Welcome to "The 20 Kingdoms", a new season of The Earful Tower podcast.

As you probably know, there are 20 districts in Paris, known in French as arrondissements. But my brother once referred to them as kingdoms and I liked it. It's true, each of the districts has its own soul, quite separate from the next. They may as well be kingdoms. At least for a podcast season.

In this 20-episode season of the podcast, I'm going to visit each kingdom and introduce you to someone who truly loves that particular district. Maybe they work there, maybe they live there, or maybe they just love it.

That's the whole concept. This isn't me recommending cafes or restaurants in different parts of town. This is true locals telling us about the soul of their kingdom and what they like to do there. The goal is to give you a very real look at each of these districts from a local's perspective.

And for the 20th Kingdom, the first episode of the season, you'll meet Abiola, a social worker who looks after kids in the north western side of the district. He loves cafes, good food, football and the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Here's what he had to say.

Mentioned in this episode:

Restaurant

Paloma

Website: https://www.instagram.com/paloma.belleville/

Address: 93 Rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris

Bar

Combat

Website: https://www.instagram.com/combat.belleville/?hl=en

Address: 63 Rue de Belleville, 75019 Paris

Cafes

Candle Kids

Website: https://www.instagram.com/candlekidscoffee/ Address: 107 rue des couronnes, Paris, France 75020

Miliki Coffee

Website: https://milikicafe.com/

Address: 8 rue Levert, 75020 Paris

Bambin

Website: https://bambin-coffeeshop.fr/

Address: 40 Rue de Tourtille, 75020 Paris

Best thing to do

Parc de Belleville

Best street

Rue Saint Blaise

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This episode brought to you by The Earful Tower Tours. Come join us in the Marais, Montmartre, or the Latin Quarter. Our Walking Tours are exceptionally highly rated online and are the best way to experience this podcast in real life.

The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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Music: Pres Maxson

Have you ever heard of Rungis? It's the world's largest wholesale food market, it provides all the Paris markets and restaurants with their fresh produce, and you can find it near the Orly Airport.

Or can you?

This place may as well be top secret. Only the vendors and restauranteurs can access it - yet it's as big as a village. Every night, at around 2am, produce sellers (like fishermen and cheesemongers) open their doors to the eager buyers, who charge in and negotiate prices for the goods.

And even though it's closed to the public, I got an invite to make this episode. My invite came from April Pett who runs April in Paris tours, check her out here: https://www.aprilinparistours.com/

Big shout out to market vendor Jaad who took us around and whose laughter echoed through the halls of Rungis all night.

You can find more about the market here (but remember, it isn't open to visit to the public). https://www.rungisinternational.com/

Here's the replay of the short live video we made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeiII9gqlZo

And the rest of our pictures are on social media, the rest of my videos will be for the members, only. Links below.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music: Pres Maxson

I speak English with our two children (soon to be 2 and 5 years old). My wife speaks Swedish with them. The outside world is in French. (Note: We all speak all three languages too).

Here's a glimpse at how that works, with special guests Otis and Astrid. Hope you find it as fascinating as I do!

This episode is brought to you by the members, who get the new 2026 PDF guide to Paris for free. For everyeone else, you can support this show by buying the guide here: https://theearfultower.com/product/guide-book/

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music: Pres Maxson (his take on Douce France, by Charles Trenet)

Paris has a new mayor! That's right, after 12 years at the helm, Anne Hidalgo has stepped down. Parisians voted for a new mayor, and taking her place will be Emmanuel Grégoire.

But who is Emmanuel Grégoire? What does a Paris mayor actually do? And what will be the legacy of Anne Hidalgo?

This week's guest is Paris-based reporter Katy Lee, the co-host of the podcast The Europeans, and the woman behind the Millefeuille Substack page, which she calls the "newsletter for Parisians who are bad at local news".

Follow Katy to find out more:

• The Millefeuille newsletter
• The Europeans

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music: Pres Maxson (his take on Sous le ciel de Paris, by Edith Piaf)

We bought a house in the charming Provence town of l'Isle sur la Sorgue! That's right: the Pearl of Provence, the Venice of the South, the same place we recorded the Christmas episode last year. And while we'll still live in Paris and do business as usual, this exciting news will surely add a new scent of lavender to everything we do.

So: Why did we buy this house? How? What next? Are we leaving Paris? (no). We answer all these questions and more in this week's episode.

I'll share pics and videos along the way, be sure you're following our social media channels.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music: Pres Maxson (his take on Douce France, by Charles Trenet)

Almost like a sacred ritual in France, the apéro is much more than just a drink with friends.

Véronique Savoye from France With Véro explains more.

And be sure your membership is up to date to see Vero and I answer your questions about Paris in mid March 2026.

This is an episode from The Earful Tower archives.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

I took my wife on a bohemian date in Montmartre - we called this episode "Bohemia on wheels". Join us as we take you through Montmartre in a 2CV with three nostalgic and bohemian stops along the way. Earful members can get 15 percent off your own unforgettable 2CV experience in Paris.

The experience: 2 CV with Cedric's Paris

Website: https://cedricsparis.com/en/home/

This episode was recently released as a member's only episode. You can unlock the other ten episodes from the season on Patreon or Substack.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

Last week we introduced you to Sophie, the newest character in our world of children's books.

Today, we're checking in - with a huge thank you - halfway through the Kickstarter campaign.

As you may have seen, we hit the target in 15 minutes. Now, as the campaign continues, we're donating books to local schools, hosting Online Salons, and giving you two last chances to be in the book... if you're quick.

The project will end on Friday February 6th. You can get your own copy here.

Thanks to all who've contributed so far - merci mille fois.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

Here she is: Sophie in Paris.

Meet Sophie, the newest character in our world of children's books.

She's a clever little girl who lives in a tiny attic by the Eiffel Tower. And when a problem appears on the tower itself, Sophie takes it upon herself to save the day.

Sophie is a brave, curious, capable girl who reminds us that even the biggest problems can be solved by one person with the courage to try.

And in this episode of the podcast, Lina and I describe how we made the book, how you can get it, and how (if you're quick), you can get your name on the Eiffel Tower.

The project will launch on Kickstart on Jan 30. You can follow the pre-launch page here and be the first in line.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

I did it! I climbed the south tower of the Notre Dame cathedral and it was every bit as wonderful as I had dreamed.

I brought the microphone up there with me, join me for the full experience.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

A personal guide from us - smaller, quieter museums we genuinely love, chosen for their intimacy and character rather than hype. None of these are in the top 15 most-visited museums in Paris.

PS: The music from this episode is an original from Pres Maxson called Guimard's Abbesses.

Here's the list of museums mentioned in the episode. For the full list with addresses, details, websites, etc, check out my website and Substack.

• 1. Musée Rodin

• 2. Musée des Archives Nationales

• 3. Maison de Balzac

• 4. Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

• 5. Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris (currently closed)

• 6. Musée Nissim de Camondo (currently closed)

• Future Bonus: Musée Hector Guimard (opening 2027ish)

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. For just $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Walking Tours