Palais Soubise

Palais Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan

We continue to the end of Rue des Rosiers and turn a few steps to the right where there is a tiny garden behind Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux. We cross the garden past the church and turn left into Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to the National Archives in Palais Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan.

Hotel de Rohan

Archives Nationales are housed in many adjoining buildings. The best known are Hôtel de Rohan, facing Rue Vielle du Temple, and Palais Soubise, facing us. That palace was built in 1705 in the style of Louis XV. It has a horseshoe shaped garden in front.

Rue Pierre au Lard & Beaubourg

The museum houses 280 kilometres of shelves carrying six billion of state documents. Historic exhibitions are also held in Palais Soubise

Rue Pierre au Lard

From the museum we go to the next corner and there turn left Rue des Archives until we arrive at Rue Sainte-Croix-Bretonnerie, where we turn right. Just before we come to Palais Beaubourg we turn right into a crooked alley, Rue Pierre au Lard.

The ancient and dilapidated walls of the alley contrast with the avant-garde landmark of Palais Beaubourg in front of us.

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Hotel Carnavalet

Hotel Carnavalet

We leave the square at its north west corner and walk Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to Hôtel Carnavalet at our right.

Built in 1644 when the Mannerist style was developing into the French Château style. It was given its appearance by the well known architect Mansart. The original part of the mansion was built around a courtyard which is behind the main entrance. Later other wings were added so that the palace became a square and a crucifix around four courtyards.

The palace is now a museum of the history of Paris with exquisite antique furniture

Rue des Rosiers

We retrace our steps to Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, go past the museum and then immediately turn left along Rue Pavée and at once to the right along Rue des Rosiers.

Rue de Rosiers

The main Jewish street of Paris. Some synagogues and Middle Eastern shops and Hebrew book shops are in the street and also in the side street to the left, Rue des Ecouffes.

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Place des Vosges

We pass the church and come to the main street, Rue Saint-Antoine. There we turn right and walk a bit until we come to Rue de Birague at our left. We turn into it and go straight to Place des Vosges.

The oldest and one of the most charming squares of Paris, laid out in 1605-1612 at the instigation of Henri IV. With him the house of Bourbons took over from the Valoisians. The Bourbons reigned in the 17th and 18th C. up to the great Revolution of 1789. The big garden in the square was once a favourite duelling ground but now it is popular with nannies and soccer boys.

The houses around Place des Vosges are in a late version of Renaissance, now usually called the Mannerist style. Out of this style the typical French Château style evolved here. The houses are built of red bricks and yellow, hewn stones. They are all in consistent units. An arcade gives a shaded promenade around the spacious square.

Most of the noble houses still have original façades after four centuries, including their high roofs. We entered the square beneath the King’s palace, Pavilion du Roi. Directly opposite it, at the other end, is the Queen’s palace, Pavilion de la Reine. In the near corner to the right is a house where the author Victor Hugo lived for many years.

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Enceinte, gamli borgarmúrinn, til vinstri & Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis til hægri

Enceinte

We leave the place in front of the palace by Rue de l’Ave Marie and then turn left on Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul. There we see the remains of Enceinte behind a small soccer field.

These are the remains of the city wall that king Philippe Auguste built in 1180-1220. He was one of the greatest kings of the Capetian line which reigned in the 11th to the 13th C. These were times of progress in Paris. Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre and the city wall were built and Sorbonne and other university colleges were founded.

This was the first wall built around the city after it had spread to the banks around the islands. The Louvre started as a river castle, built as a part of this wall. If this wall is counted as wall no. 2 in the history of the city, next after the island wall, the walls in the end attained the number of six, in line with the gradual increase of the city size.

Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

We look at the church in front of us.

The second oldest Paris church in the Jesuit Counter-Reformation style, built in 1627-1641. From here we can see the dome, which was typical of this style in church architecture in the 17th C. The style stood midway between the Mannerist and Baroque styles of those times. The strict design of the church is clear from this direction.

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Pont des Arts & Institut de France

Institut de France

Opposite the pedestrian Pont des Arts we come to Institut de France.

The palace was originally built by Le Vau in French 17th C. style, financed by a bequest from the will of cardinal Mazarin. It has for a long time been the home of the influential Académie de France and a few other semi-official clubs of culture.

Pont des Arts

We walk to the middle of the pedestrian Pont des Arts.

From the middle of the bridge there is a delightful view to all directions, upriver, downriver, north to the Louvre and south to the palace of Institut de France.

When we reach the Right bank we save the Louvre for a later walk and turn right a short distance to Place de l’École where we started this walk. We should repeat this walk some evening when the banks and monuments of history are floodlit. No city is more floodlit than Paris. A boat trip would though be the best way of enjoying that spectacle.

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Place Saint-Michel

Next we continue along Quai Saint-Michel to Place Saint-Michel.

The formal entrance to the Left bank. It was the centre of the revolutionary Paris Commune in 1871 and again the centre of the student uprisings in 1968.

From the square the famous café-boulevard Saint-Michel runs southwards, crossing the other famous boulevard of the Left bank, Saint-Germain. Boulevard Saint-Michel is lined with restaurants and book stores.

Quai des Grands Augustins

We resume our walk along the quais. Next comes Quai des Grands-Augustins.

Antique booksellers are with their cases in many places along the river banks. They are most numerous on the oldest bank, Quai des Grands-Augustins, running between Pont Neuf and Pont Saint-Michel, and on Quai de Conti, running between Pont Neuf and pedestrian Pont des Arts.

The books are generally worthless, but in between some interesting magazines can be found. Business is mainly in quickly done drawings and paintings, especially made for tourists. We allow time to study the cases of books on Quai des Grands-Augustins and Quai de Conti.

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Pont de la Tournelle

From the bank there is a nice little footpath behind the church for a detour to have a quick cup in quaint Ébouillante. Then we return to the bank which here is named Quai de l’Hôtel-de-Ville. We now have Ile Saint-Louis on our right. When we are midway opposite it, we cross the river on Pont Marie, Rue des Deux Ponts, and Pont de la Tournelle to arrive at the Left bank.

This bridge is a famous Seine viewpoint. In the Middle Ages a chain curtain was stretched here between two castles on opposite banks to prevent attacks on the city. A bridge was first built here in 1370.

On the bridge there is a monument in honour of Sainte Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, the girl who protected the town against the fury of Attila the Hun in 451.

The ancient and famous restaurant Tour d’Argent is opposite the bridge on the mainland side, tempting travellers with a stunning view and a pressed duck for dinner.

Square Réne-Viviani

From there our path is downriver along the Left bank. Notre-Dame dominates the view and makes us stop every now and then.

The square is opposite the west end of Notre-Dame. We enter the garden in the square. From there we have one of the best views to Notre-Dame. The garden also has a tree said to be the oldest in the city. Behind the garden we see Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre from 1165-1220, described in a later walk.

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Hotel de Ville

We continue along the bank and arrive at the town hall of Paris, Hôtel de Ville.

A town hall has been on this spot since the 14th C. The present palace is from the latter half of the 19th C., an imitation of an

Saint-Gervais

earlier Renaissance palace which was burned down in the 1871 revolt. The palace is full of art.

Saint-Gervais

We continue and soon see the Saint-Gervais church on our left.

Built 1494-1657 in late Gothic style. Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais is the full name of the church, named after two Roman martyrs. Is has the oldest Classical façade in the city. The famous organ of the church is used for religious recitals.

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Conciergerie

Subsequently, we walk along Quai de l’Horloge past the northern side of the former royal palace, the oldest part of it, commonly called the Conciergerie.

On this side of the palace there are four 14th C. towers. The central towers originally guarded the entrance to the palace. The square tower farthest to the east has housed the official clock of Paris for more than six centuries. The entrance is between that tower and the central towers.

Salle des Gens d’Armes

We enter the palace.

Inside there are three vast Gothic halls from the 14th C. The biggest is Salle des Gens d’Armes of 1800 square meters, the ground floor under the palace.

After the Revolution in 1789 these halls were converted into a prison. 2600 people were brought in 1793-1794 and from here to the guillotine. The massacre did not end until the head of Robespierre himself was cut off in this manner.

This is the end of the Îles walk.

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Square du Vert Galant

We go to the square between the wings of the bridge, Square du Vert Galant.

Henri IV at Pont Neuf

The small park on the western tip of the island is named after Henri IV. There are groves and benches for relaxation. Also, here is the pier of one of the shippers who offer tourists a one-hour trip on the Seine. We can accept the offer and have a pleasant voyage with splendid views from the river.

Vert Galant

Otherwise, we climb back the steps and enjoy the view from the statue of the Vert Galant.

The equestrian statue of Henri IV is called The Vert Galant, which means the Womaniser in Green Clothes. He was a very popular king who did much to calm the religious wars that had dominated France in the years up to his access to power.

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Place Dauphine

We exit by the same way, find the street and turn right and then again right along the river bank, Quai des Orfèvres, along the main police station, Police Judiciare. Then we again turn right into Rue de Harley and from there to the left up to Place Dauphine.

This restful square, which fans of inspector Maigret should remember, was planned in 1607 by Henri IV. It was mercifully spared when city planner Haussmann rebuilt the island. Some of the houses, for example no. 14, still have the original façade. Here are the wine bars Bar du Caveau and Henri IV, where we can rest our tired limbs.

Pont Neuf

After our rest we leave the square by the narrow end of its triangle and arrive at Pont Neuf.

The oldest bridge in Paris in spite of its name, built in 1578-1604, during the reigns of Henri III and Henri IV. It spans 275 meters, has heavy pillars and twelve Romanesque arches, decorated with grim faces of stone.

The former bridges in these places had houses on, as can be seen from paintings.

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Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle seen from an Art Nouveau metro station

When we return down the front steps we turn to the right into the main courtyard of the palace. There we see the oldest part of the palace complex, Sainte-Chapelle.

Built in 1248, singularly dazzling, probably the most beautiful Gothic church in existence. It is completely in the original state of the late Gothic style. The enormous windows of stained glass are the oldest windows in Paris and the most splendid windows from the 13th C.

We enter at the west front and first arrive at the lower church, originally the church of the royal household. From there we take the stairs to the upper church, which was the church of the king himself

Sainte-Chapelle interior

The upper church is one big room between windows. The walls between the windows are very narrow and roof rests on slender pilasters. The windows of 15 meters in height let in a mysterious light. This is the most magic place in Paris.

The church seems fragile but has in spite of that stood proud and without fissures for seven centuries and a half. It is strange that this jewel is hidden in a courtyard.

Sainte-Chapelle

If we want to scrutinize the windows we need a lot of time. The pictures in them show 1134 scenes from the Bible.

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Palais de Justice

We go past the flower market. Behind massive railings of wrought iron we see the former parliament and present palace of justice.

The front of the palace dates from the years after the fire of 1776, one of the many attacking the palace. The left wing and the back, facing Place Dauphine, also date from this time. The oldest part, Conciergerie, the remains of the ancient royal palace, is on the right hand side, dating from the beginning of the 14th C.

Here the Merovingian kings lived in the 6th to 9th C. and Capetian kings in the 11th to 13th C. After that the French parliament was housed here up to the Revolution of 1789, when the palace became a prison and a court.

We can follow barristers, defendants, judges, journalists and inquisitive people up the great steps and take in the goings on in the long corridors and in the courtrooms themselves. Those with scant interest can make do with inspecting the Marchande gallery behind the front door. Others can turn right into Salle des Pas Perdus, where the commotion is greatest.

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Place Louis Lépine

Ile de la Cité

We leave the church and enter the square in front of it, Place de Parvis.

The centre of Paris and of France. All distances in France are measured from Place de Parvis. Here the city was founded 200-250 B.C. by the Parisii, a Celtic tribe of fishermen and sailors. For a long time, during the four first centuries A.D. it was a stronghold of the Romans who built their barracks on the Left bank.

In 508 it became the capital of Klodwig, king of the Franks, and has since then been the capital of France. In the Middle Ages the city itself spread to the mainland banks. Later Charles V moved court over to the Louvre palace. Left behind was the parliament and later the city court.

It is fitting that a museum of the prehistory of the city has been set up under the square after extensive excavations had been made there. In the museum we can see the past in its original place. The remains are from Celtic and Roman times and some from the Middle Ages. This is a delightful museum.

Place Louis-Lépine

We cross the square and turn right into Place Louis-Lépine.

Art Noveau Metro sign

The venue of the main flower market of central Paris, held in Place Louis-Lépine and Quai de la Corse, a stone’s throw from Notre-Dame. On Sunday this market changes into a pet bird market, popular both with local people and travellers.

We can inspect the flowers, or the birds, if we happen on a Sunday. From the square we can descend through one of the famous Art Nouveau gates of wrought iron to the Paris metro.

Metro Art Nouveau

We take a look at the metro entrance.

Many entrances to metro stations are from the lively years around 1900, the Belle Époque, when Art Noveau swept through Europe from Paris. Hector Guimard designed the entrances which are built of wrought iron. One of them is here on the square.

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