Parler Paris and Parler Nice are long-standing brands of the Adrian Leeds Group. They are in no way associated with the social platform Parler, nor do they share any of the philosophies of that platform.

Your taste of life in Paris!

Subscribe and don't miss an issue!

Les Bonnes Nouvelles for 2005

Happy New Year!

Another New Year’s Eve in Paris…another year in Paris…and a toast to perhaps another decade in Paris.

Since last Monday’s newsletter, a lifetime seems to have passed and I have lots of news. More than fifty curious investors took their seats early on Wednesday morning in the Monaco Room at Hotel Les Jardins du Marais to hear some of Europe’s finest professionals share their knowledge on the pros and cons, ins and outs, ups and downs of purchasing property in France. It’s the 7th seminar we’ve given of this kind, with one exception — we condensed the message to “property in France” and squeezed it into one very power-packed day.

At the end of the long day (over champagne cocktails compliments of Banque Patrimoine et Immobilier), we asked everyone to submit their evaluations and comments and this is just a snippet of what they had to say:

“Your honesty re buying in France was appreciated. I had anticipated more of a hard sell, so thanks!”

“All of the presentations contained a great deal of valuable information. I’m very impressed with how much everyone brought to this one-day seminar, and how well it all fit together. We are still looking at a lot of options, and this has helped give us things to think about with the opportunity to go to ‘real people’ to get our questions answered. Definitely time well-spent.”

To read more of their comments, click on
/frenchproperty/conference/conferencements.html

Our next conference takes place in New Orleans, February 11 – 13, 2005 — a three-day Living and Investing in France Conference with many of the same professionals, plus many others covering all topics related to living in France. For more information, visit /frenchproperty/conference/LIF_NOLA/LIF_NOLA_home.html

For New Year’s Eve, we were lucky enough to score tickets to hear Frédéric Moreau and “Les Violins de France” along with “Les Trompettes de Versailles” (Alain Fontès and Patrick Marmade) perform Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Lully’s “Royal Symphonies” at the Salle Gustave Eiffel on the first level of the Eiffel Tower. The elegant little theater has perfect acoustics, windowed walls for fabulous views of the city and is positioned just next to the new ice skating rink. Moreau, winner of the “Premier Prix de Violin” and “Premier Prix de Musique de Chambre,” and his troupe of proficient musicians, amazed the audience — one could barely see his fingers fly on the strings. To be at the Eiffel Tower on this special evening was magical, and a first for all of us. The concert was one of several sponsored by Musique et Patrimoine, http://www.ampconcerts.com, 01.42.50.96.18.

Insider Paris Guides is getting a face-lift with the start of 2005. We’ve done a serious evaluation and narrowed it down to a few of our favorites. Stay tuned for some new ones on the horizon, too. Just yesterday, I replaced last quarter’s edition with a new version of the “Insider Paris Guide for Good Value Restaurants” — with more than 200 of my favorite good-value non-touristy haunts. If you think it’s cool to tell your friends you dined at “Le Procope” or “Bofinger,” think again. Leave these for the “Paris-for-Dummies” crowd and venture into lesser-known parts of Paris where the real Parisians spend their time, spend less money and enjoy it more.

What’s the city’s biggest restaurant bargain? Perhaps it’s “Le Domaine de Lintillac” — where you can start with a Kir, have three courses of fine Périgourdine cuisine (foie gras, confit de canard, etc.), their best wine and coffee for about 20 Euros! (10, rue Saint Augustin, Arrondissement 2, 01.40.20.96.27). Don’t bother going without advance reservations — at these prices and quality, they stay packed, mostly with young French, amazingly not smoking! For more information or to order your guides, visit http://www.insiderparisguides.com/index.html

Pascal Fonquernie of http://www.parismarais.com apartment rentals, most of whose apartments are located on rue Charlot (his own beautifully decorated apartment, too) alerted me to Aric Chen’s January 2nd article in the New York Times, “A Shopping Mecca in the Marais.” Chen writes about this narrow little street that is parallel to my own just one block over: “However, at the northern frontier of this well-trodden territory is the Rue Charlot, a chicly shabby street that has begun to acquire a certain following. Named for a 17th-century financier, the Rue Charlot runs about three long blocks between the Rue des Quatre Fils, near the Musée Picasso, and the Place de la République. With one-person-wide asphalt sidewalks, and a fair share of graffiti, it feels a shade or two grayer than your average Parisian street. What it lacks in conventional charm, however, it makes up for with a secluded, fringy atmosphere that attracts those in the know.”

I imagine this up-and-comance adds, once again, to the value of my own humble abode and perhaps means adjacent little rue de Saintonge could be the next to attract “those in the know.” To read the article in its entirety, complete with a line-up of the best boutiques on rue Charlot, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/travel/02surf.html?oref=log

in

On Pascal’s parismarais® Web site, he also provides a visit of rue Charlot and Le Marais — complete with pictures and his own review of the boutiques, plus you can join with him to do a good deed — parismarais® rentals will donate 10% of the rental income of an apartment you rent during all of January to the UNICEF for Children Aid in Asia. It’s a small, but very generous thing to do for those suffering while we’re enjoying the “good life” in the City of Light. (Be sure to tell Pascal Adrian sent you.)

Mark your agenda for next Tuesday, January 11th, to attend our monthly coffee gathering, “Parler Paris Après Midi,” 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. upstairs at La Pierre du Marais. For the details and directions, visit /parlerparis/apresmidi.html We always have a great time getting to know one another — so if you’re in town at the time, don’t miss it.

The very next day, January 12th, starts the official Winter Sales ( Les Soldes d’Hiver) in Paris, ending February 12th. Even though you can expect the stores to be wall-to-wall bargain hunters, this is the best seasonal sale, since winter clothing is useful more months of the year in Paris than summer garb. What a perfect time to buy classic style coats and sweaters that you can wear now and stow away for more wearing next year. This is how I’ve found some of my favorite things…but don’t tell anyone they’re last year’s models.

A la prochaine…


Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

P.S. For those of you drowning in spam and installing spam control, you may be missing Parler Paris issues that aren’t getting through the road blocks. Please be sure to let your spam control in on the secret and “white-list” our email address: mailto:[email protected], then be sure to pass on this message and the newsletter to your friends. Anyone can subscribe by submitting your email address in the box on the upper left of any page of /parlerparis/ and if you click on “Click Here to Share Parler Paris with a friend…” at the top of the page, it will open an email you can send directly to all those Francophile friends who may be missing it, too.

SHARE THIS POST

Leave a Comment




Let Us create a custom strategy for you

You can live or invest in France-now.

Property for sale

Read & Subscribe

Dive into more by reading Parler Nice & French Property Insider.

Better yet, subscribe to one or all and get the updates delivered to your inbox.

Global Money Services

Our contacts will help you invest in France.

Moneycorp a foreign exchange and international currency specialist
OFX Global logo

Join us at our monthly Après-Midi.

Become a part of the Paris community.

See Adrian on HHI

Find out how we can help you invest in your own piece of France.