Where the old meets the avant-garde

By JEAN RAFFERTY

egend has it that after St. Denis was beheaded on the hill of Montmartre, he walked, carrying his head, to the countryside. An abbey was established where he finally fell, its Gothic basilica becoming the model for the cathedrals of Notre Dame de Paris and Chartres and the burial place of French kings.

The suburban town of St. Denis, culturally diverse and sometimes troubled, lies just outside the northern edge of Paris. Architecturally it's a mix of ancient and avant-garde.

In the cathedral's shadow is Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer's gleaming headquarters for the communist newspaper L'Humanite. The Royal Pavilion where Louis XV stayed when visiting his daughter in the convent which became the Art and History Museum now houses the art collection--including works by Picasso, Dali and Max Ernst--of St. Denis' native poet Paul Eluard.

On the bank of the St. Denis canal is the Stade de France, built--at a cost said to be twice the budgeted $450 million--to host the World Cup. The size of the Place de la Concorde, the stadium will be the venue for musical as well as sports events, and contains conference facilities, exhibition halls, boutiques and restaurants--one with a splendid view of Paris. Two new subway stations link it to central Paris, something to bear in mind given the stadium holds 80,000 but has a paltry 6,000 parking spaces. On June 20, the Carnavalcade parade takes over the St. Denis streets with musical groups from around the world. Between June 11 and July 12 there will be nine concerts in the basilica, four recitals and three open-air concerts. Just before the final match on July 12 Yves Saint Laurent will show 300 haute couture dresses on the stadium pitch.