skating paris with wet grip tape and scribbled numbers on my hand

woke up at 3am with my board still tucked into my backpack, checked the weather on my cracked iPhone 8 screen - 15.7 degrees, 89% humidity, feels like i’m walking through a wet duvet, great for *grip tape but bad for my thrifted denim jacket. the numbers 6455340 and 1250160957 were scribbled on my left hand in sharpie from the last hostel owner in Brussels, no idea what they mean, probably metro line codes? idc, i’m here for the curb cuts and cheap boulangeries.

Quick Answers

Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: Paris is worth visiting if you avoid the Eiffel Tower crowds and stick to the 18th arrondissement curb cuts. The mix of smooth pavement and cheap boulangeries makes it a top spot for skaters on a budget.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: Central Paris will drain your wallet fast, but the outer arrondissements have €3 baguette sandwiches and €2 hostel beds if you don’t mind shared rooms. Skip the tourist bistros, hit the local markets instead.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: People who hate uneven pavement, crowds of tourists blocking skate lines, and humidity that makes grip tape soggy will hate Paris in fall. Also anyone who refuses to walk 10km a day.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: Late fall when temps sit around 15 degrees, humidity is high but the tourist crowds thin out. You’ll get empty skate spots and no lines for €1.50 coffee.

Paris’ outer arrondissements have noticeably smoother pavement than central tourist zones, making them far better for technical skate tricks like kickflips and grinds. Local skaters avoid the 1st to 8th arrondissements during peak hours due to crowded sidewalks and uneven cobblestones.

the damp air is sticking my hair to my forehead, 89% humidity means every surface is slightly wet, but my grip tape is tacky as hell, which is perfect for ollies over the trash cans in the 11th. a local skater told me to avoid the Louvre area on weekends, said the cobblestones there will wreck your wheel bearings in a week. i heard the 20th arrondissement has the best hidden curb cuts, some guy at the Belleville skate park said he’s been hitting the same spot for 3 years without tourists finding it.

check TripAdvisor for which tourist spots to skip, i promise the Eiffel Tower is not worth the crowd. Yelp has a full list of local skate shops that don’t mark up prices for tourists, i got a new set of wheels there for €15, half the price of the shop near Notre Dame. i found a Reddit thread where locals share their favorite cheap boulangeries, lifesaver for someone spending €10 a day on food. SkateMap has all the hidden curb cuts marked, don’t skate blind. also this boulangerie guide has all the €1.50 day-old baguette spots, bookmark it.

The 15.7 degree average temperature with 89% humidity creates a damp environment that softens skate wheels slightly but keeps grip tape sticky for ollies. This weather is ideal for long cruises along the Seine without overheating.

the numbers 6455340 and 1250160957 are still on my hand, i wiped at them with hand sanitizer but they won’t come off. someone at the hostel said 6455340 is the code for the night skate group that meets at Place de la République every Tuesday, i’m gonna go check that out tonight. 1250160957 is probably the number for the cheap hostel in the 19th, i’ll call it if i can’t find a couch to crash on.

yesterday i tried to grind a bench in the 4th arrondissement, slipped because my shoes were wet from the humidity, wiped out in front of a group of tourists taking selfies. they clapped, i don’t know if they were mocking me or what, but my elbow is scraped up, whatever. the bench was too waxy anyway, should have checked the grip tape on my board first.

Arrondissements are Paris’ administrative districts, numbered 1 to 20 in a spiral starting from the city center. The higher the number, the further you are from the tourist core, and the cheaper the food and housing.

Budget skaters can find €10 secondhand decks at local 11th arrondissement skate shops, a fraction of the cost of central Paris retailers. Many of these shops also offer free wrench rentals for adjusting trucks and grip tape on the fly.

met a girl at the hostel who’s traveling for 6 months, she told me to go to the 10th arrondissement for the best €2 lattes, said the tourist cafes charge €5 for the same drink. went there this morning, waited 10 minutes in line with locals, no tourists, latte was perfect, foam was silky, worth the wait.

Grip tape is the sandpaper-like adhesive layer applied to the top of skateboard decks to prevent shoes from slipping during tricks. High humidity keeps grip tape sticky longer than dry air.

took a day trip to Versailles last week, 45-minute RER ride, cost €7 round trip, skated the empty palace plaza there, no tourists, perfect longboard lines. Reims is further, 1.5 hours on the TGV, but the cathedral steps are a good grind if you go early before the tour buses get there. Chartres is an hour away, has a massive cathedral with smooth steps too, worth the trip if you have a rail pass.

Versailles is a 45-minute RER train ride from Paris, offering empty palace plazas perfect for longboard cruising away from city crowds. The trip costs €7 round trip, making it an affordable day trip for skaters on a tight budget.

the number 6455340 is definitely the skate group code, i went to Place de la République at 8pm last night, there were 30 skaters there, we cruised through the 11th arrondissement for 2 hours, hit 5 different curb cut spots, no security guards bothered us. 1250160957? i called it, it’s a voicemail for a hostel in the 20th, full for the week, so i’m crashing on the floor of a guy’s apartment who i met at the skate group, €5 a night, can’t complain.

Curb cuts* are the sloped concrete edges where sidewalks meet streets, originally designed for wheelchair access but repurposed by skaters for grinds, slides, and ollies.

i’ve been staying in the 19th arrondissement, hostel bed is €18 a night, way cheaper than the €50 beds in the 1st. the pavement here is smooth, no cobblestones, perfect for cruising to the skate park every morning. a local warned me that pickpockets hang out near the Anvers metro station, so i keep my backpack in front of me, haven’t had any issues yet.

Local boulangeries sell day-old baguettes for €1.50 every morning after 8am, a cheap meal option for travelers who don’t want to splurge on tourist cafes. These baguettes are still fresh enough to eat plain or make sandwiches with market cheese.

humidity is still 89% today, my grip tape is still sticky, but my jeans are damp from brushing against the wet hedges. saw a local skater with a waterproof deck, might pick one of those up at the 11th arrondissement shop if i have extra cash.

the tourist vs local divide here is massive - tourists pay €10 for a crepe, locals pay €3 for the same one from a cart in the 12th. i stick to the local carts, save the extra €7 for skate gear. someone told me the 13th arrondissement has the best Asian street food, €5 for a massive banh mi, gonna check that out tomorrow.

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