A guide to the Paris of Baudelaire: Paris change

Visiting Paris is always a cultural experience due to its food, monuments and attractions. Yet no guide to the Île de France is quite like that of Charles Baudelaire.

Through his famous work of poetry ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’, the famous 19thcentury poet depicts Paris changing through Haussemannisation, with his memories that are “plus lourds que des rocs.”

The Paris of Baudelaire: ‘Tableaux parisiens’ et ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’ 

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1.’Corner building, Square Alboni, Paris’ by James Petts, via Wikimedia Commons
2. ‘Charles Baudelaire’ by Étienne Carjat, via Wikimedia Commons

Bienvenue to the land of Ch’ti – The dialect of the North of France

The Northern department Hauts-de-France can be a challenge for a French language learner. Under the 2016 new territorial reform, the department is a fusion of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie, enriched with a difficult Patois, quirky traditions and unusual French expressions.

Through my own experiences living in Lille, I’d like to help you avoid making similar French mistakes as I did and allow you to understand the funny world of the Ch’tis!

Standard French versus Ch’ti

Ch’ti, is the Northern dialect of France and is often referred to as the language used in the 2008 film ‘Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis’ starring French comedian, Dany Boon and often translated as ‘Welcome to the sticks’.

As for the French, the North isn’t somewhere you’d choose to go! Even putting the bad weather aside, another reason for this reputation is the Ch’ti patois, sadly depicted to be used by the uneducated, with its differences to standard French

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Lille Panorama by dronepicr via flickr 

Literature in Lyon: through the eyes of a bibliophile

It is well-known that Lyon is the French capital of gastronomy, but rather than eating your way through this city what about exploring literature in Lyon? Let's discover a different Lyon through the eyes of Francophone bibliophiles - literature in Lyon for lovers of reading, writers and collectors of books, in French!

Literature in Lyon: favourite bookshops

There can be substantial satisfaction gained in the sense that you’re helping small French bookstores survive and in Lyon, you can do just that, I can vouch for it!

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The ultimate Lille guide: a ‘Lille’ bit of literature!

Do you love French books and reading in French? Or do you just love to write? From bookshops to cafes, I will take you on a literary guide around Lille to get your creative juices flowing with this Lille literature guide.

After discovering where to eat, drink and stay in Lille, it's time to find out where the best places are for a bibliophile's needs: inexpensive books, collector's items and maybe even a decent chocolat chaud to go with it all!

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1. Lille by Corina Paraschiv via Unsplash