Improbable Walks
34 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -Welcome to Improbable Walks, the travel podcast that brings you to the streets of Paris, wherever you are. Every episode, we discover a new street in the City of Light, strolling into the hidden history and stories of Paris, block by block. Your host is Canadian writer and long-time parisienne, Lisa Pasold. To support this podcast, please become a patron at Patreon
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Episodes
The Passage des Panoramas
March 28, 2024 00:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBWe focus on the Passage des Panoramas & the Passage Jouffroy--two of my favourite covered passageways in Paris today. Back in the 1800s, Parisians window-shopped, met for pastry and tea, and browsed music stories to find the latest compositions in these arcades, and really, things haven't all changed that much. This episode includes the story of the Panoramas (virtual reality before that was a thing!) as well as writer & painter Marie Bashkirtseff, and La Montansier, theatre impresario extra...
Back to the Grands Boulevards
February 28, 2024 22:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBIn this episode, we continue our stroll along the Grands Boulevards, exploring some wild stories, literati, and even an assassination attempt that resulted in the brand new Garnier Opera house being built. And I get to chat about some of my favourite Parisians from the past, including General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the Revolutionary hero & father of writer Alexandre Dumas. For photos, check out my website! Thanks as always to Bremner Fletcher for technical expertise, and general know-how. T...
Belle Epoque Spectacle: Grands Blvds (part 1)
December 20, 2023 00:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBIn this episode, we celebrate the holidays with a stroll past the Opera Garnier. Bright department store windows, glittering performances, and even cinema lights: the Grands Boulevards has it all. This is where the Lumiere Brothers introduced film to Paris audiences, and where Nadar ran his 19th-century photography studio. As always, for more info, links, and photos, check out my website! Thanks as always to Bremner Fletcher for technical expertise, and general know-how. The Improbable Walks...
Mme de Pompadour, the French President, and me
November 29, 2023 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MBToday's podcast visits the French President's palace, L’Élysée. The 365-room mansion has a history that oozes personality: once the home of Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon Bonaparte's sister Caroline also lived here for a few years. Caroline was described as "having the body of Venus and the brain of Machiavelli", which was probably not intended as a compliment, and yet, I'm sort of impressed. Visit my website for some images of the history we discuss. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful ...
Rue Bonaparte, a Left Bank classic
September 29, 2023 14:00 - 12 minutes - 8.82 MBVisit the street where New Yorker writer Janet Flanner lived, where the Beaux Arts school still stands, and of course, where de Beauvoir and Sartre once held court... The rue Bonaparte is a Left Bank Saint-Germain classic. For photos, check out my website! Thanks as always to Bremner Fletcher for technical expertise, and general know-how. The Improbable Walks theme music is performed by David Symons, New Orleans accordionist extraordinaire.
Zola's complicated life on rue de Bruxelles
August 18, 2023 22:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBWriter Emile Zola was once so poor, he pawned all his clothes and kept only a single bedsheet to sleep in. But by the time he moved into the quiet rue de Bruxelles below Place de Clichy, he had become a respected member of the middle class, a well-known journalist and a prolific novelist. Paris-born, Zola was a complicated man, and in this podcast, we talk about why he had two apartments simultaneously in this neighborhood, as well as his brave stance for justice. His defense of Captain Drey...
The Library on the Left Bank
June 30, 2023 17:00 - 11 minutes - 7.79 MBIn this episode, we visit the American Library in Paris, on the easily-overlooked little street of General Camou. This is a very short street, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and it's worth visiting both for the library, if you're an English-language reader, and for the architecture--both extremes of the 20th century are represented within one block, from Art Nouveau madness to stiff-upper-lip Minimalism. As always, for more info, links, and photos, check out my website! Thanks as always...
The University of La Nouvelle Vague
May 22, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 9.05 MBIn this episode, we start in front of the beautiful Sorbonne and walk down the single block of rue Champollion. Named for the man who first successfully translated Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics, this street includes a movie theatre that's now an historical monument. For film times (!) and extra info about rue Champollion check out my website! Thanks as always to Bremner Fletcher for technical expertise, and general know-how. The Improbable Walks theme music is performed by David Symons, Ne...
Medicine, Monks, and Revolutionaries
March 22, 2023 20:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBIn this episode, we walk along the medieval rue de l’Ecole de Medecine, the Street of the School of Medicine, on the edge of the Latin Quarter. This street was also the birthplace of the Divine actress Sarah Bernhardt, and extremely important to the Revolutionaries like Marat & Danton. Our inspiration comes from an 1866 photograph taken by fascinating 19th-century photographer Charles Marville --check out my website to see the photo, and other relevant images. As always, heartfelt thanks to ...
Art Nouveau into Nouveau Paris
February 27, 2023 21:00 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBIn this episode, we focus on architecture & successful new approaches to urban design, from the Haussmann era's Square des Batignolles, up to the brand new street named for cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch. This route includes gorgeous Art Nouveau apartment buildings, the surprisingly lovely, brand-spanking-new, Tour Unic by Yansong Ma, and a secret relic from the Orient Express. For more info & images, check out my website. Thanks as always to Bremner Fletcher for technical expertise, and gen...
The Insomniac on rue de la Bûcherie
January 29, 2023 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.7 MBIn this episode, meet the 18th-century insomniac writer & printer, Restif de la Bretonne. Paris is chilly in January, so it seems appropriate to walk along the rue de la Bûcherie, where logs were once unloaded from boats on the Seine, back in the days when Parisians heated their apartments with wood-burning fires. This is the Left Bank street where 20th century icon Simone de Beauvoir wrote some of her greatest work. Plus, here you can visit the famous bookshop, Shakespeare & Company. For a...
The Defender of Time
December 31, 2022 13:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBIn this episode, I chat with Heather Stimmler about the Quartier de l'Horloge, in the 3rd arrodissement beside the Pompidou Center. We visit restored automaton, admire its music, and discuss whether a breathing dragon would make a reassuring clock... Happy New Year from everyone here at Improbable Walks, and big thanks to Heather! Check out her Secrets of Paris for all sorts of insider news about the City of Light. As always, my website has extra links & images to accompany this podcast. Th...
The Queen's Flower Market
October 30, 2022 19:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MBToday, let's visit a flower market on Ile de la Cité, right in the middle of Paris. Two good reasons to check this area out now: first, the Marché aux fleurs is due to be renovated, and second, back in 2014, the market was named for Queen Elizabeth II--this is highly unusual, in France. We'll talk about why. We'll also discuss Mad King Louis (or, more respectfully, Louis IX) and raise a glass to Inspector Maigret. Visit my website for images. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the ...
The Roman Arena Hiding in Plain Sight
September 18, 2022 01:00 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBThis Latin Quarter episode begins at Place Émile Mâle and features the strange story of the disappearing Roman arena. We also talk about the discrete author of The Story of O, and the wonderful botanist, Bernard de Jussieu, who is responsible for my all-time favourite tree. This episode wraps up in the lush Jardin des Plantes, where so many Parisians took refuge in the shade during this past excessively hot summer. Remember to visit my website for extra links & images. As always, thanks to ...
Reading the stars on rue Sauval
July 29, 2022 15:00 - 13 minutes - 9.11 MBToday, we're walking along a small street near the Louvre that's packed with history. Let's talk about Catherine de Medici's personal astrologer, the 1940s Resistance fighters of Les Halles, and talk about successful vaccines of the 1700s. Visit my website for images. I am using a new microphone for this episode - if you have any thoughts about whether it is better or worse than the old one, let me know! (you can contact me through my website) As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the ...
The Most Famous Avenue in the World
June 29, 2022 12:00 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MBToday, we're walking along LES CHAMPS ELYSEES, the most famous avenue in the world. From an inclusive coffeeshop to the Guerlain perfume legacy... and most particularly, my favourite steampunk historical fact: in the early 1900s, inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont used to park his dirigible (yes, a flying machine) outside his apartment on the Champs. Visit my website for images. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the technical expertise of Bremner Fletcher and to David Symons, the wonde...
Impressionists in Clichy
May 31, 2022 20:00 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBOnce upon a time, the Avenue de Clichy was the place to meet the great Impressionist painters. Why? Because this was the location of the famous CAFE GUERBOIS. In this episode, we check out the place where artist Edouard Manet used to buy his paint supplies, learn about Claude Monet's friends (and how they kept him alive), and stroll through the gorgeous little-known park of Batignolles. Visit my website for some images, to give you a better feel for the history here under our feet. As always...
Coffee and Revolution in the Cour du Commerce-de-Saint-André
April 30, 2022 12:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBWow, did April ever whoosh past in a blaze of work & sunshine here in Paris! Today, we're walking through a gorgeously historic "passage" near Métro Odéon on the Left Bank--we look at coffee in the 1600s, and brilliant Revolutionaries like the printer Marat and the orator Danton. Visit my website for some images, to give you a better feel for the history here under our feet. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the technical expertise of Bremner Fletcher and to David Symons, the New Or...
Coffee and Revolution in the Cour du Commerce-de-Saint-André
April 30, 2022 12:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBWow, did April ever whoosh past in a blaze of work & sunshine here in Paris! Today, we're walking through a gorgeously historic "passage" near Métro Odéon on the Left Bank--we look at coffee in the 1600s, and brilliant Revolutionaries like the printer Marat and the orator Danton. Visit my website for some images, to give you a better feel for the history here under our feet. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the technical expertise of Bremner Fletcher and to David Symons, the New Or...
Picasso on the rue des Grands Augustins
February 24, 2022 17:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MBArtists Sonia Delaunay, Robert Delaunay, and Pablo Picasso all lived on this little Left Bank street. Poet Apollinaire stayed here briefly. And King Louis XIII was crowned right here in the road, when he was just a child! The rue des Grands Augustins is a stroll down memory lane for me, because I lived on this street in the late 90s. As always, Improbable Walks is grateful to the technical expertise of Bremner Fletcher and to David Symons, the New Orleans accordion player who performs the Im...
Architects of the Modern
January 05, 2022 15:00 - 13 minutes - 9.36 MBToday's episode walks into a neighbourhood of wonderful Modernist villas in the chic western residential arrondissement of Paris, the 16th. Welcome to the rue Mallet-Stevens, designed by the delightful architect, Robert Mallet-Stevens (who I refer to as "RMS" during the podcast, because his name is such a mouthful.) RMS is undeservedly forgotten, unlike his contemporary, Le Corbusier--whose Fondation runs two villas just a few minutes' walk from the rue Mallet-Stevens. So we get to visit bo...
Bertie's Belle Epoque (King Edward VII in Paris)
November 29, 2021 20:00 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBToday's episode explores the beautiful hidden courtyards of Place Edouard VII, near the Opera Garnier in Paris. We'll talk about the Fragonard Perfume Museum, the gorgeous Athenée Théatre Louis-Jouvet, and we'll discuss why Bertie--Queen Victoria's heir, Edward VII--really preferred the city of Paris. We'll also talk about why I believe Bertie should be commemorated wearing a smoking jacket, not a military uniform. Visit my website for extra links & images. Improbable Walks is grateful to th...
Village Suisse & the Fields of Mars
November 01, 2021 13:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBToday's episode walks into the strange history of the Village Suisse. We'll talk about the great battle on the Champs de Mars between the Romans and the Gauls (spoiler alert: local tribe, the Parisi, lost against the colonizing war machine of Caesar.) We'll remember Napoleon Bonaparte when he was just a scared teenager, reading to avoid bullies; and we'll talk about a giant ferris wheel, that eventually became a place to browse through history--because today the Village Suisse is an antiques...
Volatile rue Vivienne
September 18, 2021 18:00 - 14 minutes - 10.2 MBThis episode features remarkable Montrealer, the soldier-conman Jean-Baptiste LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, along with two 19th-century inventors AND a moody proto-surrealist... all crammed into a few small blocks of the rue Vivienne. Meet the founder of New Orleans; discover one of the very earliest sound recordings, made by Scott de Martinville; meet the inventor of the dentist drill (um... Eureka?); and enjoy an angsty moment with the author of the "Contes de Maldoror." Remember to visit m...
Dance, scandal & spectacle (Ave Montaigne & Pont de l'Alma)
June 29, 2021 21:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBThis episode starts out on a bridge with a view of the Eiffel Tower, then heads over to the Right Bank and glamorous Avenue Montaigne. We'll talk about the Zouave & river flooding, Diana Princess of Wales, the Ballets Russes, and Josephine Baker, star & secret agent. Remember to visit my website for extra links & images. As always, Improbable Walks theme music is performed by David Symons, New Orleans accordionist extraordinaire.
Books & Ice Cream, rue SAINT-BENOIT
May 06, 2021 14:00 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBWelcome to the very short Left Bank street of Saint-Benoît, which runs from Blvd Saint-Germain to rue Jacob. This episode is mostly dedicated to writers (whose names I attempt to pronounce correctly & rather radically fail at doing) - including Apollinaire, Taras Shevchenko, Marguerite Duras and Ted Joans, plus two literary cafés, two beloved bookshops... and one of my favourite ice cream desserts. Remember to visit my website for extra links & images. As always, Improbable Walks theme musi...
Street art & Dalida on the rue d'Orchampt
March 18, 2021 19:00 - 12 minutes - 8.54 MBIn this episode, we walk down one of my favourite shortcuts through Montmartre, which goes past the former house of tragic Italian-Egyptian pop diva, Dalida. I talk about the atmosphere at the famous Bateau Lavoir, around the corner--where Picasso painted Gertrude Stein's portrait, Marie Laurencin painted Apollinaire's, and Cubism was launched on the world. What's more, the first crook of this elbow-shaped little route is always covered in colourful street art. Remember to visit my website ...
Tiny theatrical rue MOLIERE
January 15, 2021 04:00 - 12 minutes - 8.51 MBI'm posting this walk on Molière's birthday, January 15th (well, the day he was baptized--he may have been born a few days earlier.) We’ll step into the era of the Sun King to talk about the famous French playwright. Molière lived a rather short, exceedingly busy theatrical life (1622 - 1673.) We'll also talk about a dressmaker who worked in this same small street: Madame du Creux designed “robes de chambre” for aristocrats—which means some very elegant 17th-century Haute Couture was sewn he...
Shopping on rue Mouffetard
December 22, 2020 17:00 - 17 minutes - 12.2 MBIn this special new year's episode, I chat with my friend Heather Stimmler, founder of Secrets of Paris. Heather's favourite market street is the rue Mouffetard, a street which goes back to Roman times. This is the neighbourhood described in the first pages of Ernest Hemingway's classic A Moveable Feast--this is where he bought clementines and chestnuts to eat while he wrote. Heather and I talk about bread, beer, and butchers, walking from the Place Conte-Escarpe down the street to SAINT-MED...
Rue de l'ODEON
November 16, 2020 17:00 - 13 minutes - 9.18 MBIn this episode, we'll stroll down one of the most literary streets on the Left Bank--where Sylvia Beach once ran Shakespeare & Co, opposite Adrienne Monnier's La Maison des Amis des Livres. We'll talk about Hemingway, Janet Flanner, James Joyce, and other friends of the bookshops.
Marie Curie on Ile Saint-Louis
October 29, 2020 17:00 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MBIn this episode, we walk along two beautiful quays on Ile Saint-Louis, and visit the address of not one but two Nobel Prize winners! I get to talk about one of my heroines, Marie Curie, and I hypothesize about ghostly conversations in the Pantheon... As always, Improbable Walks theme music is performed by David Symons, New Orleans accordionist extraordinaire.
The Village of Passy
October 24, 2020 00:00 - 10 minutes - 7.43 MBIn this episode of Improbable Walks, we stroll through a tiny old street where Balzac once lived... Improbable Walks theme music performed by David Symons, New Orleans accordionist extraordinaire.
Saint-George in the Palais Royal
June 21, 2020 22:00 - 13 minutes - 9.06 MBIn this episode of Improbable Walks, we stroll through the Palais Royal in central Paris, just steps from the Louvre. In this aristocratic garden, we'll talk about the astonishing life of the Chevalier de Saint-George, the Black French composer and internationally-renowned swordsman, who once conducted symphonies here. We'll walk beneath the windows where my favourite French author, Colette, used to write, and peer in the windows of a Directoire-era restaurant... Improbable Walks theme music...
Walking with Dante in the RUE DE BIEVRE
June 16, 2020 19:00 - 7 minutes - 5.06 MBIn this first episode of Improbable Walks, we take a walk down one of my favourite medieval streets, rue de BIEVRE on the Left Bank. When I first moved to Paris, this street was still guarded by gendarmes because former President Mitterand lived here. But this tiny street's history starts at least 800 years ago...