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Post by Laidback on Feb 29, 2008 8:51:40 GMT -5
This neighborhood is just one more unique little Parisian enclave which has several different names, Nouvelle Athene, SoPi(south Pigalle),SoMo(south of Montmartre) among others. It is centered around 3 metros stops of the line #12 metro: St. Georges, Trinité and Notre Dame des Lorettes. Starting at the SW border is the pretty Trinité church with its' single tower which I believe is the tallest in Paris  It anchors the busy Pl. Estienne d'Orves which is lined with cafés and so-so brasseries and leads directly down rue Chaussée d'Antin to Galleries Lafayette and the Opera Garnier less than 500 yds. away. In the picture below taken on Chaussée d'Antin you can turn around and see the top of the opera. Maybe I can post that view later.  Rue Tour des Dames is a one block street running E. from the back of the church. It is lined with the mansions of several famous actors who lived here to be close to the many theatres in the neighborhood and also this example of "street art"   It dead-ends into Rue de la Rochefoucauld and if you turn left the house and studio of the great symbolist painter Gustave Moreau will be immediately on your right at # 14. This was turned into a small museum with a fine collection of his works that escaped the major museums.  To me this is a much more interesting museum than the Musée de la Vie Romantique which you can visit in a former private home by going on up the street and turning left on rue Chaptal, pictured below.   Let's stop here to keep from making the post too long and I will continue the walk later in this thread if there is interest; please give me your criticism, i.e., more or less photos, specific spots in the neighborhood, etc. and I will try to tailor it to your tastes. |
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Post by GitteK on Feb 29, 2008 13:15:37 GMT -5
Allow me to supply a few photos from the totally surprising interior of La Ste Trinité. It is a delightfully uplifting experience to visit the church, as it looks and feels more like a dancehall than a church - a place which should be filled with crystal chandeliers, champagne and Johan Strauss waltzes ! It is built in the 1860's and the presence, yet long gone, of well-fed entrepreneurs and financiers in black suits with their elegant ladies in rustling silk and glittering jewellery is almost tangible. The composer Olivier Messiaen was organist here for 40 years. I warmly recommend a visit - also to the charming little chocolate and bon-bon shop on the square ! gridskipper.com/travel/paris/paris-bonbons-317701.php   |
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Post by Laidback on Feb 29, 2008 14:57:54 GMT -5
If you do visit the Musée de la Vie Romantique you should then back track down Chaptal and take a left on rue Fontaine to # 30 where you can meet one of the real characters of the neighborhood, Denise Acabo, who runs the tiny chocolate shop "A l'Etoile d'Or". She is the only person that sells Bernachon chocolates from Lyon and also carries the Leroux caramel beurre salé which many feel are the best; they are good but I am no connaisseur and will even eat a Kraft caramel if that is my only choice.  She is proud of her chocolates and loves chocolate lovers as the following photo shows  We are now too close to the Pigalle sleaze so let's back-track S. E. on Fontaine which becomes Rue Notre Dame de Lorette just before entering the pretty Place St. George which has in the center a statue of an artist, Paul Gavarni,with whom I am unfamiliar  It is a circular pl. with a metro stop, 2 buses and other traffic which regularly seem to give old Paul a kiss. The green building behind Paul is a quirky antique shop probably well known by Truffaut. On Paul's left is the stately mansion once belonging to a lady of dubious character who apparently married well, the Hotel Païva,  and on his right across the Pl. is another mansion, the Hotel de Thiers.  Immediately in front of the statue is a popular café/resto, A la Place St. Georges, which straddles the intersection of Rues St. Georges and Notre Dame de Lorette and is crowded just before and after the plays at the adjacent Theatre St. Georges, which is just beyond the border of this photo on the right.  Continuing down Rue St. Georges there is an abundance of restaurants of different ethnicities. First, on your right, is "Sizin" a Turkish restaurant that is a special favorite of "Pudlo Paris", not a kebab joint but a proper restaurant with a friendly owner. On the same side of the street is a very good Italian, Del Orto and further down a popular little dinette type place "Georgette". On the opposite side of Rue St. Georges is another nice Italian "Romain" and a little further my favorite on the street, Casa Olympe.  If you read French, you might enjoy this article Let's stop here for today before moving on to Rue Martyrs, Sq. Toudouze and eventually work east to the Montholon area for Holger. |
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Post by GitteK on Mar 1, 2008 9:26:02 GMT -5
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Post by Laidback on Mar 1, 2008 16:44:29 GMT -5
Monsignore Laidback, my time of "elaborating on magnificent organs" has passed long ago, I'm afraid.....  Gitte, you indeed have my deepest sympathy O. K., now let's tackle the Rue des Martyrs which is the favorite market street in the area and really comes alive on Sunday mornings when only pedestrian traffic is permitted. Unfortunately, it was "discovered " by the NYT a short while back and now you hear the occasional conversation in English. What the article suggested was true but I would suggest you reverse the direction of your walk if you are coming from another area. Instead of starting at the bottom, behind Notre Dame de Lorette, as the author did, I would arrive from the Pigalle metro and walk down hill, particularly if you are going to make purchases of any size to schlepp along. This is a view looking N. from the upper end of Martyrs.  As you exit the metro Pigalle head E. and Martyrs is essentially the 1st cross street. Turn right, which is S. and down hill, and you will immediately come to the nice little Pl. Lino Venturi formed by the junction of Ave. Trudaine. There is a carrousel and 2 restaurants with nice terraces, "Le Paprika", for a Hungarian fix and "Auberge du Clou" which we prefer, if sustenance is required. You may take a short walk down Trudaine to the Square d'Anvers, which has its'own market, I think on Fridays, and a good view of Sacre Coeur. I took this photo from there.  As you retrace your steps back to Martyrs cross it and peek through the wrought iron fence at one of the areas plushest, residential niches, the private Cité Malesherbes. Another detour if you feel the need to visit one of the hottest little restaurants in Paris is to turn down Rue Tour de l'Auvergne, which I reviewed previously as did Anne, to "Spring", where it has gotten next to impossible to get a table. Here is the friendly owner/chef/dishwasher, Daniel Rose, from Chicago.  The next cross street down hill on your right is Victor Massé which is home to the guitar makers and merchants. Next is one of the best bakery/pastry shops anywhere, Arnaud Delmontel, who won the prize for best baguette last year, which means he had the honor of supplying the Elysée Palace for the year. He trained under Gérard Mulot for you 6th arrondissent fans, so I don't have to trek all the way to the Rive Gauche when my tarte au citron demons act up. Here he is  and here is his lovely shop on the corner of Rue Navarin  Across Martyrs is a very popular English "eat-in/take-away" place called Rose Bakery, but I fail to see the attraction; it is impossibly busy on Sunday morning. Close by it is a small specialty shop which out of ignorance I call the "salmon man" because that is what he sells...Scottish, Norwegian, smoked, dilled, whatever and he is apparently starved for conversation judging by his friendliness and insistance on speaking English. As you continue on down Martyrs there are numerous traiteurs, fromageries, butcher shops, cafés, fish markets, fruit and vegetable stands, book stores, wine merchants and ATM machines. I can vouch for the quality of the meat and especially, poultry at "La Poularde St. Honoré", just be aware of the price if you order a Bleu de Bresse chicken! Here is an article about the store. We love the pastries at Seurre, further on down the street and now we are near the spot where Martyrs dead-ends into the back of the ugly little church, Notre Dame de Lorette, where if so inclined you can catch the metro of the same name by going across Rue St. Lazare to the front of the church with one more look at Ste. Trinité as you look to your right.  Be patient with me Holger, I promise to walk down St. Lazare/Lamartine to Square Montholon. |
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Post by GitteK on Mar 2, 2008 2:48:26 GMT -5
Laidback promised to show us Place Gustave Toudouze, which untill now I thought was my secret green paradise. Peut-être he has forgot, so I'll throw in a tiny morcel (although my pics are copy-paste from the internet, not "personalized" as Laidback's): I never go to Paris without coming to this square, just for a pichet of wine or coffee - and sit in one of the café terraces with my crime novel, resting my feet on the opposite chair (when the waitress isn't looking), enjoying the trinkling sound of the Wallace fountain. Utter relaxation, looking at people from time to time, just spending time and letting the world go by.......     Gustave Toudouze (1847-1904) was a writer and playwright: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_ToudouzeAnd here is a list of where you can find Paris's 65 large, 9 small, 2 colonnade and 1 applied Wallace fountains: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_fountainTalking about magnificent views to the north from La Nouvelle Athènes, this isn't so bad either - from Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. Only 4.248 hours from now and this balcony will be mine for 3 weeks !   |
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Post by Laidback on Mar 2, 2008 8:01:47 GMT -5
Gitte that is a beautiful view from your balcony on Rue J.P. Pigalle. I stay one street over from you to the east on Rochefoucauld. You are only about 1 block south of l'Etoile d'Or. Even if you don't like chocolate you should stop in and meet the owner. I can't help but photograph a Wallace fountain while wandering about. This one is the same as you just posted on the lovely little Place Gustave Toudouze, showing the 2 adjacent Indian restaurants which neither inspire nor poison me and the "Tea Follies", which is closed next door because of the hour I took this photo:  and here is one from the other direction showing the aptly named "No Stress Café" on another day; aptly named for someone "Laidback" :  In pretty weather the terrace of all of these places is packed as this neighborhood lacks much in the way of large green space and this is a tiny haven hidden away in a relatively unknown spot. Along with Wallace fountains I am also intrigued by the little plaques found all over the city such as these on Rue Bruyere, Rue d'Aumale and Square Dupont, all within 2 blocks of Pl. Toudouze.    |
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Post by holger on Mar 2, 2008 8:58:45 GMT -5
 Laidback and Gitte, Thanks for the wonderful photos. Only a bit over a year away!!!!! Laidback, Will hold you to your promise. But could you start the walk on Rochambeau with suggestions for the most interesting way(s) to go from there,please? I will probably do much of the walking on my own and meeting husband who will take metros to where we agree up front. After about three blocks, he gets cranky. I like to wander, go where it looks interesting, stop and peruse and then backtrack.
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Post by Laidback on Mar 2, 2008 17:51:05 GMT -5
O.K. Holger, here we go. Your street borders the biggest green space in the 9th, Square Montholon, which is on the eastern boundary of the 9th where it joins the 10th. I know that the square is very popular with families because of the kiddie playground, benches, etc. If memory serves me, it contains the 2 largest trees in the arrondissement, is surrounded by a pretty iron fence and has a funny statue dedicated to the unmarried working girls(not THAT kind, Gitte) of the area. Here is some info on the park, and here is a satellite view which you can zoom in or out and overlay with a map if you wish. Two of our very special restaurants are within about 50 yds. of your apt. They are as different as can be; "La Grille", just across Faubourg Poissoniere at the corner of rue Messageries is old fashioned and named for its historically protected grill:  The hostess, Mme Cullere is a friendly little dynamo and her husband is justly famous for his grilled turbot with beurre Nantais sauce as the gods meant it to be. It is presented like this, then deboned and served with 2 kinds of potatoes and the ambrosial sauce.  "Carte Blanche" is in the other direction on rue Lamartine and is probably the best value around. The cuisine is inventive and there is a 3 course menu of about €35 with several choices, and the wine list is very affordable, nothing over about $50. Jean-François Renard is the young chef and he was the wunderkind at the famous "Beauvilliers" in its' hay day under the recently deceased M. Carlier. He co-owns it with the host, Claude Dupont, who was with Pierre Gagnaire for years. We love this place and took my son who is an amateur chef there for a private cooking class one Sat. morning. I functioned as observer, kibitzer and joined in lunching on the results.  About 2 doors west of "Carte Blanche" is a marvelous middle eastern traiteur/epicerie fine "Heratchian Freres" crammed with every kind of Greek/Turkish/ Armenian delicacy you can imagine...barrels of olives, nuts, grains; trays filled with pastries; bins stuffed with bread...check it out at about #6 rue Lamartine:     Just to the west of the square where rue Montholon becomes rue Lamartine is rue Cadet, turn south and you will find a nice, pedestrian-only street market, about one block long. It dead-ends into rue Richer and if you look to the left you will see the famous old "Folies Bergere"which is no longer a cabaret, but has special productions and concerts. You can go back home by way of our favorite little wine bar, which is one street east of Cadet off of Richer on rue Saulnier, the "Bar des Artistes" run by an acquaintance, Denis Geoffroy, whom we met years ago when he worked with Christian Constant. Don't hesitate to drop in because of its' hole in the wall appearance, as he is very proud of his little wines and turns out some amazing eats from his closet size kitchen, check out these 2 desserts, a poached pear in chocolate sauce and some sliced strawberries:   Square Montholon is just about 500 yds. from the church of Notre Dame de Lorette if you walk west on Lamartine. The rue des Martyrs begins there as I described in an earlier post. This neighborhood is as different from the area around the Louvre as night is from day; you will find yourself immersed in a very "Parisian" neighborhood that most tourists have never visited. If you get starved for your familiar 1st arrondissement, there are 2 metro stops of the #7 line close by(Cadet & Poissonnière) that will whisk you there by way of Opera Garnier, the Louvre, Pont Neuf and over to the Rive Gauche and Latin Quarter without having to make a transfer. I would suggest though that you familiarise yourself with the 4 or 5 bus lines that pass by the Square Montholon. as they are infinitely more scenic and don't require interminable stairs. |
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Post by Truffaut on Mar 4, 2008 9:24:26 GMT -5
I echo Luc's sentiments. I rarely take pictures anymore, because I know I'll be seeing the same things again in just a few months. I can probably pull together a few photos from past trips and maybe pull some from my website to create a smallish thread about Batignolles. I'll make a more concerted effort in July!
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Post by Laidback on Mar 14, 2008 8:32:47 GMT -5
Truffaut,
I urge you to get in the habit of taking a small digital camera with you at all times; When I was your age, I
practically never took px., in fact I didn't start until 2002 when my kids gave me a Canon digital Elf for my birthday. Consequently I have only scattered px. of our visits from 1994-2002.
Believe me I regret it because so many memories blur and fade as the years go by, plus it is such a nostalgic rush to meander through my digital photo files.
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Post by MaisonMetz on Mar 25, 2008 11:36:30 GMT -5
Laidback, re your comment about Paul Gavarni, whose statue graces the place St Georges. We spent a month last fall in an apartment on rue de La Rochefoucauld, and I too was curious about Paul Gavarni. I learned that he was a painter and lithographer known for caricatures, somewhat like Daumier. He illustratred Balzac's novels.
Gavarni, whose real name was Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier, lived on the rue St Georges. He was particularly known for his genre studies of different classes of Parisian society, among them a series of "Les Lorettes," the neighborhood ladies of easy virtue named after the nearby church of Notre Dame de Lorettes. So he seems a very appropriate figure to overlook the place St Georges.
Thanks for all the wonderful photos and descriptions of this terrific Paris neighborhood.
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Post by framboiseetrose on Mar 25, 2008 11:57:13 GMT -5
Laidback - Vous avez raison! The memories fade. Mr. Framboise and I always thought we have very clear pictures in our minds of different places - our old favorites, etc. On our last trip, we were proved wrong on a lot of things. I think we embelish our memories! Picture taking will now be a must!
MaisonMetz - Welcome to the forum. I noticed that we come from the same area!
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Post by geordy on Apr 1, 2008 14:25:31 GMT -5
I got the April" France Today "today..there is a nice article "The Discreet Charm of the 9th" which covers a lot of the same area and places!
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Post by Laidback on Apr 4, 2008 20:39:23 GMT -5
Upthread I mentioned the Friday afternoon food market set up on Square d'Anvers; today we visited it for some fresh tomatoes and it was quite busy and appetizing with the aromas from the rotisseries wafting through the temporary stalls. We had a semi-light repast chez nous from freshly purchased market items: a sliced beet, crottin de Chavignol, rosette de Lyon, chorizo and a Renaissance baguette from the Del Montel boulangerie. I will sent a photo of his tarte au citron later.   We also re-visited the restaurant Carte Blanche yesterday and am pleased to report that it was still palatally pleasing. My food photos were compromised because of the low light but here is the façade at #6 Rue Lamartine:  |
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Post by Laidback on Apr 10, 2008 4:17:36 GMT -5
For anyone interested in the 9th arrondissement, there is an article in French in the free "throw-away" paper A Nous Paris. I found the follow-up comments more astute than the article. The cyber-gods through their annointed messenger "NOOS" have decided to torment me by whimsically stopping internet service for several days and in true Gallic fashion their service rep. adamantly stated that the 1st available tech. appointment is on the 16th. This morning for no apparent reason it is working again, and judging by former experiences it will probably continue to do so until shortly AFTER my scheduled appointment. Hopefully I can begin posting again as I am an incurable insomniac and use the internet as an antidote late at night/early morning. We have found several interesting, comparatively affordable restos that I could post about as well as current exhibs., etc. Wish me cyber-luck. |
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Post by Anne on Apr 10, 2008 7:03:15 GMT -5
Believe me Laidback, you were very lucky to get an appointment as early as the 16th (you were actually lucky to get someone answering your phone call, to begin with  ) : - Noos used to be a cable network company with many complaints from consumers about technical and/or consumer service problems - Numéricable was another, even worse cable company - the two companies actually MERGED in 2007 and now own and operate more than 99% of the cable networks in France, no competition anymore (how such a monopol-creating merger could ever be approved by the authorities, that defeats me) . - the result of this merger was exactly as you could have expected it . As early as 2007, the new company was placed "under watch" (a highly unusual procedure) by the DGCCRF, an official agency, because of the exceptionnally high number of consumers complaints . This watch procedure has been stopped now because things are said to have improved, but cyber-luck is what you need indeed . Maybe you could also light a few candles in the nearest church, who knows, this cannot do any harm  ... PS : my TV connection is through Numéricable  |
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Post by luckyluc on Apr 10, 2008 8:48:26 GMT -5
Thank you LB for the link to the article. Very interesting and you are right the comments are even more informative. I remember an interesting visite-conférence that I found in Pariscope, it was about la Nouvelle-Athènes and some for it famous residents: Delacroix, Gaugin and Pissaro.
You might want to check the listing it is probably still given. My favorite hotel particulier were on rue de la Tour-des-Dames where one understand why the quartier took it name.
Hope you connexion reminds stable, if not I will make sure that our WIFI is on at night, you only would have to escalade the garden walls (4 meters high) !
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Post by Laidback on Apr 19, 2008 0:47:49 GMT -5
Yesterday we went on a walking tour, sponsored by the mairie, of the gardens of the 9th. The guide seemed to be pleased that a couple of dodgy old Americans had #1 found out about it and #2 could understand enough French to get through the commentary. He kept asking us the American names for the plants and flowers featured on the tour; what the hey, we have the same azaleas, camelias, magnolias as they do and Ms. L. recogized most everything. I could probably done better if we were touring edible things. We started with the Place d'Orves in front of Trimité church, which I have posted px of up stream, with its profusion of cherry blossoms which when the wind blows give the impression of pink snow. We ambled along for about 2 hours, stopping by the Pl. St. George  The cerisiers were still beautiful but the chestnuts aren't quite in their maximal glory yet. We soldiered on and toured the Square Montholon which is the 9th's largest green space, with the 2 largest Platane trees in the arrondissement. The most interesting thing to me here was not botanical but this statue dedicated to Ste. Catherine, the patron of the working girls(not that kind!) called Grisettes at the time of Hugo. The detailed expressions on their faces is rather whimsical. They were among France's 1st feminists.   We ended up by going through a pretty residential square called the Cité Trevise, of which I think Gitte has posted a better px. previously  Next up theTerra Cotta warriors exhibit at the Pinocothèque. |
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Post by mez on Apr 19, 2008 5:59:51 GMT -5
I could probably done better if we were touring edible things. After reading your food reviews here, I don't doubt it at all. ;D Those cherry blossom trees look wonderful! Thank you for another informative and visually inspiring post. |
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