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Paris for starving artists
Cheap thrills abound, from gallery-hopping to ghost-hunting in Montmartre

Start with a chronological tour of France’s (and other countries’) art from 1902 to the present at the often overlooked but excellent – and free – Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Browse paintings by Bonnard, Picasso and Matisse, as well as current works by international artists.

There are still some notable galleries in St-Germain (and the Left Bank bouquinistes are worth a look for cheap reproduction posters and secondhand art tomes), but the Marais has become the epicentre of contemporary art. Check out powerhouse Yvon Lambert, Alain Gutharc (who recently relocated from the once-promising Bastille enclave) and newcomer Laurent Godin. The granddaddy of ground-breaking art, the Centre Pompidou celebrates its big three-o with a radical two-phase rehang of its prestigious collection – the second is unveiled in April. If you can cope with the crowds, the first Sunday of the month is free.
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South-east along the Seine, stroll over the city’s newest footbridge, the swooping Passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir, for the cluster of cutting-edge galleries in the 13th on rues Louise-Weiss and Duchefdelaville, behind the four huge L-shaped towers of the Bibliothèque Nationale François Mitterrand. Or seek inspiration from art history’s ghostly greats in Montmartre. The sloping place Emile-Goudeau, complete with evocative wrought-iron streetlights and staircases, was the site of the Bâteau Lavoir, the piano factory where Picasso, Braque, Modigliani and Juan Gris worked in squalor. The original building at number 13 burned down in 1970, but was rebuilt as artists’ studios. The budding cubists used to go for cheap drinks and a singalong at the Lapin Agile, which, despite the tourists (and inflation) retains much of its flavour.

Today’s low-rent art scene can be found in the north-eastern areas of the city in Belleville (see www.ateliers-artistes-belleville.org) and Ménilmontant. In the latter, La Maroquinerie combines political discussion and indie rock, proving the radical tradition lives on.

Where to eat
Sadly, the days of decent, dirt-cheap prix fixe meals are over. Elegant nineteenth-century working men’s canteen Chartier may not be the incredible bargain it once was, but it’s still competitively priced for steak tartare, escargots and a slice of Parisian history. Down the road from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, La Palette is the quintessential art students’ bistro, where you can get basic meals such as omelettes or a slab of oozing Camembert. Fill up on rib-sticking galettes for around a fiver at the old-fashioned Crêperie Bretonne Fleurie in the Bastille. And of course, you can always pack a picnic and pick any number of picturesque spots – such as prime hangout Pont des Arts.

Where to sleep
Get intimate with art at Café au Lit, a Belleville apartment owned by German academics-journalists Jens Emil Sennewald and Andrea Weisbrod, showcasing a changing display of work by young artists. Alternatively, the Chopin, set in a historic, glass-roofed arcade, has antique charm in Montmartre.

Addresses
Au Lapin Agile 22 rue des Saules, 18th (00 33 1 46 06 85 87) Métro Lamarck Caulaincourt. Shows Tue-Sun 9pm-2am. Adm show plus one drink €24.

Café au Lit 16 rue de la Liberté, 19th (00 33 1 46 36 18 85/www.cafeaulit.com) Métro Place des Fêtes. Room from €250 for three nights.

Centre Pompidou (Musée National d’Art Moderne) rue St-Martin, 4th (00 33 1 44 78 12 33/www.centre
pompidou.fr) Métro Hôtel de Ville or Rambuteau. Open Mon, Wed, Fri-Sun 11am-9pm (last entry 8pm), Thur 11am-11pm. Adm museum and exhibitions €10, €8 18-25s, free under-18s.

Chartier 7 rue de Faubourg-Montmartre, 9th (00 33 1 47 70 86 29) Métro Grands Boulevards. Open daily 11.30am-3pm, 6-10pm.

Crêperie Bretonne Fleurie 67 rue de Charonne, 11th (00 33 1 43 55 62 29) Métro Ledru-Rollin or Charonne. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-2.30pm, 7pm-12midnight, Sat 7-11pm. Closed Aug.

Galerie Alain Gutharc 7 rue St-Claude, 3rd (00 33 1 47 00 32 10/ www.alaingutharc.com) Métro St-Sébastien Froissart. Open Tue-Fri 2-7pm, Sat 11am-1pm, 2-7pm.

Galerie Laurent Godin 5 rue du Grenier-St-Lazare, 3rd (00 33 1 42 71 10 66/www.laurentgodin.com) Métro Rambuteau. Open Tue-Sat 11am-7pm.

Galerie Yvon Lambert 108 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 3rd (00 33 1 42 71 09 33/www.yvon-lambert.com) Métro Filles du Calvaire. Open Tue-Fri 10am-1pm, 2-7pm, Sat 10am-7pm.

Hôtel Chopin 46 passage Jouffroy or 10 bd Montmartre, 9th (00 33 1 47 70 58 10) Métro Grands Boulevards. Doubles from €81.

La Maroquinerie 23 rue Boyer, 20th (00 33 1 40 33 35 05/www.lamaroquinerie.fr) Métro Gambetta. Concerts Mon-Fri 8pm.

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris 11 av du Président-Wilson, 16th (00 33 1 53 67 40 00) Métro Iéna or Alma Marceau. Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm. Adm free.

La Palette 43 rue de Seine, 6th (00 33 1 43 26 68 15) Métro St-Germain-des-Prés. Open Mon-Sat 9am-2am.

For the full guide visit our Paris site