A Little Break with Michael Smith

Michael Smith (Drivetime, Citizen Smith) has a well-known passion for Paris after a life changing holiday when he was 13, a kid from the back of beyond discovering the possibilities of city life.

As part of the Little Break, Big Difference campaign he agreed to show us some of his favourite areas of Paris via video postcards while on his last little break.

The sense of strangeness is one of Michael’s favourite parts of visiting a new city but he finds that even taking a little break in a city you’ve been to before can be refreshing;

‘I love the way a little break feels like you’ve been away a great deal longer. Sometimes even a day will do it’

His little break has been documented through 6 short films about each of the areas he visited in Paris.

Part 1 – Arrival

The first part of Michael’s little break takes us to his favourite part of Paris, Canal St Martin.

Part 2 – Nightlife, but not as we know it…

In the next snapshot of Michael’s little break he visits ‘Au Petit Fer a Cheval’, ‘La Belle Hortense’, and ‘Sur les Quais’.

Part 3 – Strollin

Strolling through a city is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a new place and soak up the atmosphere. When it comes down to planning your route or leaving it to chance Michael prefers to make a provisional plan that then allows him to wander and deviate when he feels like it.

Part 4 – Paris, world city

In part four Michael visits Little Tokyo as well as Barbes and Rue des Rosiers, which he discovers is another world within Paris where no one speak English or appears to speak French either.

Part 5 – East

Part five features Michael’s favourite neighbourhood ‘Belleville’ as he mentions ‘it reminds me of everything I loved about Shoreditch before it lost its edge’. This was also where he discovered the street full of artists on Rue Denoyez during his little break.

Part 6 – Local Day

At the end of Michael’s little break he visits what he describes as the ‘real’ Paris as he visits the local neighbourhood where he spends the day browsing through the Marché des Enfants Rouge (Market of the Red Children), which is the oldest food market in Paris.

If you feel inspired by Michael’s little break take a look at the rest of the Little Break, Big Difference blog for ideas of what you can do and what’s coming up soon in Paris, Brussels and Lille.

In collaboration with the new Paris Ile-de-France.

Photo Paris, Englise Saint Germain by Dominus Vobiscum