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To commemorate the Smithsonian Presents Travels with Rick Steves magazine — now on sale online, and at newsstands nationwide — Rick is blogging about the 20 top destinations featured in that issue. One of those destinations is Paris’ best market street, Rue Cler.
As a guidebook researcher and travel writer, I’m inclined to look for the “ultimate” in each category: the ultimate medieval walled town in Germany (Rothenburg), the ultimate prehistoric stone fortress in Ireland (Dún Aenghus), the ultimate castle setting in Castile (Consuegra), the ultimate Riviera port town (Vernazza), the ultimate German enclave in Romania (Sighisoara), the ultimate medieval castle interior (Reifenstein castle, in northern Italy), the ultimate hike in England’s Lake District (Catbells above Keswick), the ultimate neighborhood pub in London (The Anglesea Arms, in South Kensington), the ultimate castle in North Wales (nope, I still can’t pick just one)…and the ultimate pedestrian market street in Paris (Rue Cler).
Travelers want “top tens”…favorites. Even our Smithsonian magazine project was driven by the appetite for readers and travelers to know The Best. We needed to offer not just “20 great destinations,” but Europe’s “top 20 destinations.” The new phenomenon in travel publishing is the demand for “top ten” books. I’ll play along, but who can really say “the best” or the “top ten”? (Perhaps that’s why I included England’s Blackpool in the Smithsonian “top 20” — just to playfully punk the whole notion.)
As consumers of information that shapes our travels, we need to see these lists for what they are: not the top, but a collection of favorites. In my work, once I declare a place “the best” or “the ultimate,” I know a rising tide of visitors will wash away some of its magic, and I need to be out there looking for a successor or another place in order to dilute the crowds. As far as Paris’ Rue Cler goes, you’d think there would be a bevy of pedestrian-only market streets with village charm offering alternative opportunities to feel the pulse of a Parisian neighborhood. Every time I get a suggestion, I track it down. And it doesn’t top my favorite. Rue Cler is tough to beat.
To me, Bamberg is really good, but it’s no Rothenburg. Santa Margherita Ligure is really good, but it’s no Vernazza. Burg Eltz is really good, but it’s no Reifenstein. The circular rock forts of the Ring of Kerry are really good, but they are no Dún Aenghus. And, in Paris, Rue Montorgueil is really good, but it’s no Rue Cler. Collect the bests. But as you sort through all the superlatives and all those “bests’ and “ultimates,” go ahead and disagree. Don’t let some fancy travel writer limit your freedom to find your own ultimates.
Trying to pick an “ultimate hike in the Lake District” is an exercise in futility, Rick. It depends on what the individual hiker wants, a gentle(ish!) stroll through a real hike to something close to mountaineering in places. Someone who is happy with Catbells isn’t going to want to tackle Blencathra or Scafell, and vice versa.
My picks for best castle are somewhat off the beaten path. Both in Germany – Buaunfels, north of Wiesbaden and Hohenzollern, south of Stuttgart. Both equally worth a day-trip.
Best soccer experience in Europe: Craven Cottage; watching Fulham play. Safe, inexpensive, easy to get tickets, family feel.
Top tens are getting very popular in the blogosphere, but I think some of it is laziness (present company excepted). It’s a lot easier to put together a Top Ten/Worst Ten/Ten Tips type post than a detailed description of a place – which also requires some actual travel. The bad news about Rick’s favorite places – they get overrun by guidebook-toting Americans. The good news – if that’s not what you want, you know what places to avoid. I’ve stayed in one of the Rue Cler hotels, and the street is cute enough, but these days I sleep on the edge of the Marais. A few places really are in the ultimate/bucket list category – Angkor Wat comes to mind – but they’re not necessarily places you visit more than once.
Blackpool is a fascinating place that I’ve pretty much decided that I need to visit. I sure wish my grandmother was still alive so I could ask her about it. She grew up in Cumbria the daughter of a schoolmaster and it would be fun to know her views. i recently read that the illuminations actually started in 1879! They didn’t get it completely right until 1912 when a grand opening was held with a Princess Parade with Princess Louise presiding. My grandmother was in Leicester by then. They had 17 million tourists a year in the mid 90’s! It’s down to ten million–still a hefty number! And of course, the Top Gear boys ceremonially turned on the lights one year after a race from France. What would a schoolmaster’s daughter have to say about that!
I found the Farmers Markets in the neighborhoods of Frankfurt to be far superior then any I saw in Paris. Honestly, I was disappointed as one hears so much about French markets. The German ones are simply better in my opinion. Rick, please come to the Berger Strasse market in Frankfurt Bornheim the next time you are in Germany and you might be pleasantly surprised. The architecture of the surrounding buildings are all late 1800’s or very early 1900’s, the cobblestone pedestrian street is lined with cafes and the market is on Wed. and Sat. Much of the produce is very local, including the eggs, meats and cheeses. If you miss the day, then go to the market on the Schiller Str. on Fri. the Konstablerwache on Thur. or Sat. or on the Schweizer Str. in Sachsenhausen. Then a spot to rival the Viktualen Market in Munich, would be the Klein Markt Halle in Frankfurt. Even visitors from Munich find it to be fantastic and they wish they had something similar.
I do agree on the fact that Top Lists are essential tools to any travel planning, especially in less known areas. I’m addicted to these lists, not only because it offers a wide selection of things but also because it reflects the personality of the writer’s – which adds a little spice to any trip.
But you did mention the most important thing – make your very own top list, don’t just content yourself with someone else’s favorite places. Go deeper than that! Plus it’s a lot of fun making your own top list, as you can debate it over with other people, and it’s a good excuse to look at your photos over and over.
Thank you for the Rue Cler posting. It was a joy to read–as are all of your writings! The only problem is I want to go somewhere after I read anything you write–so I just came back to Texas from Brooklyn, NY and back to Lufkin where I live from San Antonio, Texas. And I’m going to London in November. You’re good for me and an inspiration for me to get off the couch and out from in front of the computer and GO somewhere. Keep up the good travel articles.
I must confess that I’ve never been to the Cinque Terre or the Tuscan hill towns, but for a mysterious, almost otherworldly Italian experience, the drive around the eastern flanking hills of Mt. Etna in Sicily does it for me. Trekking inland from the coastal towns of Taormina or Giardini-Naxos takes one way back in time from the ancient Greeks through all subsequent invading cultures (Romans, Saracen, Normans, etc.). In particular, check out the extremely old villages, such as Francavilla di Sicilia or Castiglione di Sicila; these ancient towns sit perched precariously atop jutting hills in the shadow of ever-present Mt. Etna. I had the great fortune to trek around this landscape over Christmas and New Year’s a few years ago. While the coastal towns I stayed in remain a balmy 70 degrees, only an hour or two inland, and up the various hills and mountains, the temps drop dramatically. Not only that, but the sunlight makes magical colors over the hills’ horizons especially at sunset. Just a word of caution: watch out for the shepherds and their flocks. Sheep and cattle abound everywhere here! Yep, for my money and time, there is simply no place like this part of the Italy. Simply astounding.
Rue Cler is my homebase in Paris. I don’t always stay in that area, but I visit almost daily when I am in Paris. I like to have a familiar “home” in various places in Europe. Then I branch out and visit new neighborhoods, try new foods, vary my experience of travel.
Top 10 lists are a great starting point on any trip, but I never rely upon them exclusively. I would have to agree, tho, that Rue Cler was one of the real joys of our trip to Paris. We stayed nearby and each day walked over to Rue Cler to sit at the cafes and enjoy the sight of seeing Parisians at their everyday shopping. We still laugh at the memory of seeing people come out of the bakery, twisting off the tops of their baguettes and munching away. I love the museums, castles, the town sites, but the real beauty of travel is the people and their everyday lifes. Thanks, Rick, for so many insights into how to share those lifes.