There's a few secondhand clothes stores in Paris, but always immaculately selected, expensive and fashionable. Guerrisol however is a huge, dirt cheap jumble sale. Stock seems to rotate daily in each of their four stores, and prices fluctuate on the hour. Sifting through endless rails of synthetic jackets at €3 can suddenly reveal a hidden gem.

A grubby, ugly and grey crossroads, yet strangely beautiful by the evening sun. It always makes me happy when I pass through because ten minutes walk in any direction leads to some of my favourite places: the best fromager, thrift stores, the best boulangerie for tartes, the canal, bars, my apartment, B.D. (comix) shops, the best butcher, the huge deco Rex cinema, the best veg markets, my band's underground rehearsal room, my part time job, art galleries, etc etc!

Great place to start a day with a cup of coffee from the best roasters in the city, to eat lunch, to have an aperitif with your friends and to listen to a jazz concert every weekend.

Good coffee spot near Canal de l'Ourcq in the 19th

Climb your way up the escalators to the 9th floor of the Printemps department store (the Beauté & Maison building) for possibly one of the best panoramic views of Paris. You can see pretty much everything from here and unlike the views from the Eiffel Tower you’re right in the middle of the city and can almost reach out and touch the monuments around you. Go up on a sunny afternoon and take a seat on one of the benches, lay down on the fake grass lawn or have a drink and a snack at the Deli-Ciel café.