Despite being connected to the right and left banks of Paris by several bridges, the Île Saint-Louis feels like a magical “ex-territory” that is not really an integral part of the city. It seems like everything is there: the palaces, which can also be found inMarais Or bSaint-Germain district, the restaurants and the crowds of tourists, and yet, from the moment you step foot there, you feel that the atmosphere has completely changed.
As if by magic, peace descends upon you, and in one moment you understand the poem by the surrealist poet Louis Aragon (1897-1982):
Do you know the island?
In the city center
Where everything is quiet
Eternally
My free translation:
Do you know any?
In the heart of the city
Everything is peaceful there.
win
Let me suggest you discover the secrets of this magical and peaceful island through a slow and leisurely walk. We will discover who the people who lived there were, glimpse some of the urban mansions that have survived since the 17th century and of course, don't forget to enjoy a Barton ice cream.
Our route will be in the shape of the letter N: first we will walk along the northern quays of the island, Quai de Bourbon and Quai d'Anjou. Then we will walk along the main street of the island, Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île, and after returning very close to the starting point of the tour, we will walk along the southern quays, Quai d'Orléans and Quai de Béthune, where we will end the tour.
The starting point of the trip
The route of Ile Saint-Louis is a natural continuation ofThe itinerary of the Ile de la Cite, which ends at the Saint Louis Bridge and this is where our itinerary begins. If you decide to do this route separately, you are welcome to get off at the Pont Marie metro station (line 7). From there, go west, cross the Pont Louis-Philippe and go to Place Louis Aragon and from there to the Saint Louis Bridge. Here is a map showing how to get there.
Route map
All places of interest are marked with a star. If you happen to also want to live in the area, you can also find hotels and vacation apartments on the map.
Link to open the map in a new window
Isle Saint Louis – Hiking Route
The Saint-Louis Bridge Disaster
As mentioned, we begin our trip on the Pont Saint Louis, a pedestrian bridge that connects the Île de la Cité to the Île Saint Louis. Today you can often find street musicians here and quite a few tourists crossing the bridge, but this sympathetic bridge hides a less pleasant story.
The bridge was built in 1624, and during the opening text of the bridge it was decided that a religious procession would cross it and go towards Notre Dame CathedralHowever, quite a few people wanted to be the first person to cross this bridge, so “from the moment the gong sounded” a crowd of people rushed onto the bridge, and as a result, quite a few people flew into the water and drowned. At the end of the day, there were 20 dead bodies and another 40 seriously injured people. How fortunate that the morgue of Paris It was behind Notre Dame and the famous hospital (Hôtel-Dieu), it was also not far from it…
The tragic history of the bridge did not end there, and over the centuries that followed, the bridge was destroyed several times and rebuilt each time. The version you see now is the fourth, and unlike the Maccabiah Bridge, it has a chance of lasting for generations (in any case, if you decide to cross it, it is recommended to make sure you know how to swim, you know, just in case…).
Quai de Bourbon
The Centaur House
Cross the Pont Saint-Louis, turn left and continue until you reach Place Louis-Aragon, where you will find the poem I posted at the beginning of the article. It is a magical square from which you can view the Ile de la Cité, the Paris City Hall On the right bank or on theBatu Mosh That they sail at ease.
After you've looked at the view a little, turn around and look at house number 43. It was built by the famous architect Louis Le Vau (1612-1670), who also built, among other things, the Palace of Versailles.
This building, built in honor of Louis Le Vaux's sister, was called the House of the Centaur because of the stone medallion on the wall of the building, depicting the fight between Hercules and the centaur Nessus. The relief is located on the right side of the building, facing west. About 250 years later, the famous poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who, along with Louis Argent, is considered one of the fathers of surrealism, lived in this building.
The headless woman
Continue on Quai de Bourbon until you reach the beginning of Rue de Regratier, named after one of the developers who built a large part of the houses on the Île Saint-Louis. If you look up, you will see a statue with only the legs left and a stone sign on the wall that says Rue de la femme sans Teste (Street of the Headless Woman).
Who was that headless woman, after whom the street was once named, and is the statue we see her statue? You will find the answer to this question in Dr. Orna Lieberman’s article – The headless woman.
And one more piece of information, not entirely related to this trip, but may be useful for couples looking for a slightly different evening out. On Rue Le Regratier 8 you will find the Tasks, one of the most famous swingers clubs in Paris, which even won the award for Best Swinger Club in Paris in 2019. You will find a bar, a dance floor, a smoking room, and decorated rooms, where you can meet other French couples and do what you usually do in such places.
Camille Claudel's last home
Continue to house number 19 on Quai de Bourbon. The famous sculptor Camille Claudel (1899-1913) lived here from 1864 to 1943.
These were years of creativity, but also years in which Camille Claudel went insane following her love affair with the sculptor Auguste Rodin (Auguste Rodin 1840-1917). From here, Camille would be taken in 1913 to the insane asylum where she would end her life 30 years later. If you would like to learn more about her tragic life story and her artistic work, let me recommend another article by Dr. Orna Lieberman entitled The gold and the clay.
Quai d'Anjou
This quay is named after King Louis XIII's (reigned 13-1610) brother Gaston (1643-1608) who, before becoming Duke of Orléans, received the title Duke of Anjou.
And don't drink hashish for me there.
Go to number 17 and there you will find one of the most unique palaces on the island, thanks to the balcony and the fish-headed drainpipes.
The building is called Hôtel de Lauzun and has no connection with the singer Elie Lauzun. The building is named after Antonin Nompar de Caumont duc de Lauzun (1632-1723).
The Duke, despite being a very ugly man (even by the standards of his time), knew how to win the hearts of women and even managed to win the heart of the daughter of Louis XIII's brother, after whom the quay was named.
During the 19th century, this building housed the Hashishnik Club, organized by the famous poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867). In those days, hashish was not smoked but eaten (it was served as a greenish jelly) and it was here that he also wrote his famous book of poems, “The Flowers of Evil.”
And speaking of “Flowers of Evil,” this is an excellent opportunity to recommend, for those who don’t know it, Maor Cohen’s album, all of whose songs are taken from “Flowers of Evil.” Here’s an example of one of the songs I like the most from this album (I hope it’s not too morbid for you 🙂 ).
If you would like to read a little more in depth about the story of Hôtel de Lausanne, you are welcome to read theThis article.
This is where you decide which baguette is the tastiest.
Continue along the platform to number 7, where you will see an impressive building with a red wooden door.
This building was built in 1642 for a metal merchant who had become rich, but since the 19th century, it has housed the offices of the Paris Bakers' Guild.
Every year, baking experts and selected celebrities gather here to debate the fateful question of who bakes the best baguette in Paris. The winner of the competition is entitled to supply the Elysée Palace with a baguette for an entire year.
Personally, even someone who wins second place or even tenth place in such competitions is good enough for me, but if you want to know who won the last competition held in March 2024, you are welcome to enterLink thisIf you would like to read more about the Parisian baguette and get recommendations for equally good boulangerie, you can visit the article Is the baguette really French?.
When the Cathars buy the most beautiful palace on the Île Saint-Louis (and then burn it down)
Adjacent to the Bakers Guild building, at number 3, there is a building that Louis Le Vaux built for himself.
If you ask nicely, you can go inside and see the inner courtyard and this charming door, which I photographed the last time I visited there (November 2023).
But the truly important building is undoubtedly the neighboring one, the Hôtel Lambert. This magnificent building is named after Jean Baptiste Lambert, who managed to get rich through all sorts of financial manipulations.
Having become a very wealthy man, he decided to build a house worthy of his status and hired the services of Louis Le Vau. The cornerstone of the house was laid in 1640 and 4 years later the building was ready, but Jean-Baptiste's luck was not on his side and he died shortly before the house was completed.
The one who was privileged to enjoy all this splendor was Jean-Baptiste's brother, Nicolas, and he ensured that the interior design was done by, no less than, Charles Lebrun (1619-1690), the man who would later design the interior of the Palace of Versailles.
During the 18th century, she lived here The Marquise du Châtelet, one of the most impressive women of the 18th century, who, among other things, translated Isaac Newton's writings into French (and was also Voltaire's mistress). Later, the palace became a school for girls and even a warehouse for military beds, but in 1843, Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (1770-1861) bought the place.
The prince renovated the magnificent mansion, and here he engaged in relentless attempts to preserve the Polish theme in public opinion, with the aim of restoring to this country its independence that was taken away during the 18th century. The Hotel Lambert also became a meeting place for quite a few famous Poles, the most important of which was of course Frederic Chopin, who stayed here on quite a few evenings and even composed the Polonaise Opus 53 for a Polish ball that took place here.
About 130 years later, Hôtel Lambert was bought by the tycoon Guy de Rothschild (1909-2007), but his heirs decided to sell the palace to Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, brother of the Emir of Qatar, for 80 million euros.
Abdullah decided to carry out a massive renovation of the building, with the aim of installing elevators, underground parking and even a swimming pool. All these changes caused quite a few people who specialize in preserving historical buildings to raise an outcry, and the French Ministry of Culture ordered the work to stop.
“Surprisingly” in 2013, a fire broke out at the Hôtel de Lambert, damaging, among other things, the paintings by Charles Le Bern in its famous Hercules salon, and since there was no choice but to begin urgent renovations, the French Ministry of Culture authorized Abdullah to begin renovating.
The renovation cost around 120 million euros, but towards the end, Abdullah decided to sell the property to Xavier Niel, the French media mogul (and the man who employed Michael Golan of Golan Telecom). Xavier plans to turn the Hotel Lambert into a cultural center, which is great news, because we may finally be able to visit it (outside ofHeritage Days).
The garden in the Chopchik of Ile Saint-Louis
We have reached the central tip of Île Saint-Louis and before we retrace our steps, this time through the island's main street, it is worth visiting the magical garden located in the Île Saint-Louis's cobblestone street.
The garden is named after the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875), who specialized in animal sculpture. The first thing you will immediately see is the statue in his memory, created by Taiwanese businessmen, as the bronze statue that was here was melted down by the Nazi occupation in 1942.
Beyond that, it is highly recommended to go down to the platform, take a walk there and of course sit for a while in this charming park and look at the Seine. After we had finished for a while, it was time to continue our trip.
Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île
Exit the garden and walk to Rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Île, the main street of Île Saint-Louis, named after the church located there.
The man who lit up Saint-Louis and died alone in the dark on the Champs-Elysées
Go to number 12 and there you will find the house of engineer Philippe Lebon (1767-1801).
Philippe Le Bon invented the internal combustion engine and, more importantly, street lighting, which made Paris a much safer city for everyone except Philippe Le Bon himself. In December 1804, on the eve of Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as emperor, Philippe Le Bon was murdered in a dark alley inChamps Elysees...
The Church of Ile Saint-Louis
Go to number 21 and you will reach the church of Saint-Louis en l'Île, after which the street is named. There was a smaller church in its place, which could not accommodate all the faithful, so it was decided in 1646 to build a new church. It took about eighty years to finish the church and several architects participated in its construction, including François Le Vaux, the brother of Louis Le Vaux, whom we mentioned earlier.
It is a very well-lit church, which is no easy feat for a building on such a crowded island, and it is very beautiful. Quite a few famous people have prayed there, gotten married there, and had their funerals held there (the most famous among them was Georges Pompidou, whose funeral was held there).
Unfortunately, I don't have high-quality photos of this church, as the church has been undergoing extensive renovations in recent years, so until these renovations are complete, let me recommend that you take a look at this video, which shows everything this church has to offer.
The mythical ice cream of Paris
Continue to number 31 until you reach the original Berthillon Ice Cream. The place started as a bistro where Raymond Berthillon served ice cream as a dessert with a meal. In the early XNUMXs, a food critic from Michelin-starred Gault Millau visited the place and raved about the ice cream served there.
From that moment on, the ice cream became legendary and crowds of tourists line up there to taste their famous sorbet. I personally don't think you have to wait in line for the treat, both because Bertillon ice cream is served in a significant number of cafes in Paris and because, with all due respect to the hype, I think the Amorino ice cream at number 47 is just as good (although in terms of taste and smell...).
The most beautiful terrace of Ile Saint-Louis
Keep walking until you reach number 51, where you will see a beautiful balcony with a figure of a Faun and two chimeras next to it. This is where Denis Auguste Affre, Archbishop of Paris (1797-1848) lived.
In 1848, riots broke out in Paris and barricades were erected throughout the city. The Archbishop went to the barricades, trying to mediate between the parties and prevent bloodshed, but he was caught in an exchange of fire, seriously wounded, and died in this house a few days after his injury.
Opposite at number 54 you will find the last surviving Jeu de Paume (a kind of early version of tennis) hall in Paris. Tennis has not been played here for a long time, but it is definitely worth going inside and seeing the old wooden beams, and if you want, living in it.The boutique hotel Established here.
Quai d'Orleans
Continue to the end of Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île and turn left onto Quai d'Orleans. The buildings you'll see here were built between 1614 and 1646, and unlike other quays, there's no crowd of celebrities here, "just" beautiful buildings and a view of the eastern part of Notre Dame Cathedral, which is definitely not worth missing.
The place where you can find Chopin's scores
The only place that I find noteworthy is the Polish Library at number 6. The building itself dates from 1655 and in 1838 it was bought by Adam Czartoryski, who, as mentioned, lived in the Hôtel Lembert, with the aim of turning the place into a library where the best books of Polish culture would be concentrated.
The main attraction of this library is the Chopin Hall, where you can find the scores of this brilliant composer. The place is open Tuesday-Friday from 14:30 PM to 18:00 PM, and if you arrive when the place is closed, you can enter theThe virtual exhibition, which displays a significant portion of the exhibits that can be found in the library.
Genevieve protects Paris from the Prussians
Of course, we can't move on to the last platform of this trip without saying a few words about the La Tournelle bridge, which separates Quai d'Orleans and Quai de Béthune and connects Île Saint-Louis toLatin Quarter.
Previously, an older bridge with niches and statues stood here, and a more modern bridge was built in its place in 1928. As you can see, on the southeast side of the bridge stands a statue by the Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski (1875-1961).
As you can see, in the southeastern part stands Saint Genevieve, the patroness of Paris, facing east, and not by chance, because from there evil had already come to Paris in both 1870 and 1914 (in the future it would also come in 1940, and Genevieve would not be able to save Paris from occupation by the Germans).
If you would like to read a little about Saint Genevieve, I highly recommend you read about theHistory of the Latin Quarter.
Quai de Béthune
This quay, where many of the buildings were designed by Louis Le Vaux, is also called Quai aux Balcons, thanks to the beautiful balconies on the facades of the houses. However, it's not just the balconies that are beautiful here, but also some of the carved doors, so it's definitely worth opening your eyes and letting this beauty and aesthetics permeate your veins.
The house where 2 Nobel Prize winners lived
Go to number 36 and there you will discover a house with a beautiful wooden door and a sign telling you that the famous scientist Marie Curie lived here.
Marie Curie lived here from 1912 until her death in 1934. In 1946, René Cassin (1887-1976), who also won the Nobel Prize (for peace) in 1968 and died here in 1976, moved into the building.
Continue your stroll along the quay and take a look at the balconies and decorated doors, and while you do so, here's a point to ponder. On the Île Saint-Louis we found a palace where Chopin played, a Polish library and a house where Nobel Prize winner Polania lived. Maybe we could call the place Little Poland?
The house that Helena Rubinstein destroyed
Continue to number 24 and you will discover something interesting. A modern building with an old wooden door. Previously, a magnificent mansion stood here, built by Louis Le Vaux for the head of the ballet budget. Louis XIV (Yes, there was such a job at the royal court), named Louis Cauchon (1597-1662). Louis's last name sounds exactly like the word "pig" in French, and ironically he died of a stomach bug after eating (like a pig) 294 walnuts in one day.
This house, bought by cosmetics tycoon Elena Rubinstein, was demolished by her in 1930, claiming that the building's foundations were shaky. At that time, the issue of preservation was not yet as popular as it is today, so she was allowed to do so, but at least the beautiful gate was preserved. Nechama Forta.
The home of the great 18th century lover (not Casanova)
We will end our trip at house number 18, which belonged to the Duke of Richelieu (Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis 1696-1788).
This Duke was one of the most fascinating figures of the 18th century and managed to compete with Casanova in the number of women he managed to seduce during his long life (during the reigns of Louis XIV, XV and XVI). As far as I know, he was the only man in the world who had two women duel in order to win his sexual favors and who claimed that the number of women he managed to get into his bed exceeded that of Casanova (for example: he bragged about having slept with all of her wives at one time). Vosges Square).
And if all this isn't enough for you, you'll probably be happy to know that the man is responsible for The invention of mayonnaise, the perfect companion for French fries (which the French probably didn't invent).
With this important culinary news, I bid you farewell, as this is where our itinerary ends. If you would like to continue your journey, let me recommend that you do the following: The zigzag route along the Boulevard Saint-Germain, which starts not far from there. All you have to do is return to the Pont de la Tournelle, cross it towards the Latin Quarter and from there quickly reach Boulevard Saint-Germain, where your next itinerary begins.
You are great, Zvi Hazanov.
Thank you very much 🙂