Events
Performances of the musical: At the Théâtre du Châtelet, on the evenings of the 5th and 6th of June 2010. There will be fans at both performances; you can go to either or both. Email us if you're interested in group tickets. There are also matinee performances, but these conflict with the tour and other scheduled activities.
Lunch: At the Café Procope, the oldest café in Paris, saturated in Enlightenment, Revolution, and Romantic history. Sunday, 6 June at 1pm.
Tour: Join fellow fans on the Mizzie Tour, guided by its creator Marianne. See the former Rue Plumet, the site of the barricade, Javert's jump into the Seine, and more. Both days; schedule TBA.
Museum visits: The Victor Hugo museum, the Paris sewer museum, and Carnavalet (museum of Parisian history). Visits will be worked into the tour.
Excursion: A day trip to Montfermeil on June 4th.
Schedule
How to recognize the group: There will probably be people in tricolor sashes and period costume running around. Here's a picture of Marianne, who will be leading the tour. Yes, her hair is still that color, and yes, it tends to stand out in a crowd.
FRIDAY, 4th JUNE
Sewer museum: 11:00 AM; meet at the left-bank side of the Pont de l'Alma.
Montfermeil: Meeting place TBA; I need to find a good landmark for a meeting spot near the Gare Saint-Lazare. Will probably be around 1:30 PM; bring a picnic lunch! (Or, you know, eat beforehand and look on jealously as everyone else sets up camp with their bread and ham and wine next to the Fontaine Jean Valjean.)
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SATURDAY, 5th JUNE
Latin Quarter: 10:00 AM by the fountain at the very southern tip of the Jardin du Luxembourg (link goes to Google maps). The closest Métro is the Port-Royal RER station (line B); the fountain is directly behind you as you exit the station. If you're coming from the Jardin du Luxembourg, just keep going south until you hit a fountain in front of a giant intersection.
Things we'll be seeing: Jardin du Luxembourg, Rue de l'Ouest (one of Valjean and Cosette's houses), Église Saint Jacques du Haut Pas (a church Hugo has Valjean attending), the Café Musain/ABC Café, some sites related to the convent and the nocturnal Javert-Valjean chase in the book.
Panthéon: 12 noon on the steps of the Panthéon.
What we'll be seeing: Victor Hugo's tomb.
Lunch: 1:00 PM at the Quality Burger Restuarant on the Place Edmond Rostand, just down the street from the Panthéon.
What we'll be seeing: As near as anyone can tell, this is where the Café Musain would have been.
Marais: 3:00 PM in the courtyard of the Musée Carnavalet, the Parisian history museum. Note that this is the courtyard off the Rue de Sévigné entrance, NOT the garden. If you find yourself in Carnavalet via a nice formal garden with a giant gate on the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, exit and go around the corner to the Rue de Sévigné. There you will find the main entrance, the bookshop, and a stone courtyard with a statue of Louis XIV, which is where we're meeting.
What we'll be seeing: French Revolution, 1830 Revolution, and Romantic-era history at Carnavalet; Valjean's lodgings in the Rue de l'Homme-Armé; Marius' lodgings with Courfeyrac in the Rue de la Verrerie; the Hôtel de Ville; Saint-Merri, where the real 1832 revolt took place; the site of the barricade.
(Note: If you can't make it to Carnavalet but are still interested in seeing the site of the barricade, catch us up at the Église Saint-Merri, on the steps of the Rue Saint-Martin entrance, around 4:30 or 5:00. It's the last tour stop before the site of the barricade.)
Dinner: The site of the barricade is at Les Halles, which has a zillion and one places to eat, so I'm sure you can find something
Les Mis: The show is at 8:00 PM at the Théâtre du Châtelet; try to get there by 7:30 just to be safe.
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SUNDAY, 6th JUNE
Faubourg Saint-Marcel: 10:00 AM in front of the 13th arrondissement town hall, at the Place d'Italie. Take the Metro (line 5, 6, or 7) to Place d'Italie and look for exit 4, "Mairie du XVIIIeme," or just exit wherever and find the official-looking building between the Avenue des Gobelins and the Blvd de l'Hôpital.
What we'll be seeing: The Gorbeau tenement, the Field of the Lark, various and sundry places related to the history of the area
Rue Plumet: 11:45 AM at the exit of the St-François-Xavier Métro stop (line 13).
What we'll be seeing: The former Rue Plumet, and a little surprise...
Lunch: 1:00 PM at the Café Procope; meet at 12:45 under the statue of Danton outside the Odéon Métro stop (line 4 or 10).
More Marais: 3:00 PM at the corner of the Rue des Filles du Calvaire and the Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire. Have a Métro/bus ticket handy, since we'll be taking the bus to Bastille.
What we'll be seeing: Marius' grandfather's apartment, the Place de la Bastille (Napoléon's elephant, the July Column, and oh, yeah, that business with the French Revolution)
Victor Hugo museum: 3:30 PM in front of the museum at 6, Place des Vosges. Entry to the permanent collection is free and the museum is small, so if you're late you should be able to catch up to us.
Even more Marais: 5:00 on the steps of the Eglise Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis
What we'll be seeing: The site of Marius and Cosette's wedding, the site of the former prison of La Force where Thénardier was locked up
Dinner: Falafel in the Rue des Rosiers
Les Mis: 8:00 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, try to get there by 7:30.
IF YOU HAVE A GROUP TICKET: I will be out there starting at 7:00 to hand them out.