Visiting the Tiers-Lieux – or Third Areas – of Paris ⋆ Secrets and techniques of Paris

If you wish to know the place the locals in Paris actually hang around — and aren’t afraid to enterprise past the same old vacationer haunts and stylish hotspots – take a look at a few of the metropolis’s hottest “third areas”, often called tiers-lieux.

What are Tiers-Lieux?

The definitions fluctuate as a lot because the areas themselves, however basically these “third areas” are someplace between dwelling (first area) and work (second area). Whereas many are created for particular actions or open solely to members, on this article I’ll be speaking in regards to the casual, hybrid areas, normally community-run, the place individuals of all backgrounds can hang around with buddies, work on their laptops, eat brunch, catch a stay live performance, store at a thrift market, discover ways to backyard, take a yoga class, or take part in public conferences.

Those in Paris (and France basically) are normally positioned in public buildings that aren’t at present in use, akin to former faculties, empty authorities places of work, empty tons, or deserted warehouse areas. They typically home native non-profits, neighborhood teams, humble start-ups, and inexpensive co-working areas, along with areas open to most people. Don’t count on something flashy or cutting-edge. These areas are both donated or offered at a backed fee by the native authorities, normally for a set interval that will or will not be renewed, so there needs to be a “public good” on the heart of any tiers-lieux challenge. The main target is on being inclusive, accessible and inexpensive for your complete neighborhood, to not be commercially worthwhile. The vibe is commonly bohemian, eco-friendly, laid again. The buzzwords you’ll hear are different, upcycling, round financial system, working collectively, locavore, zero-waste, and “inventive options to avoid wasting the planet” (or possibly simply the neighborhood).

Tiers-lieux all have a barely totally different crowd relying on their location and kind of occasions open to the general public, however they entice quite a lot of younger Parisians and households with children in strollers, in addition to activists, idealists, and artists. Sure, you’ll most likely spot a number of Bobo’s, but additionally Parisians sporting shorts and flip-flops (or no matter makes them snug). These aren’t locations to see and be seen, or stunning spots to report your subsequent viral reel. But when the ultra-processed, luxurious client playground that a lot of Paris has grow to be will get you down, these tiers-lieux are the antidote. 

Tiers-Lieux to Go to In and Round Paris

Académie du Climat
2 Place Baudoyer, 4^th
Open Monday-Tuesday 9am-9pm, Wednesday-Saturday 9am-midnight.

Housed within the former City Corridor of the 4^th arrondissement, the Local weather Academy is actually a spot for younger Parisians to study, trade and take motion for the local weather, however open to everybody. In the event you’re simply curious, it’s ideally positioned proper within the heart of Paris, so it’s straightforward to only pop in to relaxation your toes within the backyard courtyard (they name it the “orchard”), browse the library or the most recent photograph exposition, or go to the bottom flooring canteen (“la buvette”) for a vegetarian meal or only a espresso (open Wednesday-Saturday 11am by way of midnight).

In the event you actually need to check your French, be a part of of their packed weekly program of upcycling workshops, conferences and debates, movie screenings, enjoyable occasions like stand-up comedy nights or karaoke, or moderated “Café Climat” discussions the place you’ll be able to take part within the conversational subject of the day or simply pay attention. All occasions are free, though some require you to register on the web site if area is proscribed.

Enjoyable Truth: I received married right here within the Salle des Fêtes in April 1999.

Les Arches Citoyennes
3 Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, 4^th
Solely open to the general public for particular occasions and artisan markets.

This is without doubt one of the latest tiers-lieux, housed in a former hospital administrative constructing throughout from Metropolis Corridor (Hôtel de Ville), now a piece area for 450 neighborhood teams, artists, and artisans managed by Plateau Urbain. They’re open a number of instances every month for cultural occasions and crafts markets. The second Marché de Créateur·rices is that this Saturday, September thirtieth from 11am-7pm, with 50 stands within the courtyard promoting clothes, ceramics, jewellery, drawings, candles, images, dwelling décor, and different crafts. Free entry. Test their Instagram for normal updates about upcoming occasions.

Césure
13 rue Santeuil, 5^th
Open Tuesday 11am-3pm, Wednesday-Friday 11am-midnight, Saturday noon-midnight.

Césure is a tiers-lieu opened final yr within the former Université Paris-III Sorbonne-Nouvelle campus, an infinite Nineteen Sixties-era complicated throughout from the Jardin des Plantes. Now it’s a neighborhood heart offering inexpensive working area for 200 resident artists, artisans, non-profits, start-ups, and social companies for 2000 college students from 5 totally different universities. The cultural, academic, and inventive program consists of indie movie screenings, literary gatherings, performs, activist conferences, artisan markets, arts exhibitions, curler discos, festivals, dance occasions, cabarets, concert events, DJ units, public radio broadcasts, studying workshops, and pupil tasks.

Just like the Académie du Climat, the packed program tends to enchantment to budding social and environmental activists and college students, however is open to everybody. Exterior of occasions which may curiosity you, there’s not a lot to see apart from the canteen (serving lunch Tuesday-Friday noon-2pm and brunch Saturdays noon-3pm), which shares a big area with an Emmaüs Campüs charity store (open Wednesday-Saturday noon-7pm; donations welcome), and an out of doors terrace. There’s additionally a bar open throughout night occasions. Césure solely has the precise to occupy the campus till the tip of 2024, when it’s going to lastly endure long-awaited renovations. 

Enjoyable Truth: I taught English Presentation Expertise for third-year Communications college students on the Sorbonne-Nouvelle in 2015, and have been having fun with the candy mint tea from the Mosquée de Paris tearoom down the road since I used to be a pupil myself again in 1995.

Floor Management Gare de Lyon
81 rue du Charolais, 12^th
Open Wednesday-Thursday noon-midnight; Friday-Saturday noon-1am; and Sunday noon-10:30pm

This has been one among my go-to locations since 2018 for consuming out in a big group, since there are a dozen totally different meals vehicles (in summer time) and eating places within the meals courtroom to select from, loads of area to take a seat (though it fills up by 8pm on weekends), and it’s enjoyable to browse the little outlets (books, classic upcycling, vinyl data, CBD merchandise). There’s a pinball sport room, a board sport room, and a formidable lineup of free occasions: artwork expositions, DJ dance nights, yoga periods, stay concert events, drag reveals, artwork workshops, and the same old “conferences and debates” on the urgent difficulty du jour. Particular shout out to La Résidence, the restaurant at Floor Management the place the menu is created and ready by refugee cooks from all over the world.

It’s an ideal place to seize a chew after visiting the close by Viaduc des Arts and Promeande Plantée. It’s kid-friendly within the daytime so that you’ll see quite a lot of younger households, however within the evenings it attracts a reasonably cool crowd of East Paris locals (extra streetwear than stiletto). In contrast to most nightlife locations in Paris, it’s not costly or snobby. There are 4 bars open evenings throughout the week and all day on the weekends, with native beers and pure wines. They even have beer and sangria by the pitcher, nonetheless a rarity in Paris (cups are reusable, you’ll get a deposit again while you return them).

Enjoyable reality: You can too entry Floor Management immediately from the Gare de Lyon Prepare Station; I’ve written the exact instructions – with images – in my 2019 article about visiting Floor Management. 

Bercy Beaucoup – Plant B – La Javelle
5 Boulevard Poniatowski, 12^th
Plant B is open Wednesday-Friday 1-7pm, and Saturday 11am-7pm. La Javelle is closed for the winter.

This tiers-lieu on the southern fringe of the 12^th arrondissement includes a spacious, open-air guingette referred to as La Javelle, with stay music, and an out of doors bar and pizzeria. As a result of it’s all outdoor, it’s solely open April-September. Nonetheless gardeners can go to the second area at Bercy Beaucoup, Plant B, which is a neighborhood backyard alongside the previous Petite Ceinture rails, beekeeping hives, a composting heart, a second-hand backyard boutique, and the “Rotonde”, a neighborhood workshop area internet hosting occasions year-round.

Getting there: the closest public transport is true throughout the road, the tram 3b’s Baron Leroy cease; you can additionally stroll from behind Bercy Village (metro 14 ours St-Emillion) by taking Quai de Bercy and up a metallic staircase to the marginally dodgy-looking (however fantastic within the daytime) passage main between the warehouses to the Boulevard Poniatowski (you’ll be able to see it on Google maps).

Les Amarres
24 quai d’Austerlitz, 13^th
Open to most people Thursday 6pm-11:30pm, Friday 6pm-1am, and Saturday 11am-1am, and the 1^st Sunday of the month for brunch noon-3pm.

Les Amarres is a tiers-lieu proper on the Seine (24 quai d’Austerlitz, thirteenth) that homes a refugee welcome heart on weekdays, and a café-bar-concert area open to most people Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Managed by Sure We Camp, there’s a “buvette” refreshment bar-canteen serving Franco-Syrian bar meals and lightweight snacks, and a hearty Syrian brunch each Saturday and the primary Sunday of the month from noon-3pm (on-line reservations advisable right here). The bar serves selfmade, native, natural, and artisan drinks (beer, wine, juices, and smooth drinks from €3-8). The primary space serves as an occasion area, eating room and stage, and there’s an ideal little open-air terrace out again with tables overlooking the Seine.

Weekly occasions (free and open to everybody) embrace crafts markets, stay music and DJ concert events, artwork expositions, arts workshops, movie screenings, open mic nights, and lots of spherical desk occasions and conferences addressing problems with social justice, the setting, and inclusion.

Insider Tip: It’s simply down the jetty from the lime-green « truc vert » often called Les Docks – Cité de la Mode et du Design, which has sadly emptied out apart from the style faculty, Wanderlust nightclub, and a Café Oz on the highest flooring. Head the opposite route and cross underneath the elevated metro to Quai de la Picture, as an alternative, for drinks and leisure alongside the Seine.

Fondation GoodPlanet – Domaine de Longchamp
1 Carrefour de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne, sixteenth
Open Wednesday-Friday noon-6pm, Saturday-Sunday 11am-7pm

Situated within the Domaine de Longchamp, a 19^th-century mansion on 3.5 hectares within the bucolic Bois de Boulogne, the GoodPlanet Basis is the creation of the world-famous French photojournalist Yann Arthus-Bertrand, devoted to elevating public consciousness on environmental points and environmental safety. It’s a non-profit basis that depends on donations and sponsors, so not technically a tiers-lieu, but it surely acts very a lot in the identical spirit because the others on this record (albeit with a extra elegant setting within the prosperous western fringe of Paris). You’ll be able to inform from the opening hours that it’s a family-friendly area, and lots of the workshops and occasions are for fogeys and/or their children, however after all all are welcome.

The mansion hosts every kind of images and artwork expositions, common movie screenings, and themed weekends specializing in environmental or social justice subjects: “From natural to nuclear, from press freedom to refugees, from honey harvesting to moral trend, from essentially the most playful to essentially the most vital, all the themes of our time have their place.” The entire occasions are free, though the lessons and workshops typically require you to register for a spot. On the grounds you’ll discover a juice and snack truck, a bar on weekends, sustainable meals workshops, excursions of the vegetable backyard and beehives, a e book shed, and an out of doors live performance area.

Getting there: Accessibility is a bit sophisticated by public transit, because the closest metro/RER is Porte Maillot station, then both a taxi or bus 244 to Longchamp-GoodPlanet (don’t strive strolling it). Contemplate combining it together with your go to to the Fondation Louis Vuitton or the Bagatelle Gardens, that are additionally within the Bois de Boulogne.

Le REcyclerie
83 boulevard Ornano, 18th
Open noon-midnight (till 2am Friday-Saturday, till 11pm Sunday); usually open every day, however at present closed Monday-Tuesday (in response to their socials).

This well-established tiers-lieu is within the former Ornano Station of the Petite Ceinture outdoors Porte de Clignancourt metro station (you may see it in your option to the St-Ouen flea market). There’s a locavore café-canteen open for lunch and dinner (at the least 50% vegetarian, no reservations), an city vegetable farm with bees and chickens open till 5pm, an Atelier de René the place you may get assist repairing small objects (or borrow the instruments to do it your self in case you’re a member) open till 6pm, and a cultural program that promotes sustainability, creativity, and “being a greater client.”

There are sometimes upcycled, artisan, classic, or crafts markets on the weekend, particularly in December to advertise “accountable and moral Christmas buying” and open-air cinema in summer time. I like the views over the previous Petite Ceinture prepare tracks from the large home windows of the REcyclerie (and the terrace in nicer climate), however so does everybody else: get right here early in order for you a desk. If the area evokes you, contemplate signing up for one of many free guided excursions – in French – on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 4pm, register right here.

Insider Tip: Whereas the individuals you’ll cross inside are largely Parisian hipsters and pleasant activists, preserve a detailed eye in your telephone and different belongings when going to or leaving the REcyclerie, as pickpockets and fraudsters are sadly fairly frequent across the Porte de Clignancourt metro cease (this isn’t the place to be sporting fancy jewellery).

La Cité Fertile
14 avenue Edouard Vaillant, Pantin
Open every day from midday, till 6pm Monday-Wednesday, till 1am Thursday-Saturday, till 10pm Sunday. Hours might change, at all times examine the present week’s agenda on their web site.

This tiers-lieu in a disaffected warehouse complicated simply outdoors Paris could also be a bit scruffier than you’re used to seeing within the metropolis, with a little bit of a squatters’ vibe. But it surely has a welcoming environment that draws quite a lot of younger Parisians and households, just like Floor Management. When it opened in 2018 it was supposed to only final for 3 years, however they’re nonetheless going robust, internet hosting festivals, classic markets, concert events, zero waste workshops, yoga periods, karaoke nights, and (at the least in years previous), a magical Christmas market with an enormous play space for teenagers.

There are a number of bars, each indoors and outdoors, a canteen with thrift store furnishings, pétanque courts, varied out of doors seating areas, a neighborhood backyard, beer brewery, and co-working area. Upcoming occasions embrace all the World Cup Rugby matches proven on an enormous display screen with meals vehicles, and a Planète Résilience pageant the primary week of October with an moral trend present and upcycling workshops.

Getting there: Though your Google maps might inform you to take metro line 7 to Quatre Chemins or line 5 to Hoche, the stroll from these stations isn’t actually appropriate for vacationers (even French ones). Take RER E to Pantin as an alternative, which is far nearer (and also you’ll see the Cité Fertile from above as you cross the bridge), or a taxi/Uber after darkish.

Some Different Tiers-Lieux to Test Out

Digital Village, 21 rue Albert, 13^th. Co-working, bar-café with festive comfortable hours, exposition area, and pupil housing close to Place d’Italie.

Poinçon, 124 ave Générale Leclerc, 14^th. A community-focused bar-restaurant-live music and tradition area in a former Petite Ceinture prepare station, run by the identical group as La Bellevilloise.

Hasard Ludique, 128 Avenue de Saint-Ouen, 18^th. Near the REcyclerie, one other former Petite Ceinture station now housing a vigorous café-restaurant, stay music area, vacation market, and workshops. Out of doors seating alongside the previous railway tracks.

Jardin 21, 12/A Rue Ella Fitzgerald, 19^th.  A former nineteenth century orchard remodeled in 2018 right into a inexperienced, cultural and festive tiers-lieu on the banks of the Ourcq Canal within the Parc de la Villette.

Kilometre25, 8 boulevard MacDonald, 19^th. An open-air live performance and clubbing area (not free) underneath the périphérique open weekends till 7am, Could by way of October. Additionally has an artwork gallery,  meals truck, and ten nighttime outlets the place you may get tattoos, piercings, second-hand garments, classic data, a haircut, or nail artwork between DJ units.