A perfect meal starts with lobster ravioli followed by fillet of sea bass in aubergine caviar and an impeccable pineapple meringue in a gewurtztraminer confit. 90 francs all day, including helmet and protective pads. After a long workout or a day of city stress, some Parisians turn to a dizzying variety of massage therapies. The top of the viaduct has been landscaped as part of a pedestrian and bicycle path that runs all the way east to the Bois de Vincennes. Once a run-down district of abandoned factories, the area around the Rue Oberkampf in the 11th arrondissement has been transformed into a melting pot of cafes, nightclubs and record shops, energized by an influx of cultural sources from France's former colonies in North and West Africa.
Books occupy four towers while readers are ensconced underground surrounding a sunken forest.
The Paris Free Voice presents an irreverent take on cultural and social events in the capital, as well as providing advice on navigating life as an expatriate. Time Out packs much of the same information into its quarterly guides and the six English-language pages on the city's cultural highlights that run in the weekly Pariscope. Richard Covington is a journalist based in Paris who covers cultural subjects and media.