Seeing the capital in a new light
In Paris, everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, and so on. The city is also overflowing with museums, the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay come to mind easily, but few people realize that the City of Light is itself an open-air museum. Here, tourists and locals alike can enjoy the work of incredibly talented artists for free, right on the street. While some might consider graffiti, street art, or urban art to be vandalism, others see the beauty in these pieces and the talent of the artists sharing them. Some artists, like Banksy, have achieved global fame. Parisian street art even has its own museum now with Fluctuart, a floating urban art center on the Seine, near the Pont des Invalides.
For my part, I had already spent a full summer vacation in the capital visiting all the major Parisian landmarks from east to west. But it was mainly after I moved here officially and ran into some paperwork issues that kept me from working that I discovered the joy of street art. When you’re in Paris and broke, what else is there to do but wander? I had already noticed mosaics inspired by the game Space Invaders all over the city (there are over 1,000 in Paris alone), which I really liked because of my interest in video games. I had also spotted those big yellow winged cats grinning mischievously down at me from the rooftops. Maybe I was paying more attention than before, or perhaps it’s because of the media buzz around street art in recent years, but I quickly realized how rich the streets were, actually teeming with one fascinating piece after another.
As I became more interested in specific works and artists, I also discovered new neighborhoods and streets I hadn't explored yet. That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with street art: in addition to taking you off the beaten path, you can revisit places you already know, and they’ll look completely different from your memory because of the ephemeral nature of street art, which is constantly being renewed.
In my case, it became a passion. By constantly stopping to take photos of street art whenever I was out with friends, I ended up getting them interested in it, too. To my great surprise, most people don't even notice all the art surrounding them, probably too busy looking at their feet or their smartphones!
Furthermore, when I travel, it’s a real pleasure to occasionally run into artists I’m already familiar with. Other cities are particularly rich in street art, such as London, Berlin, or Barcelona (to name just a few in Europe). For me, it’s a great opportunity to discover these cities in a different way.
Where to see street art in Paris?
The 13th arrondissement, a street art hotspot
Some neighborhoods are more popular (or tolerant!) with street artists than others. I would recommend that curious visitors take a look at the Butte-aux-Cailles, where, among others, the artist Miss. Tic is celebrated. With her stencil-tag technique, she is one of the pioneers of the movement. She conveys her messages through her drawings and text. She is now regularly exhibited in museums and art galleries. Beneath its village-like appearance, the Butte-aux-Cailles actually hides numerous works of street art. Rue des 5 Diamants, Passage Sigaud, Passage Boiton, from Rue Tolbiac to Place d'Italie... it’s everywhere, more or less visible, on the ground, on walls, on street furniture, and up high. It’s up to you to search and enjoy this perpetual treasure hunt. By getting into the habit of exploring the area, you’ll eventually notice things appearing and disappearing. You’ll also start to recognize the styles of certain artists.
Street art has grown so much that it is sometimes becoming legal, or even commissioned by
the city! For example, the 13th arrondissement town hall has allowed certain artists to paint building facades, major projects! You can see towers painted by famous street artists, such as Shepard Fairey, aka Obey Giant, (remember the Barack Obama "Hope" poster?) who notably gifted the Liberté Égalité Fraternité piece following the Bataclan attacks. Other artists have been granted their own murals, such as C215 (the Blue Cat, the Golden Age...) or Jana and JS.
Did you know? To showcase all these murals, an association has set up an itinerary called Boulevard Paris 13, making it easier to navigate the open-air museum that has taken over the facades of southeastern Paris. There are no fewer than thirty murals along this route!
Another unmissable site: the Frigos, also in the 13th arrondissement. This building, a relic of the industrial era, is an anomaly that survived the neighborhood's urban transformation. The former 1920s cold-storage warehouse became a squat in the 1980s and is now a collection of artist studios. The exterior itself is a museum: graffiti artists regularly come to redo the surrounding walls, and the artists who have their studios (or not!) inside have a field day decorating the interior. The tower isn't officially open to the public (except once a year for an official event), but with a little patience, you can always find a way to sneak in...
Oberkampf, Belleville, the Marais, Montmartre...
Another site dedicated to street art is Le M.U.R. d'Oberkampf (11th arrondissement), which gives urban artists the chance to paint a 3-by-8-meter facade in public, which is then renewed regularly. Following its success, another M.U.R. was created in the 13th arrondissement on the Quai François Mauriac.
The Butte Montmartre also greatly attracts artists who keep coming back, even though its walls are cleaned regularly. The Marais is also a neighborhood that has made a name for itself in street art, among other things for the giant portraits by Konny Steding. Finally, I’d like to end my selection with Belleville (including the totally multicolored Rue Dénoyez) and its surrounding area.
For those who feel a bit lost and would like a guided introduction to Parisian graffiti and street art, Underground Paris organizes walking tours dedicated to these works! Having done it in the past, it’s a very interesting tour with a guide who knows their stuff and teaches you a lot about the artists you’ll find along this approximately 3-hour walk.
Ultimately, the best way to see street art is to keep your eyes open... even in the most unlikely streets, you’re likely to find some! It sometimes jumps right out at you, but sometimes you have to look very closely because it can be so subtle!
I’m sharing a few photos of other artists often found in Paris; who knows, maybe you’ll want to discover them for yourself!
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