Why go
The city’s musical history is unusually layered. Notre-Dame points to medieval polyphony, the 19th century shaped opera and orchestral music, and the 19th arrondissement, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Saint-Michel reveal how accordion music and jazz entered everyday Parisian life. These addresses make it possible to connect a concert choice or neighbourhood walk with a different chapter of the city’s musical history.
The full story
Parisian music has developed through churches, courts, theatres, cafés and neighbourhood clubs. A school of polyphony was established at Notre-Dame in the late 12th century, and later royal patronage helped make the lute, ballet, opera and printed music part of court culture. The Conservatoire de Musique de Paris was founded in 1795; by the 19th century, the city was an important centre for symphony, ballet and opera. Composers including Berlioz, Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Debussy and Ravel worked in this larger musical world, while Bizet’s Carmen premiered in Paris in 1875. A more everyday sound came from bal-musette, a dance style heard in working-class cafés and bars from the late 19th century. Accordion players, including Parisian and Italian musicians, helped make it a lasting city emblem, especially around Auvergnat bars in the 19th arrondissement. After the Second World War, cellar jazz clubs in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Saint-Michel introduced musicians such as Boris Vian and Sidney Bechet to Paris audiences. Hip hop later grew through the city’s African and Caribbean communities.