Champs Elysées on standby

[kerouac2]

Over the last 30 years, Parisians have grown to hate the Champs Elysées.  The vast majority never set foot there anymore.  Mass tourism was already a problem by the late 1970s, and the summer crowds could get very annoying.  I am pretty much of a Champs Elysées expert because almost my entire professional career too place either on or within 200 metres of the Champs Elysées, so I observed the evolution all that time.  I knew that the Americans would be there in May and June, the Germans would be there in July, the Italians in August and the Spaniards in September.  French tourists from the southern regions often chose July and August as well, to keep with tradition. The Belgians were there year round and actually quite a few of the German and British because they could easily make weekend trips whenever they wanted.  In later years, the tourists from the Gulf Region would take over the month of October or any time that Ramadan was happening if they felt like drinking and not fasting.  School holidays in France and all of the other countries would fill up the Champs Elysées, too, at various times.  The Japanese, Chinese, Koreans and Brazilians would flood to the area according to a schedule that I never figured out.

After all, there are just three things in Paris -- the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Champs Elysées.  At least that's how a lot of people see it.

Commercial rents began to skyrocket.  First the normal stores were squeezed out in the early 1980s as well as the non touristy restaurants and cafés.  A few years later, all of the cinemas that didn't own their premises were thrown out.  All of the airline agencies disappeared, but that would have happened anyway since the physical agencies were no longer necessary, not to mention the airlines that disappeared forever (Pan Am, TWA, Varig, Air Afrique...).  In the last decade, all of the automobile showrooms have disappeared, Renault being the last holdout.  All of the various clothing, perfume and fast food chains filled the empty space.

With no car showrooms and no Virgin Megastore (gone in 2013 from France), Parisians lost their very last reason to ever set foot on the Champs Elysées.

So I thought I would show how busy the Champs Elysées is after a year without tourists.  I took my photos mid morning Wednesday (yesterday as I write this).

Some places are taking advantage of the lack of business to refurbish.

This is one of the remaining cinemas (I checked the posted building permit to make sure it was not becoming something else.).

[kerouac2]

I have always read that this McDonald's is the highest grossing one in the world, and also that it has never made a profit due to the rent. But its commercial presence is obligatory in such a location. When I moved to Paris, this was the Fiat showroom. The "Come as you are" slogan has been modified to "come back as you are." Take-out and delivery only of course.

Burger King bought Quick and transformed most of its locations. But there are a few Quicks left in strategic locations, because they are now halal.



available premises



The UGC Normandie is used for red carpet film premieres, but now it is just gathering dust along with the Lido.





The Apple store does not require its queue control installations at the moment.





Nike clearly has suckered some affluent youth to take advantage of something they advertised on Facebook or Instagram



The singer Mika is currently decorating the colonnes Morris, which are generally devoted to theatre prorammes and movies.

[kerouac2]

Not sure what they are doing at the Claridge. After closing as a hotel it was converted to serviced apartments for high revenue call girls (rumour).



The shells of the outdoor restaurant terraces just sit there. This is the Marriott.







This is another cinema.



best time ever to refurbish





This used to be the Citroën showroom. They will need to rip the guts out of this because it was built as an open spiral walkway. Also façade of Citroën chevrons...



No tourist crush today. I used to want to kick the gawkers out of my path.





This shopping gallery completely died.







One of the dinosaurs of the avenue.

[kerouac2]

Back closer to Nike (former Toyota showroom and cinema before that...)



Louis Vuitton is not exactly mobbed the way it usually was in the past. I worked in this building for more than 10 years.





Qatar bought this building more than 10 years ago, and moving out the French headquarters of HSBC was scheduled long ago.



It was built as the Elysée Palace Hôtel in 1898 by the Wagons-Lits company. Part of it will become a hotel again. And a shopping mall, of course.

[kerouac2]

Time for me to leave the area. You can't have tourists if you don't have hotels...

[tod2]

Great photo op Kerouac, but oh so sad. In my early visits to Paris on my own I stayed on Rue Bassano just so I could be close to the Champs Elysees. Without the crowds it is now possible to see how very very wide the sidewalks are. The shopping Mall you pointed out , number 26, I think might have been where you used to have lunch at a small cafe that served Pho on only one day of the week,,,,Thursdays? We went there on your recommendation but not for Pho.
I remember having breakfast at that McDonalds because it must have been the worst eating experience at a McD's. But when it comes to the Champs Elysees and all my memories, my second time there was walking up from Place De La Concorde and stopping at a little hot dog stand, only to feel the roof of my skull lift off like a Saturn rocket as I bit into the mustard lathered dog! But a few years prior I arrived with a husband and a two year old. My very first trip to Europe. We started walking somewhere near the Arc de Triomphe and bought a pizza. We ended up sitting on the steps of a building eating this terrible food and feeling like a poor beggar with all these legs walking past.
So many memories so thank you Kerouac for bringing them back.

[onlyMark]

I really ought to find time to travel closer to 'home'. I'd like to have a walk along there.

[htmb]

Looks really odd, like there was a pandemic, or something. With most everything closed there would be no reason for Parisians to even go to the Champs-Élysées if it was a place they liked to shop. Kerouac, is the Publicis Drugstore open?

I managed to avoid the Champs-Élysées for my first several visits to Paris, then was dragged there by a French-American friend who was visiting. We even went into some of the car dealerships and took pictures. I remember there were lots of “beautiful, young” people working there, helping to make the expensive cars look glamorous and desirable.

[mossie]

Very sad, it looks deader then the main drag through Ipswich.

[kerouac2]

Mar 4, 2021 12:59:53 GMT tod2 said:

I think might have been where you used to have lunch at a small cafe that served Pho on only one day of the week,

No, that is at number 66 and it still exists, maybe, if it has survived the current situation.

Mar 4, 2021 14:48:19 GMT onlyMark said:

I'd like to have a walk along there.

You can navigate that by yourself. But if you want to see something interesting, I am at your disposal.

Mar 4, 2021 15:26:04 GMT htmb said:

With most everything closed there would be no reason for Parisians to even go to the Champs-Élysées if it was a place they liked to shop. Kerouac, is the Publicis Drugstore open?

The shops that are not being renovated are all open, including the Drugstore. There just aren't any customers.

[bjd]

At least the construction industry seems to be working.

I don't remember the last time I was on the Champs Elysées and I'm not even Parisian. There haven't been any stores there that interested me for years.

[lugg]

Poignant photos of a poignant time . I wonder if it will look the same by say July ?

[onlyMark]

Mar 4, 2021 15:56:24 GMT kerouac2 said:

You can navigate that by yourself. But if you want to see something interesting, I am at your disposal.

Don't hold your breath but I may avail you of that one day.

[mich64]

I wondered by the end of the photos how many times I said WOW.

I have walked this a few times but then remembered the times were when we brought friends or family on holiday with us and it was a must see for them. I remember walking up the ramps in one of the car dealerships and my brother-in-law sitting in one of their race cars after putting on disposable slippers and gloves. lt also brought back memories of me sitting on benches while others ducked into shop after shop, I love to shop, but I could not afford much there.

All of the renovations, some are also taking advantage of that here too. One of our towns favorite pizza restaurant has not changed in probably 40 years is taking advantage of renovating while still keeping extremely busy with take-out and delivery. I am interested to see what they have done inside.

Loved the photos Kerouac, makes me miss our travels, hopefully soon.