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Hi I'm David Hill with New York Habitat.
Today we are going to explore the area around La Bastille.
This place is full of unique and hidden treasures.
This will be the first of a three-part series
on this fantastic neighborhood.
So be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel
and you'll be notified when Parts 2 and 3
come out in the coming weeks.
This is La Place de la Bastille … but where is the Bastille?
It was actually a fortress
built on the eastern gates of Paris in the 1300s.
Used as a prison from the early 1600s through to 1789,
the Bastille held some well-known inmates.
The writer/philosopher Voltaire did two stints in the prison.
Once in 1717 and again in 1726.
On July 14th 1789
a large mob of revolutionaries stormed the fortress.
It was the beginning of the first French revolution.
The blocks of the Bastille were taken apart
and used to build the Concorde Bridge.
While the prison no longer exists,
La Place de la Bastille is much a part of Parisian life.
As you can see, it's quite the busy traffic circle
so be careful crossing it.
In the center is the Column of July.
Most people think it commemorates
the first French revolution,
but it actually represents the victims of the second revolution
of July 1830 called les Trois Glorieuses
when the French took up arms again
to oust a tyrannical ruler-this time the short-lived Charles X.
The French Revolutionaries had one thing in mind,
to do things differently.
In that spirit,
you should skip the hotel for your next trip to Paris.
Booking a vacation rental from New York Habitat
will put you in touch with the real Paris,
giving you an authentic experience
you wouldn't get otherwise.
On the other side of the Place de la Bastille
is the Opera Bastille.
It was part of the grands projets building works
commissioned 1989 by President Francois Mitterand
to commemorate the 200-year anniversary
of the French Revolution.
Its design by Carlos Ott is still controversial,
however, its modern acoustics
do justice to the Operatic performances presented here.
If you love contemporary art and antiques,
make sure you check out the massive bi-annual
Joel Garcia Antique and Contemporary Art Fair
held at Place de la Bastille
and on each side of the place de l'Arsenal.
The area east of Place de la Bastille is known as
Faubourg Saint Antoine.
This was a suburb of Paris similar to Montmartre
and Belleville until the mid 1800s.
As this area was close to the Seine
and at the gates of Paris it became an industrial sector,
filled with craftsmen and especially furniture makers.
All along rue de Faubourg Saint Antoine
and rue de Charonne
you can find alleyways lined with workshops.
You'll catch a glimpses of 19th century Paris.
There are two particularly interesting areas
off of Faubourg Saint Antoine.
The first one is Passage du Chantier
where you'll find hidden furniture shops.
The other is the quaint Cour de l'Etoile d'Or.
Walk along the South side of the Opera Bastille
and you'll come to the Viaduc des Arts
and the Promenade Plantée.
Before the invention of the car,
Paris used to have many additional train links into the city
and the Viaduc is one of them.
The city of Paris renovated it in the 1990s
transforming the lower arcades into workshops
and the upper level, where the train once ran,
into a lovely planted walkway, lined with bamboo and roses,
that goes all the way to the Vincennes woods.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed our tour of the Bastille district.
And of course, there are a ton of things to do and see here
and we couldn't get them all in this video.
If you know of anything we missed
make sure you share them with us
in the comment section below.
And make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel
so you'll be notified when Parts 2 and 3
are posted in the coming weeks.
If you're planning a trip to Paris,
get to know a local area by renting a furnished apartment
through New York Habitat.
Visit our website at www.nyhabitat.com.
You're just a few clicks away
from living like a real Parisian.
I'm David Hill with New York Habitat.
And while there is no longer a fortress
here in Bastille to capture,
we hope to see you soon,
capturing your own special Parisian moments!