Paris for the history nerd
The Earful Tower: Paris
Oliver Gee
4.8 • 749 Ratings
🗓️ 14 January 2019
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week's guest is Beckett Graham of The History Chicks podcast. It's her first time in Paris and I was curious to know what a history buff like her seeks out in a city like this.
For addresses and more info, simply scroll down, or check the site here for even more information.
Lay a potato at the grave of Parmentier
Antoine Parmentier brought the humble potato to Paris and as a thanks, Parisians leave potatoes at his grave. You can find it in section 39 of Pere Lachaise cemetery. Address: 16 Rue du Repos, 75020
Visit the Princess Diana memorial
Did you know there's an unofficial memorial for Princess Diana above the tunnel where she died? It's right by the scaled replica of the flame of the Statue of Liberty. Address: 7 Place de l'Alma, 75008
Statue(s) of Liberty
Did you know there are at least five statues of Liberty in Paris? Besides the flame mentioned above, you can find the biggest replica of them all on the man-made island called Île aux Cygnes, not far from the Eiffel Tower.
Find all five of the statues here.
Visit the Marie Antoinette's hamlet
Most people head to Versailles for the palace. Maybe even the gardens. But did you know you can go and find the hamlet made by Marie Antoinette? It's basically a village that the queen made so she could play at being a peasant. You can read more about "The Queen's Hamlet" on the official Versailles website here.
Find Joan of Arc's statue
Many people will head into the Notre Dame Cathedral without even noticing there's a statue of Joan of Arc just inside. In fact, despite the hoards of tourists, you might just find her standing by herself without anyone around.
Find the grave of the saxophone inventor
Belgian born Adolphe Sax, who created the saxophone, is buried in the Montmartre cemetery. Pay your respects by heading to section five of the cemetery where you'll find his memorial. Look for the bronze saxophone. (And consider bringing some cat food for the local cat population).
Find Mary Cassatt's house
Find the home of painter Mary Cassatt, an American who defied her parents and came to Paris to pursue her art. You can't go in, but find it at 13 Avenue Trudaine in the ninth arrondissement.
Find the remnants of guillotine
If you want a real chill, head to the 11th arrondissement and find the traces of the guillotine where 200 people had their heads chopped off. The remnants are hard to find and you'll need to use your imagination, but there's a vide below to help you out. Find it at: 13-15 Rue de la Croix Faubin, 75011
That's it!
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone, it's a Monday in Paris, and we all know what that means, another episode of the |
| 0:04.4 | Yearful Tower. This episode presented by French Today, audiobooks teaching modern French and French |
| 0:10.8 | in general. That's how I learned French more about them at the end of the episode. But today, |
| 0:15.7 | we've got Beckett from History Chicks, one of the most popular podcasts in the world. And she's come in the |
| 0:22.7 | studio here in Paris and we talked a little bit about, well, history of Paris. So imagine this. |
| 0:28.2 | We got in contact. She's visiting Paris for the first time and she told me, well, you're going to |
| 0:32.5 | hear about it. She told me that she was going to take a potato to the Palishers Cemetery. And that got |
| 0:37.3 | me thinking, what are the other things that history nerds or history buffs do |
| 0:41.0 | when they come to a city like Paris? |
| 0:42.8 | And lo and behold, she shared eight things that she's either done since she's been here |
| 0:47.3 | or plans to do during her time here. |
| 0:49.5 | So here comes Beckett Graham from the History Chicks, |
| 0:52.5 | followed at the end by a little bit of news |
| 0:54.3 | about how I'm advancing with my French language lessons and also a little bit of read-a-mail. |
| 1:01.7 | Let's get on with it. |
| 1:06.5 | Beckett Graham. Hi, thanks for having me. How you doing? Very good. Thank you, Graham. |
| 1:11.7 | Hi, thanks for having me. |
| 1:13.2 | How you doing? |
| 1:13.8 | Very good, thank you. |
| 1:14.9 | You don't like the way I pronounce your name. |
| 1:16.5 | I love it. |
| 1:17.4 | Yeah? |
... |
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