The 19th arrondissement of Paris (with a local)
The Earful Tower: Paris
Oliver Gee
4.8 • 796 Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome back to "The 20 Kingdoms", a new season of The Earful Tower podcast. As you probably know, there are 20 districts in Paris, known as arrondissements. They may as well be kingdoms, at least for this podcast season, where I'll visit each kingdom and introduce you to someone who truly loves it.
That's the whole concept. This isn't me recommending cafes or restaurants in different parts of town. This is true locals telling us about the soul of their kingdom and what they like to do there. The goal is to give you a very real look at each of these districts from a local's perspective.
And for the 19th Kingdom, the second episode of the season, you'll meet Ben McPartland, the presenter and producer of the Talking France podcast, which is made by The Local France news website here in Paris.
He loves this "genuine neighbourhood" of an arrondissement, and I met him at the edge of the Bassin de la Villette for a pint of beer, which he also loves. Here's what he had to say.
Mentioned in this episode:
Drinks, Food & Canal Hangouts
Paname Brewing Company
A floating brewery on the Bassin de la Villette with an easygoing, almost London-style pub atmosphere. Great beers, lively crowds, and one of the best sunset views over the canal.
41 Quai de la Loire, 75019
panamebrewingcompany.com
L'Atalante
Just up the Canal de l'Ourcq from Paname Brewing, this spot is known for its strong craft beer selection and excellent IPAs.
26 Quai de la Marne, 75019
latalante-paris.com
La Rotonde
Historic circular building at Stalingrad with restaurants, terraces, and drinks right on the edge of the canal basin. Ideal meeting point before exploring the neighborhood.
6–8 Place de la Bataille de Stalingrad, 75019
Bars Inside Buttes-Chaumont
In summer, the park fills with tiny outdoor bars and terraces tucked among the hills and pathways — perfect for an afternoon drink after wandering the park.
Music, Film & Culture
Philharmonie de Paris
One of Paris's great modern concert halls, famous for its dramatic silver architecture and panoramic rooftop terrace overlooking the city.
221 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019
philharmoniedeparis.fr
Le Zénith
Large live music venue inside Parc de la Villette hosting major touring artists and rock concerts.
211 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019
le-zenith.com
MK2 Cinemas
Twin cinemas facing each other across the canal. A favorite local spot for late-night screenings and films in original English versions.
7 Quai de la Loire & 14 Quai de la Seine, 75019
mk2.com
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
Massive science and industry museum loved by Parisian families, with exhibitions, immersive installations, and huge open spaces.
30 Avenue Corentin Cariou, 75019
cite-sciences.fr
On the Water
Akwa electric boats
Rent small electric boats and cruise the Canal de l'Ourcq yourself — especially beautiful from spring through early autumn.
37 Quai de la Seine, 75019
https://akwa-experience.com/en/
Kayaks & Rowboats
Locals can often access free kayaking and rowing sessions around the Bassin de la Villette on weekends during warmer months.
Summer Canal Swimming
Every summer, sections of the Bassin de la Villette transform into open-air swimming areas, with races, floating pools, and seasonal events.
Parks & Walks
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Wild, cinematic, and hilly — often called the most beautiful park in Paris. Expect cliffs, bridges, waterfalls, a lake, and incredible Sacré-Cœur views.
Parc de la Villette
Huge contemporary park blending architecture, green space, music venues, museums, and canal life into one sprawling cultural district.
****************
This episode brought to you by The Earful Tower Tours. Come join us in the Marais, Montmartre, or the Latin Quarter. Our Walking Tours are exceptionally highly rated online and are the best way to experience this podcast in real life.
The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.
Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.
For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:
Music: Pres Maxson
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello everybody, Oliver G here from the Earful Tower and welcome to this new episode from this new season of the show, which I'm calling 20 kingdoms. |
| 0:10.0 | And the idea is I go to each of the 20 districts of Paris, the Aeron Desmond's, and I talk to someone in each of them who just happens to love it. |
| 0:20.2 | Today, you're going to meet Ben McPartland in the 19th hour on this month. |
| 0:25.7 | And, well, as you're going to hear, he spends 80% of his time there. |
| 0:30.4 | He considers it to be a very genuine neighborhood. |
| 0:34.1 | And when I asked him where we should meet, he said the Panam brewery. And we went and we got a |
| 0:39.3 | takeaway. I asked what he wanted. Take away pint of beer. We sat down by the Bassando Le Villettes, |
| 0:45.5 | which is sort of the extension of the Canal Samar town. And we talked about the district. |
| 0:50.8 | If you think his voice is familiar, perhaps you've already listened to Talking France, which is a podcast, which he is the presenter and producer of. |
| 1:00.5 | It's made by the local France news site here in Paris. |
| 1:05.2 | And in fact, he, I think I say it in the episode, he is one of the first people that I met in this country, one of the first |
| 1:12.2 | people that I knew. So me and Ben go way back. But yeah, let's go to the 19th Kingdom. Let's explore |
| 1:18.4 | it a little and let's see what Ben has to say. Here we go. |
| 1:47.1 | Yeah. All right, Ben, so nice to see you again, man. It's been a long time. Yeah, good to see you too, Oli. Thanks for, thanks for this opportunity. I'm really curious to hear your side of the 19th because you, first, you said you liked it. I don't know, |
| 1:51.3 | we'll dig into that a little bit, but also you've been working and living pretty much here for, |
| 1:57.2 | like, what, 15 years? Yes, it's about 2012. We can say, look, I live in Paris, but I think I spent most of my time in the 19th Arandizement. |
| 2:17.8 | For me, it's one of the most unique Arandizmonds in Paris. It's got good and bad. You know, if you want me to tell you about it, warts and all, let's go. I think we can, I think we start with a, well, we can start with a positive before we get to the warts. But I think it's really interesting to hear. I mean, you say you spend most of your time. |
| 2:17.8 | Let's, for the listeners you spend most of your time. |
| 2:23.3 | Let's, for the listeners, what percentage of your week is in the 19th kingdom? |
| 2:25.4 | Yeah, look, so I work in the 19th. |
| 2:29.8 | My office is kind of about 100 metres from where we're talking now on the Bassanda la Villette. |
| 2:51.1 | I reckon I spend about 80% of my time in the 19th because, you know, social life is here, sporting life is here, you know, you look around as all, you know, there's water, there's the canal towpath, you can run and you can cycle, it's a paradise for people who like to get outdoors. Is it the canal toe path? Yeah, sorry, that's the kind of path that runs alongside a canal. It's called a towpath? In English it is, yeah. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 1 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Oliver Gee, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Oliver Gee and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.