Around and About Paris
By Thirza Vallois
For the REAL Lovers of Paris . . .
Paris is a collection of arrondissements, each having its own history and
distinctive character.
Around and About Paris is published in three volumes, each covering several arrondissements, in numerical order, for ease of reference and because this accurately represents the way the city grew.
Each chapter consists of an introduction that sets the scene for your explorations of the arrondissement and a section outlining where to walk and what you will learn and experience along the way.
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Contents & Excerpts
Volume 1 From the Dawn of Time to the Eiffel Tower: The Old Territory Arrondissements 1 - 7 |
Contents & Excerpts
Volume 2 From the Guillotine to the Bastille Opera: The Territory Annexed to Paris during the French Revolution Arrondissements 8 - 12 |
Contents & Excerpts
Volume 3 New Horizons: Haussmann's Annexation Arrondissements 13 - 20 |
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Buy Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia between now and 15 August 2008
Use the Secure Web Form to order
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Use the Secure Web Form to order
Around and About Paris
"There are guides to every aspect of Paris...
and then there are Thirza Vallois's extraordinary Around and About Paris.
This three-volume walking guide by a long-time resident unveils Paris arrondissement by
arrondissement, street by street. Packed with history, anecdote and curiosity, it brings the city alive."
Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times
ORDER Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia.
"It all began in Paris with a riot of wisteria."
This led to a chance meeting between
Thirza Vallois and Georges and Odette, and to Vallois' love affair with the stunning Aveyron,
a mosaic of enchanting landscapes tucked away on the southern edge of the Massif Central.
Until recently, this was France at its most quintessentially rural, sealed off from the
rest of the country by a rugged terrain, anchored firmly in its distinctive identity and
traditions.
Today the Aveyron is a dynamic area of astonishing contrasts, where Norman
Foster's cutting-edge Millau Viaduct cohabits with ancient Roquefort cheese, the former
home of the Knights Templar hosts anti-globalisation rallies, and pilgrims hike the old
road to Compostela while Japanese tourists enjoy contemporary cuisine at the 3-Michelin
star Michel Bras.
A Bridge to French Arcadia is the captivating story of a once destitute corner of France
that is now singled out for its unbeatable, idyllic quality of life.
More than a travel book to a unique and beautiful area, it is also a portrait gallery
of the people of the Aveyron who are building bridges to the outside world.
Bridges that will take you on an exciting journey and a mystical quest across the millennia.
Thirza Vallois is the author of the highly acclaimed Around and About Paris series and
Romantic Paris. She holds several post-graduate degrees from the Sorbonne, including
the prestigious agrégation. An acknowledged Paris expert, she is also the author of
the Paris Entry to the Encarta Encylopaedia and contributes to radio, television and magazines.
She has also written several articles about the Aveyron for the international press.
"Entertaining at all times and full of erudition and historical anecdote,
she out-Baedekers Baedeker even at his best." Francophonie
What the Media & Readers Have to Say
Thirza Vallois is among the world's experts on Paris - her three volume work "Around and
About Paris" placed her immediately in the pantheon of contemporary Paris connaisseurati.
"Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia" is an implicit acknowledgement that if you seek
to understand Paris, you must go elsewhere than Paris. Part travelogue, part literary
prose, all true, once again Thirza Vallois has made connections between all of those
pieces that go into a place: its history, its cuisine, its relics, its towns, rivers,
mountains, farms, crops, animals, and most of all, its people. [...] If the Aveyron
is too far away for you to visit - do not worry. Thirza Vallois will bring you there
with this latest flower in what is becoming a marvelous bouquet.
This book is not written as a travel guide but a revelation. It delves so deeply into so
much of the Aveyron that it brings it to life on the page. And it is so well
presented by the author that every chapter is a fascinating read and hard to put down.
Thirza Vallois is no stranger to travel writing, and it shows. Her latest book,
Averyon, A Bridge to French Arcadia, is an entertaining trip through an area often
overlooked by visitors. Often using the present tense, the author creates the
feeling that the reader is right there with her. Ranging freely back and forth
from the distant past to the present, Vallois paints an inviting picutre of a
place intent on preserving its rich history aned traditions while opening up to the future.
I would have fared better in history and geography with Thirza Vallois as my teacher.
Drawing on her considerable insight into France from her specialist area of Paris –
Vallois holds an agrégation from the Sorbonne and is the author of several acclaimed
guides to Paris and of the entry on Paris in the Encarta Encyclopædia – she is
drawn by a chance encounter in a restaurant to investigate the Aveyron, one of
the last vanishing bastions of ‘la France profonde’. Each whimsical quest inevitably
delivers a surprise, managing never to sound twee – José Bové and the realities of
the 21st century are just as present as the burons and the Knights Templar –
nor ever boring: quite a feat when she spends at least four pages on the
engineering masterpiece that is the Millau viaduct.
I always encourage folks interested in writing travel articles to read good
travel writing -- you learn a thing or two by studying the masters.
In Thirza Vallois, you couldn't ask for a better example. she's just
written a spectacularly engaging book about the region called Aveyron,
A Bridge to French Arcadia. I urge you to get your hands on a copy of
her book and read it ( or any of her books for that matter) with your
writer's cap on.
The covers of this book are beautiful and foretell the gorgeous book you will
find inside. I am a relentless traveler and love to read about interesting
places when I am at home. This is one of the most amazing books of its kind
to have been written in recent years. Ms. Vallois' talent is incomparable!
I felt that I was there at her side on every page as she described the beauty
of the countryside and the character of the people of the Aveyron.
She plants all of this within the historical context of France and
those who have passed through it over the past millenium.
Treat yourself to an armchair visit to this gloriously remote
and "undiscovered" part of France. You will hate to see those final few pages
coming--it ends all too quickly as I fell in love with the people, customs,
and beauty of the region I could have read several hundred more pages.
Thirza Vallois, both historian and travel writer, avoids that "just passing through"
feeling found often in other travel writing. I always bring to Paris one volume of
her three volume "Around and About Paris", so that each trip I can again feel
the thrill of learning a bit more about how every part of Paris is a colorful
piece of an interconnected and ongoing historical story, and discover new and
exciting historical tidbits about even familiar streets.
In her new book "Aveyron - A Bridge to French Arcadia" , this same talent for
storytelling, along with her childlike joy of discovery, encyclopedic knowledge
of history, and her very real personal relationships with its people,
lead us by the hand through the geography, the history, and the individuals
populating this little known part of France - a hilly and often spectacularly
beautiful rural area that is a fascinating mix of the ancient and the modern.
ORDER Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia today
Written by acknowledged Paris expert, Thirza Vallois has the
place at her fingertips and gives you the best of the best of romantic Paris.
Vallois walks you to all the city’s treasured spots and secret corners, and provides you with
a choice of fabulous places – hotels, restaurants, cafés, shops, museums, night
life – that she has carefully selected to suit couples of all ages, all budgets,
and as varied a spectrum as possible.
Read more about Romantic Paris by Thirza Vallois.
Romantic Paris.
ORDER your copy of Romantic Paris today.
Travel/Gift Book 5" x 9" – 288 pages color photos
What the Critics Have to Say
postage and handling included and save.
This gives you a 20% discount.
This gives you a 10% discount.
Volumes 1, 2 and/or 3.
Your copies will be autographed by Thirza Vallois.
Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia
Thirza Vallois' latest book is available now. Order today.
The Paris Pages
France on Your Own
France Today
French News
Jen Stevens, The Right Way to Travel
Richard J. Christison "Armchair Traveler", San Francisco, CA
Michele Kurlander "Paris lover", Chicago, Illinois
Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia
288 pages and 32 pages of colour photos
ISBN: 0-9525378-4-2 978-0-9525378-4-7
Price: 31.90 euros including handling and postage
and this represents a 10% discount off the list price
and be among the first to receive a signed copy.
The launch at WHSmith 15 October 2007 for Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia by Thirza Vallois
Romantic Paris
Romantic Paris is an invitation to join in an around-the-clock and a dream-come-true celebration
of the ultimate city of romance.
ISBN 1-56656-458-1 paperback
34.90 euros including handling and postage
On THIS PAGE you will find:
On separate pages you will find:
"Montparnasse Déporté, Artistes d'Europe"
at the Musée du Montparnasse
"I think we can
safely toss all other Paris guidebooks aside. Paris is made for walking
and Thirza Vallois' guides are made for Paris. There can be no higher
praise than when I say they come close to the standard set of the world's
greatest guide book, J. Link's 'Venice for Pleasure'... and they should
soon achieve similar legendary status." William Boyd, The Spectator.
"Romantic Paris by Thirza Vallois (Arris Books Ltd) is the best book yet from the author
of the highly-acclaimed series Around and About Paris.
Vallois has a stunning command of this town's history and culture...
And her new guide is an unabashed celebration of the capital of romance.
Having lived in Paris for over 40 years, she offers us a genuine insiders
look at the city's treasured spots and secret corners.
Her choice of restaurants, cafés, shops and little known museums is
substantiated by excellent tips, for seasoned expats as well as anybody
dreaming of coming here."
Paris Free Voice Review, by Bob Roberts
"If any city in the world
deserves this kind of thorough. loving treatment adoration, actually
- it certainly would be Paris. This three-volume guide is a complete
course in what the streets have to offer and what Parisian history has
been all about. Treat yourself to this treasure." From
the Booklist
"I am convinced that this
guide will constitute from now on, for the British lovers of Paris,
a reference book which will have the success it deserves." French
Ambassador to the UK
"Thirza Vallois' "Around
and About Paris" has no glossy pictures... but its manner is every bit
as alluring as its subject... It's an engaging geographic history, lithely
written, full of details, anecdotes, characters - and worlds to discover,
no matter how familiar you are already with Paris when you begin reading
Vallois captures - and opens up for all to taste - the incomparable
sense of the past one experiences walking the streets of Paris. This
is a book for those who think of Paris as an urban paradise - the curious
gazer, the laid-back ambler, the wanderer, the seeker of this city's wonders.
Yes, Vallois provides never-ending temptation to go off and consult... a chapter of Marcel Proust or Simone de Beauvoir, to scramble off to listen to Maurice Chevalier or Edith Piaf, to admire the works of Auguste Rodin or Camille Claudel. For the armchair traveler, these are sweet temptations indeed - all the way, loftily, to the end of a fulfilling journey to the Pere Lachaise cemetery in the 20th arrondissement.
Here's to "Around and About Paris". On your next flight to Paris,
don't leave home without it."
Boston Book Review, Patsy Baudouin.
". . . she [Vallois] has
given us a series of guides which will last for years to come. Schools
and colleges which encourage project writing will find the three volumes
of estimable value for individual enquiry." Alan Smalley, Francophonie,
Leeds Metropolitan University.
Then again, it might be less strenuous to invest
in a good guidebook.
Though this isn't the place to conduct a comprehensive survey, several
new titles suggest the range of guides now available. For instance,
a traveler already acquainted with Paris, or a first-timer who wants
to supplement the standard. Fodor's or Blue Guide, now has Thirza Vallois's
three-volume Around and About Paris.
Vallois, a Paris resident for 30-plus years, takes the reader through the city arrondissement by arrondissement, "so as to allow the city to unfold little by little before your eyes. The names of streets, the geographic location of the city's monuments, the social and ethnic distribution of the population will become meaningful and coherent. You will understand that it is not pure chance that draws the wealthy to the 16th arrondissement or publishers to the 6th. You will find out how and why haute couture started in the 1st arrondissement and why it has recently.Washington Post.
"For in-depth coverage of
the sights, sounds and smells of Paris, nothing tops Thirza Vallois'
"Around and About Paris" books... " Janet Delong, The Paris Free
Voice.
"For anyone who loves Paris
and would like to know more about its historical and literary associations,
this is a well-written and astonishingly informative companion." The
Times Literary Supplement
"Thirza Vallois comes much
nearer the mark with her riveting tour history of Paris. It is an unpatronizing,
anecdotaal, user-friendly, walking guide to the where, who and why of
each building, park and street-name in Paris. If you live in Paris or
are just fascinated by it, those books are for you." Boulevards
"The reader can sit back
and enjoy her [Vallois] enlightening account of the city. She brings
alive its sights, walks and gastronomic tradition and punctuates her
guide with anecdotes of famous residents." Lucy Yoeman, The European.
See also More reviews from the critics...
Attendants' Comments
How would you like to have a personal guide as your companion when visiting
Paris? A guide that will not only give you a brief history of each and
every "Arrondissement" from the first to the twentieth, but as the author
states, "a journey into the depths of Paris" and "an invitation to scratch
beneath its surface of dazzling vistas and imposing monuments and to probe
into the souls and lives of the restless people." Author Thirza Vallois's
three volumes entitled AROUND AND ABOUT PARIS accomplishes all of the above
and more.
Most other guidebooks pertaining to Paris are merely directories that list
where to stay and eat with a little history and antidotes thrown in.
Vallois's tomes do not contain any listings of hotels, restaurants, phone
numbers or web sites. They are, however, similar to information contained
in college textbooks and would probably be suggested readings if a course
were to be given entitled "Paris 101." Not only are they invaluable tools
for the traveller to Paris but also for those of us who are so called "arm
chair" travellers and who never intend to leave home.
Each chapter is devoted to a distinct Arrondissement describing their
unique history and character. These introductions are followed by
comprehensive descriptions of the walks you must pursue. After all Paris is
made for walking!
Very often when visiting Paris we are too much concerned with the usual
tourist attractions such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and various other
well known sites. Consequently, we tend to loose sight of the history and
background information concerning the area where we may be lodging or the
areas where we are taking our promenades. We are also ignorant of the many
"nooks and crannies" that make Paris a city of romance, drama, triumph,
tragedy, crime and passion.
Vallois has lived in Paris for over thirty years. For eight of those years
before writing these guides she "journeyed into the depths of Paris,
walking its every street, reading in libraries whatever came my way" as she
mentioned in an article appearing in Paris Kiosque No wonder the guides are
so comprehensive and detailed.
To appreciate Paris is to understand its history and culture. Thanks to
authors such as Thirza Vallois we can explore Paris with a greater
understanding and enlightenment.
*Please note that their are three books: Volume 1 concerns the 1st to 7th
arrondissements: Volume 2 the 8th to 12th, Volume 3 the 13th-20th.
The ISBN numbersof Vol 2: 0952537834. The ISBN numbers of Vol 3: 0952537826
Copyright 2002, Bookideas.com. Orginally published at Bookideas.com
Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Because Mrs Vallois has a love affair with Paris; because she devoted part
of her life to this "cause", she is totally convincing.
When you read her
descriptions of hidden details on houses nobody noticed before, you
understand that Mrs Vallois deserves the right to consider herself as
co-owner of "the spirit of Paris". Because this "spirit" is something that
was invented by the French to be shared with others, feel free to become a
"courtisan". Mrs Vallois books are well documented (no need to say).
It's like reading an architectural manual plus an history encyclopedia. All this
while walking in charming places. I hope the next books will keep this
knowledge embedded in a living style and that Thirza will add more
illustrations. Buy this book. It will never look old-fashioned!
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Lectures & Book Signings
Email Thirza Vallois
In my years of conference attendance, I never once heard
the caliber of presentation
that Thirza Vallois offers. I had ordered and read several of her books in preparation
for hearing her speak, so I was ready for her tone and style...but I wasn't expecting her
charisma or the depth of her passion for Paris. (I traveled abroad with students eight
times during my 22 years of teaching French at West High, so I'd heard my fair share
of professional guides...I thought I had a basis for comparison. I didn't.)
Anyone who has been to or through Paris, who has read a book or seen a movie about
Paris, who has studied European history or Western societies or literature, will be
enthralled by what she has to say. I believe she will blow off your collective socks!
Barbara L. Hecker, Anchorage, Alaska
Mrs Vallois was such an inspiration and enthusiastic speaker that not only was each student in
the audience enraptured, but many of those students then tried to figure out how they could
stay longer or develop a career in Paris. In Ms Vallois you will find a fascinating speaker
who is very versatile and personable.
Amy B. Ellzey, Director International Programs,
Pepperdine University, Malibu, California 90263
The lecture illustrated with a slide show, was a wonderful excursion through the streets of
Paris, by this lover of this city with amazing depth and insights...
International Women's Club - Paris, France
Very many thanks for a lively and stimulating address to
Club L last Wednesday. The enthusiastic
reaction of those who attended told you how well it was received. The excursion that you led to
Montmartre was superb. Every time I have met up or spoken with anyone who was with you that day,
it was the main topic of conversation.
L Club (International Professional Women's Club) - UK section
The speaker was fantastic, with tremendous preparation
and brilliant arrangement.
The National Arts Club - New York City
What Internet Readers Have to Say
Courtesy Bookideas, at http://thebestreviews.com/review5281/
Reviewer: Nantes from Chateau-Bois-Briand, Nantes Pays de la Loire, France
Keith Hunt, UK
Philippe Piessens, Belgium
Erica Roberts, Berkeley, CA, USA
Hae-Jean Noh, South Korea
Eduardo Etcheverry, Brazil
Norman Barth, The Paris Pages
Around & About Paris - Contents & Excerpts
Around & About Paris - Reviews
Romantic Paris - Contents & Excerpts
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Letter from Paris 2005 |
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