Paris’s Dreamy Night Tour of the Day and Night
Located in the 13th arrondissement, Chinese artist Chen Zhen's "Dragon". A public art piece known from before; its magic under the night sky was only seen this year during the Nuit Blanche.
Text and images by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Romantic Paris has its own special atmosphere and poetry for both day and night. During the day, the entire city is busy with life, revolving around work and classes within the rhythm of daily routine. The Parisian catchphrase goes: “Parisians live for work, metro, and sleep (metro, boulot, dodot).” It is rare to calm down and truly appreciate this gentle, beautiful city, yet occasionally one is surprised by the aesthetic beauty of its living environment. It seems that Paris dedicates the most beautiful aspects of its artistic capital to pilgrims from all over the world, while unintentionally overlooking its own beauty, perhaps because familiarity breeds a loss of enchantment?
The Flower City—Paris—has vastly different atmospheres and scenery between day and night. When the lights first come on at dusk, the romantic night view opens like a dreamlike urban theater. After school or work, ending a hectic day, the pace of nightlife slows down. For families, regular outings include weekends or special holiday banquets, cocktail parties, dates, dining out, visiting exhibitions, watching movies, plays, operas, attending concerts, or other events. Otherwise, life follows a domestic formula: weekends involve sports, meals, gatherings with friends and relatives, parent-child activities, visiting friends, visiting exhibitions, strolling, or going to the countryside, living comfortable days day after day.
Beyond being busy with life, how much do people understand their living environment? Apart from community-specific activities like clearance markets or gatherings related to residential safety and elections, some lives revolve solely around their own circles, let alone appreciating the beautiful metropolis.
Paris’s Nuit Blanche uses the guise of art to allow Parisians to better understand the enchanting night views and environmental atmosphere of the romantic capital. Over the past decade or so, Nuit Blanche has become a night for Parisians to tour the city and date contemporary art. Therefore, each year, besides core areas such as near the Paris City Hall and various palaces, events are often held in the outskirts of Paris. This plants seeds of contemporary art, allowing those unfamiliar with it to get close to it, democratizing contemporary art and fulfilling an educational function, inspiring creation everywhere.
More importantly, this opportunity allows Parisians to carefully arrange a night tour of Paris. Nuit Blanche is about appreciating the picturesque night view of the romantic Flower City. Buildings, streets, monuments, and memorials, which are taken for granted during the day, are covered in a mysterious atmosphere under the deep night sky, appearing illusory and dreamlike—a poetry and beauty difficult to imagine. Nuit Blanche allows Parisians to rediscover the romance and poetry of Paris, offering a sense of beauty difficult to describe to tourists, and letting people experience the unparalleled enchantment of contemporary art.