a unique biodiversity in Paris.
Since 2007, the national French railway company SNCF, has authorized the temporary creation of greenways on certain sections. By preserving the platform, the SNCF keeps the option of one day reopening the line to passenger traffic.
There is one exception though: On the stretch between Avenue Henri Martin and Porte de Clichy stations, the RER C trains still run on the Petite Ceinture platform.
the Petite Ceinture near Vaugirard
There used to be an entrance to the Paris Catacombs in the Montsouris tunnel, and even today adventurers out for the (completely illegal) exploration of the catacombs can be spotted in certain spots of the train track in the 14tharrondissement.
Some tunnels you can enter, others not.
At Poterne des Peupliers in the 13th arrondissement, the train tracks were used for test runs of the new fully automatic metro line 14 before it was put into service in 1998.
