Forget the Champs-Élysées & the Eiffel Tower, Paris has a new highlight – the 13th arrondissement, home to Rue David Bowie
On what would have been the music chameleon’s 77th birthday, Paris immortalised its love for the Thin White Duke by christening a street in his name.
More than just a cobblestone lane, Rue David -Bowie is a pilgrimage for Bowie’s devotees, a tangible echo of his first Parisian performance in 1965.
Back then, an 18-year-old Bowie, still searching for his Ziggy Stardust skin, played with his band The Lower Third. Little did anyone know, the seed of a legend was sown on Parisian soil.
But why here, why now? The 13th arrondissement, home to Rue David-Bowie, buzzes with artistic rebellion, mirroring Bowie’s own restless spirit.
Street art adorns its walls, a fitting canvas for the man who painted his life with music, costumes, and personas. In this artistic hot spot, Bowie’s spirit feels right at home.
The choice isn’t merely symbolic. Bowie and Paris shared a symbiotic relationship. The city fueled his creativity, inspiring the whimsical melancholy of ‘Heroes’ and the vibrant nightlife of ‘Let’s Dance.’
In turn, Bowie gifted Paris his music, his flamboyance, a reminder that life is a performance, a stage waiting to be graced by audacious dreams.
Rue David-Bowie isn’t just a street; it’s a love letter etched in stone. It’s a whisper of Ziggy Stardust strutting past a boulangerie, Aladdin Sane’s lightning bolt cracking across a cafe sign.
It’s a promise that Bowie’s music, like the Seine, will forever flow through the veins of Paris.
So, when you walk Rue David-Bowie, don’t be surprised if you hear faint strains of ‘Starman’ carried on the Parisian breeze.
Let the music guide you, past cafes and galleries, until you find yourself humming under the Eiffel Tower, lost in the City of Lights and the legacy of the man who dared to change the world, one song at a time.
