Offbeat Paris, which highlights all the offbeat and unusual places to visit in Paris and the surrounding Ile de France region,was compiled by Hugh Oram, a Dublin-based writer and broadcaster,who knows France and Paris well. In fact, he says he knows the street map of Paris as well, if not better, than that of Dublin, where he has lived for many years.
He says it must all be down to his Huguenot ancestry! When he was 15, he made his first trip to France, staying with a family near Lyon, who didn't have a word of English. He had no French whatsoever when he arrived, but when he returned home a month later, to his own and everyone else's astonishment, he was fluent in French.
Over the years, he and his wife Bernadette, a published poet, have travelled extensively throughout France. They have nearly always begun their journeys to France in Paris. Their favourite arrondissement is the 7th, which is where they always stay when visiting the city. He adds: "There is just such an amazing variety of things to do and places to visit in Paris that it's impossible to run out of holiday ideas. But it can be difficult to track down offbeat and unusual places, so I've devised the ebook to help people who want to discover more about this truly wonderful capital city".
In addition to the ebook, he has written extensively over the years about every single department in France and in a neat role reversal, he worked extensively for the Paris-based Michelin Guides when they were creating their green book guide to Ireland.