Travel France - Midsummer’s Night in Paris

A street music festival in the City of Lights

Paris, June, an outwardly simple arrangement. Our friends would get a taxi at their hotel, then pick us up to travel across the River Seine for dinner at a restaurant with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

At our hotel, the appointed hour for our rendezvous passes. My husband Gary and I wait -- ten, fifteen, twenty minutes -- checking the street repeatedly to see if they have arrived. They are not among the inordinate number of people coursing along our medieval Rue Jacob. Where could they be? We relay our concerns to the hotel desk clerk and much to our chagrin, he laughs. Getting anywhere by taxi tonight will be impossible, he declares, for it is Midsummer Night.

June 21st in Paris is a night of revelry. The streets all over the city fill with people peaceably listening to a myriad of musicians and performers. On almost every street corner, a soloist or group is performing their brand of music for the delight of passersby on a sultry summer eve. There are so many people on the streets celebrating the longest day; traffic is stalled for the entire night.

Fifty minutes late, our friends come panting into the hotel’s courtyard. They started out in a taxi, but after moving only a few blocks in fifteen minutes, left it in the traffic jam and walked to our hotel. Plans for our Eiffel Tower view dinner are quickly scuttled and we head for a frenetically busy bistro just around the corner. Fortified with some rare lamb, pomme frites, and robust red wine, we join the crowds for some music.

We meander through the Sixth Arrondissement, a maze of narrow, medieval streets lined with colorful cafes, art galleries and boutiques. Along the way, we pause for a solitary guitarist playing flamenco, a folk quartet, a classical trio, a rock band, and some haunting saxophone. Each corner is the stage for a different group and a different style. Stopping at the lovely Rue Furstenburg to dance to a rock band, we watch the spectators swaying in the trees. Everywhere, the crowds are amiably and thoroughly enjoying the warmth of the evening wrapped in the magic of music.

Eventually, we return to our hotel where we are lulled to sleep by the sound of guitars wafting in our window. Our friends had to make their way back to their hotel on foot, somewhat disconcerted at having to push through the crowds at two in the morning and a little less enthralled with the rock band playing on their street until 5 a.m.

Nonetheless, the excitement of being unexpectedly caught up in a festival of that magnitude was a delight. Paris is a beautiful city and a perfect setting for festive music on Midsummer’s night.

Author: Karoline Cullen