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| Magnetic, one of the three shoppings areas that are a part of Beaugrenelle Paris |
My neighborhood isn't trendy like the Marais, exclusive like Saint-Germain-des-Prés or charming like Montmartre. It's a residential area that attracts families who need an extra bedroom rather than hipsters who want to be close to the newest, latest, hottest spot in town. But thanks to the opening of Beaugrenelle Paris, my part of town is on the "must-see" list of Parisians this week.
For the first time since I've lived here, I walked out the front door of our apartment, strolled along the Seine, crossed the Pont de Grenelle and had easy access to stores like Guerlain, Baccarat, Michael Kors, Sandro, H&M, Zara and Desigual. I didn't have to hop on a bus or fight the crowds in the metro. When it started to rain, I didn't have to worry that I had forgotten my umbrella (again!) because I was safely inside the newest shopping center in Paris.
Since I had carefully calculated my trip to coincide with lunchtime, I considered my options: a falafel and Taboulé from Noura, a healthy bulgur and tuna salad from Exki or some spicy Bibimbap from Panasia. If Chipotle had been open, I would have immediately gotten in line for one of their freshly made burritos. Or, maybe I would have gone to the Parisian Pub for fish and chips or a burger. When I had to return to the shopping center last night because I rather stupidly deleted all the photos I had taken for this blog post, I planned to console myself with an lemon tart or Paris-Brest from La Pâtisserie des Rêves. Not surprisingly, all the individual ones were gone by the time I got there and only a family-sized one remained. It looked tantalizingly delicious!
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| Paris-Brest at La Pâtisserie des Rêves |
Judging from the excited chatter, everyone is thrilled about the huge Marks & Spencer that covers four floors. I decided to abort my mission to buy streaky bacon and English muffins because it was almost impossible to navigate the crowded food hall. While I was ogling the wide assortment of chips, I overheard throngs of Parisians marveling about the English biscuits, Advent calendars and smoked salmon. With more than 2,900 British products, a deli, a bakery and a rotisserie, I'll be shopping at Beaugrenelle Paris on a regular basis even if it means schlepping my groceries back home across the windblown Grenelle Bridge.
On November 6, the ten screen Pathé cinema with 1930 style seats and Dolby surround sound is scheduled to open.
To encourage tourists to visit the new shopping center, there is even a FREE shuttle boat service between the Eiffel Tower and Beaugrenelle Paris. Here's the schedule:
Depart Eiffel Tower: 12:00; 12:45; 13:30; 14:15; 15:00; 15:45; 16:50; 17:45; 18:20; 19:05
Depart Beaugrenelle: 12:25; 13:10; 13:55; 14:40; 15:25; 16:30; 17:15; 18:10; 18:45; 19:30
On Saturday nights, the boat will run every 50 minutes.
Depart Eiffel Tower: 19:05; 19:55; 20:45; 21:35
Depart Beaugrenelle: 19:35; 20:25; 21:15; 22:00
It will run on Sunday October 27 and December 1, 8, 15 and 22.
Beaugrenelle Paris
Metro Line 6 - Bir-Hakeim and Line 10 - Charles Michel or Javel
Boutiques: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Thursday until 10:00 pm.
Restaurants: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to midnight.
Cinema: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to midnight.
More photos on Facebook.
Special thanks to Élodie Berta of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau for giving me the "inside scoop" about the shuttle boat service and the goodies at La Pâtisserie des Rêves. If you're on Twitter, I highly recommend following @Paris_By_Elodie for the latest news on Paris.
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| Beaugrenelle Paris |