There's Always More to Discover: A Revisit to Paris and 59 Rivoli

It always baffles me how there’s always more to explore. More to see. More to do. More to discover. When I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, I spent a semester abroad in Paris, France. Of course, while spending four months in Paris, I tried to go, see, and do as much as I could. This ranged from weekend trips around the continent (thanks to some cheap flights, overnight trains, and buses) to long walks around the city. While I was there, I made some pretty magnifique friends and last year when I found a cheap flight to the “City of Love” I took the opportunity to go back.

I had visited many of the typical tourist destinations in the city when I lived there and had explored many other small neighborhoods and pockets of the cities. One group of my friends and I would go out every Tuesday night together to get a new experience which ranged from a speakeasy through a unsuspecting pizza restaurant closet, classic Parisian restaurants, Parisian Mexican food (disappointing but I didn’t expect much from that one), a small jazz bar, picnics at the base of the Eiffel Tower, and more. I also was keen on wandering the city and taking advantage of my student visa which gave me free access to many museums and landmarks.

Tuesday Crew Takes Bad Tourist Photos of Each Other Around the City

My revisit to Paris consisted of visiting some of my favorite places, catching up friends in the city, and stopping at many boulangeries (no regrets on fresh baguettes). I didn’t have much of a plan for my visit and thought I had already visited most of the typical spots and a lot of the lesser known places. Because let’s be real, a semester abroad is really about learning culture and gaining experiences (sorry to my Marketing and Finance professors). But during my visit I had the almost too obvious realization that there’s always more to discover. I had a friend recommend a visit to 59 Rivoli which was a modern art gallery that I had never heard of before.

In all of my city wandering I had somehow missed the art spectacle in the middle of the city. It seemed to be hidden in plain sight. The outside of the gallery featured a giant metal mosaic face protruding from the classic French style building. As I pressed open the multi-colored painted doors, I was greeted with an unexpected artistic spiral staircase. I thought this would have some modern artwork in different rooms like a classic museum but the walls, floors, ceilings, and steps of 59 Rivoli were all a piece of art.

Ascending up the graffitied and colorful staircase, I visited floor upon floor of small artist nooks. Artists from around the world came to 59 Rivoli and used the rooms as working spaces and showcases. Each room had a different vibe from minimalist paintings and room design to a room where people stuck up tickets from different places in an interactive fashion while the rest of the room was crowded with pushed together pieces of art.

The Multi-Floor Colorful Art Gallery

Some of the artists were present during my visit, working on new pieces of art focusing on their latest inspiration. Others had their work proudly displayed around their space with Instagram handles and website addresses to see more of their work or to contact them. Some artists encouraged sharing their work on social media and taking pictures while others had specific signs asking to not take any photos of their work. Discouragingly, but not surprisingly, I saw some visitors snapping pictures of the absent artist’s work against their wishes. For some, a visit was clearly more about “doing it for the ‘gram” than to actually experience the art and culture.

Reading a Book Titled “How to Pretend to Be Normal”

I think I spent most of my visit staring at the walls and staircases spiraling up the building. These were marked by over two decades of artists who had passed through making social statements or simply expressing themselves. 59 Rivoli originated when a dozen artists began squatting in the large building after a bank had abandoned it years before. Now thirty artists have spaces in the art sanctuary and many have rotated in and out based on their need for work space and where their art escapades took them. These walls told stories of people past and present which drew me in.

As I walked back out of those colorful doors onto Rue de Rivoli, I felt like I knew Paris just a little better. As if another piece of the puzzle of the city was revealed to me. I also was painfully aware that this is a puzzle I will never complete. It is impossible to discover any destination in full. This can be exciting or daunting but I like to think about the popular saying “the more I learn, the less I know”. Travel is a great opening into learning and discovery and if the puzzle was completed, I think it would take away some of the excitement and spontaneity. So for now, I’m content to keep finding pieces of this world’s colorful and exciting puzzle.

How 59 Rivoli made me a more Lovable Traveler:

1. Not to assume a one-and-done trip. There is always more to discover in a destination no matter how big or small (another small piece in a never ending beautiful puzzle).

2. Understand that locals hold different insights to their destination. Just like I have different highlights of my own hometown that differ from others, people living in destinations have different passions about their home. It’s worth getting insight from various people in a destination to get a more enriched visit.

3. Have respect for where you are visiting. This one seems obvious but seeing people take pictures of art marked “please don’t photograph” on a sign in French and English 2 feet away makes it worth mentioning.

4. Never stop learning more about places you’re visiting, you never know what you might find. This process of learning also can create a greater openness to different cultures and experiences in a destination.