A day of street art at the heart of Paris

After this festival of flavours, head for the Passage des Gravilliers, where you will find a masterfully outlandish work by Unsolub that leaves no one indifferent.

Next, take a stroll through the neighbourhood’s narrow streets, from Rue des Quatre-Fils to Rue des Blancs Manteaux, and discover the countless examples of street art nestling in their nooks and crannies. Along the way, you are sure to encounter the face mouldings of Gregos, the multicoloured octopuses of GZUP and the highly critical little men of Kai.

Stop off at La Perle, a favourite haunt for hipsters, for a coffee or a drink on the terrace, which is always bustling, night and day.

Waiting for you two streets away is the Impasse des Arbalétriers, a playground for Parisian practitioners of street art and graffiti, where the exhibits are constantly evolving. And that’s not all! Many more gems are to be found at the bottom of the BHV department store, where Rue du Temple meets Rue de la Verrerie. The metal shutters on the BHV Homme store are home to a work by M.Chat, in which his famous yellow cat strides across the rooftops of Paris. Opposite, Mosko’s feline creations share the honours with Jérôme Mesnager’s “white man”.

Next stop is Place Igor Stravinsky to admire one of the largest pieces of stencil graffiti ever created. The character calling for silence in Jef Aérosol’s vast work not far from the unmissable Pompidou Centre is not, as one might think, Dalí, but the artist himself. Neighboring the fresco, Obey has just achieve his work “The Future is Unwritten” to make this square a mecca for Parisian street art”. From there, head to the extraordinary fountain designed by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle, then make a quick stop at Citadium, a must-visit concept-store for anyone who swears by urban culture.

To continue the spectacle, make your way to 59 Rivoli, an artists’ squat reminiscent of Berlin’s alternative culture scene. Explore the six floors of this veritable cabinet of curiosities and discover the extraordinary worlds of the artists’ studios. On Saturdays and Sundays from September to June, you can even enjoy live concerts at 6 p.m.! And for more music, check out what’s on offer at La Place. Under the canopy of Les Halles shopping centre, this urban culture hub puts all things hip hop centre-stage. With rap concerts, street art talks, dance battles and beatbox masterclasses, there is something for everyone!

This is a neighbourhood steeped in urban culture. To (re)discover all it has to offer, join the Fresh Street Art Tour Paris and get to know the hidden gems that make street art the rich tableau that it is. There’s even a little surprise at the end!