Why go to the Louvre to see art when all you have to do is walk around Paris and look up? With a vibrant street art scene decorating the walls, the city becomes a gallery in itself. Allow me to take you on a tour of a few of Paris' most eye-popping areas.
Montmartre
Let's start with Montmartre, the bohemian sanctuary that served as home and inspiration for many renowned artists like Picasso, Renoir, and Van Gogh. So it comes as no surprise that this neighborhood is overflowing with illegal creativity. It also has one of the highest concentration of pieces by iconic Paris street artist Space Invader. While other tourists stop to stare at the Sacre Coeur, position your eyes on the walls around it. You'll start to uncover an abundance of hidden treasures peaking out from corners and above street signs.
Montmartre
Let's start with Montmartre, the bohemian sanctuary that served as home and inspiration for many renowned artists like Picasso, Renoir, and Van Gogh. So it comes as no surprise that this neighborhood is overflowing with illegal creativity. It also has one of the highest concentration of pieces by iconic Paris street artist Space Invader. While other tourists stop to stare at the Sacre Coeur, position your eyes on the walls around it. You'll start to uncover an abundance of hidden treasures peaking out from corners and above street signs.
The 13th
...meaning the 13th arrondissement, home of the artist tenement/incubator Les Frigos. Start there and in its immediate vicinity, you'll notice art spreading out to the surrounding streets. From there, head towards Place d'Italie, the commercial center of the district. Along the way, you're sure to spot the massive orange mural by Polish street artist M-City jutting out of the Paris gray. M-City recently had an indoor exhibition nearby, but couldn't keep his paints away from the walls outside. Once you arrive at the shopping mall at Place d'Italie, traverse along the narrow back streets in the area and you'll spot a bevy of wheatpastes and stencils including a slew of cutesy cutouts by Paris' THTF (The Hand That Feeds).
The Moving Gallery
The third and last stop in this installment of Paris' Street Art Gallery is one that you'll only see if it does stop. It's everywhere and yet nowhere in specific. That's because the graffiti in this case adorns the walls of moving vans. Just as it's become popular in New York to cover moving vans with fully developed graff pieces (since the drivers don't really mind), so too have vans throughout Paris begun to carry more than simply furniture. First trains, now trucks, I hope someday soon airplanes will be next. So keep your eyes peeled and make sure art doesn't pass you by.
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