Full of crime and poverty, the Bondy area on the outskirts of Paris – where Mbappe was born and raised – still has many attractive tourist attractions.
Kylian Mbappe – a talented midfielder of the French team – is becoming one of the few hottest names in the 2018 World Cup finals, thanks to his fast running speed and many historic goals. Even the 19-year-old player is considered the new Pele, will be the second Henry and will be even better than Neymar at the Paris Saint Germain club. The player of African descent was born and raised in the suburb of Bondy, northeast of Paris. The first team that Mbappe plays is also his hometown team Bondy.
Mbappe in a return to the Bondy area where he was born and raised.
This place is only about 10 km from the center of Paris, but in the eyes of the French, it is no different from a “slum”. Areas like Bondy are considered to be working-class, with a complex population and a hidden source of crime. However, Bondy is also a land with many cultural features through ancient French villages or ancient churches with unique architecture, attracting tourists.
Bontiacum is the Roman name for the land of Bondy, first known in AD 600, meaning “property of Bonitius”. Bonitius was a landowner during the Gallo-Roman era. During the Middle Ages, Bondy was a vast, wild jungle, so many gangs of bandits chose this place to hide. In the 11th century, Bondy was owned by the monastery of Saint-Martin-of-Fields.
In 2005, in the center of Bondy, archaeologists discovered a necropolis from the Merovingian and Carolingian periods. In these tombs, many items were found, including eight short swords and many buckles made of bone and metal, of historical importance.
Around the 1960s, Bondy was gradually expanding into a suburb of Paris with a population doubling. Due to its proximity to Paris and easy access to public transport, Bondy makes an ideal place to live for those who do not like the hustle and bustle caused by tourists. Room rent here is less expensive, from Bondy, people can still easily get in and out of the city to work.
Church of Eglise Saint Pierre in Bondy, Mbappe’s hometown.
As a suburb, but Bondy is considered an attractive town in the eyes of tourists because it retains the traditional French village atmosphere. This area has many green open spaces, locals and visitors alike can enjoy the fresh air. One of the must-see places in Bondy is Le Bois de Bondy, a 10-hectare park. In addition, in 2006 Bondy also proudly won the second prize in the prestigious competition of flower-filled villages in France.
Bondy has a mix of shops and eateries with both modern and traditional styles. Here, visitors can visit several weekly markets such as Marche Suzanne Buisson and Marche Neuburger. If you want to stay, visitors also have many options from luxury to economical. Restaurants and bars are also easily searchable. However, visitors when coming here are always warned to be careful with their belongings and limit traveling in lonely places due to many criminals.
From the center of Bondy, you can easily visit a number of tourist attractions such as the Musee de la Musique music museum, the Eglise Saint Pierre church, the old town of Le Marais, the Basilica du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre. .. To get to Bondy, you can travel by many different means such as bus, metro, RER, train, light rail. Or from Bondy to famous landmarks in Paris such as Montmartre hill, Louvre museum, Notre Dame… it’s not difficult.
The poor suburbs in France are considered the “cradle” of producing many young football talents, especially with African-immigrant players. Other French players have had a similar situation to Mbappe: Paul Pogba from Lagny-Sur-Marne and Roissy-en-Brie, N’Golo Kanté from Suresnes, Blaise Matuidi from Fontenay-sous-Bois or Benjamin Mendy from Longjumeau . Instead of degenerate, they all became symbols, light for their homeland and more or less promote tourism for the place where they were born.