The secret places of the southern district of Saint-Germain: an itinerary for advanced travelers

I recently published A walking tour of the Saint-Germain district, which ends not far fromSaint-Sulpice ChurchHowever, in truth, this route was only part of a longer route that I did together with my friend Shuki Spector and his French girlfriend, and now it's time to provide you with the second part of the route, which will focus on the southern and western parts of the Saint-Germain district.

In my opinion, this is a “route for advanced Francophiles” because it does not have large monuments, like the previous route, but on the other hand it has quite a bit of fascinating history and ends at a beautiful, unfamiliar church that will make you think that for a moment you traveled to southern Italy.

Itinerary map

Itinerary in the southwest of the Saint-Germain district

Princess Palatine (not who you thought)

If you do this route immediately after completing the previous route I mentioned, all you have to do is retrace your steps to the Saint-Sulpice Church, and when you reach the church steps, turn right and immediately left on Rue Palatine.

On the other hand, if you decide not to do the previous route, but to start from this route, I recommend that you take bus line 84, which will drop you off right across from the Saint-Sulpice Church, and from there you will reach Rue Palatine.

A final option is to get to the Saint Sulpice metro station (line 4), located on Rue de Rennes and walk from there via Vieux Colombier Street east until you reach the Saint Sulpice Church, and from there continue to Rue Palatine.

Either way, the tour begins on the street named after the Princess Palatine, and the question arises – who was the lady?

Many think that this street was named after the second wife of his brother. Philippe of Orléans, is it not Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, known to many of us thanks to her colorful personality (you are invited to read the article about her to understand what dish I am talking about).

This unfortunate princess was forced to live with a crazy husband who thought he was a werewolf, and after he died she moved not far from here to the Le Petit Luxembourg palace (where the President of the Senate lives today).

Rue Garanciere

Continue on Palatine Street until you reach Rue Garancière, an ancient street created during the 16th century and featuring several historic buildings.

Louis XIII, who also did not really like Conchino Concini, took advantage of his unpopularity and ordered him to be murdered at court. The Louvre In 1617. Shortly afterwards, Concino Conzini's wife, Leonora Dori Galigaï (1568-1617), was arrested and burned at the stake as a witch. Thus Louis XIII began to effectively rule France (he did all this when he was 13 years old).

But the really interesting building on this street is at number 8. This mansion was built in 1640 on the ruins of the Hôtel Garancière, which gave the street its name.

This mansion was built by René de Rieux (1588-1651), the bishop of the city of Léon, in the region BrittanyHe did not enjoy this estate for long, and after he died it was inherited by his nephew, the Marquis de Sourdéac, who gave the estate his name and since then it has been called Hôtel de Sourdéac.

In the late 17th and 18th centuries, a very important theater operated there, where Adrienne Lecouvreur (1692-1730), one of the greatest actresses of her time and a good friend of Voltaire, made her debut, fighting the church to allow her to be buried in a Christian manner (but that's another story).

Later, from 1819 to 1849, the mansion served as the town hall of the 11th arrondissement (before 1860 this district was called the 11th arrondissement and only after Paris expanded outwards did the Saint-Germain district become the 1852th arrondissement) and since XNUMX the place has been used as publishing offices.

After you've finished enjoying the impressive facade (note the red bricks which can also be found inVosges Square), continue south towards Vaugirard Street and turn east.

There, at number 36, you will find the étalon meter, on which the meter we know is based.

This meter was created in 1795, when it was decided to create a uniform measure in a country that until then had contained many different measures, which caused quite a bit of confusion. If you would like to read the fascinating story of the meter and how it was created, you are invited to enter Amiram Tzabri's articleThe last “Metra Etalon” in Paris.

Gravediggers Street

Turn right onto Via Servandoni, named after the Florentine architect (Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni 1695-1766) who designed the facade of the Church of San Sulpice. The architect lived at number 14 on the street and it is worth taking a look at the building's carved wooden doors containing 2 medallions.

As you can see, on the wooden doors at the entrance you can find two medallions. The first medallion depicts St. Anne teaching a student to read, while the second medallion shows us Servandoni himself with the plans for Saint-Sulpice.

By the way, speaking of Servandoni, this street was not always named after him. Until 1806, the street was called Rue des Fosseyeurs or in Hebrew “Street of the Gravediggers”, because at number 1 lived the gravediggers, who worked in the small cemetery of the church of Saint-Sulpice. This cemetery has long since disappeared, but if you want to meet those buried there you will have to visitCatacombs of Paris.

But you won't just find retired undertakers here, but also the first house of D'Artagnan, the hero of Alexandre Dumas's book The Three Musketeers (the author placed it at number 12).

The great scientist was forced to flee for his life at the beginning of the Reign of Terror because he refused to vote for the execution of Louis XVI. On this street he found refuge with the widow of his friend, the painter Claude Joseph Vernet (16-1714), and lived here for about eight months, during which he wrote “The Outline of the Progress of the Human Spirit” (l'equisse de Progress de l'esprit humain).

Condorcet eventually decided to leave this apartment because he was afraid of incriminating those who had given him shelter. He fled to another hiding place, was caught, and committed suicide in his cell, before meeting the guillotine.

Are these all the famous people who lived on Servandoni Street? Almost, because none other than Juliette Greco, who lived in a small boarding house in 1945. There she met her friend Anne-Marie Cazalis (1920-1988) and both became part of the legendary nightlife in Saint-Germain-des-Prés of the late 40s and 50s.

Taleran's mistress and Hemingway's house

Continue to Rue de Canivet, where at number three lived the noble de Breteuil family, one of the most important noble families during the 18th and 19th centuries, who provided France with quite a few ambassadors, cabinet ministers and even a prime minister.

Continue to Rue Férou and you will see opposite you Arthur Rimbaud’s (Arthur Rimbaud 1854-1891) most famous poem, “The Drunken Ship” (Le Bateau ivre). During his short and turbulent life, Rimbaud managed to go on an adventurous journey with his friend the bohemian poet Paul Verlaine, write several poems, such as the one I have included here, which have become classics, become a slave trader and die of bone cancer at the age of 37.

If you want to know more about Arthur Rimbaud, I recommend you read Written by Dr. Orna Lieberman About his old song in the valley.

Continue from here to number 6, in my opinion the most beautiful building on this street. Dorothée Dorinville (1747-1830), known as Mademoiselle Luzy, lived here. Dorothée was an actress in the Comédie Française, specializing in comic acting, but she is best known as the first mistress of Talleyrand, with whom he had an affair while he was studying at the seminary not far away.

In 1926, the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) moved here with his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer (1895-1951), and there he wrote “A Fistful of Arms.”

One of the well-known stories about Hemingway from this period is that one night he returned home drunk, went to the bathroom to urinate, and instead of pulling the chain of the Niagara, he pulled hard on the chain of the window, which was located in the roof of the room, and as a result the window crashed down on him. Hemingway was injured and made sure to spread a rumor that the injury did not result from a window crashing down on him, but from a fistfight in which he was involved.

Fans of the Three Musketeers will be happy to know that Athos lived not far from there and it was here in the area that the first duel between the Musketeers and Cardinal Richelieu's bodyguards took place. Of course, I can't give you an exact location, both because this is fiction and because this neighborhood underwent changes in the 17th century.

Seminary for Priests and the Masonic Lodge

Continue to Rue Vaugirard and you will discover the Luxembourg Museum (Musée du Luxembourg) opposite you. This museum opened in 1750 as a museum of modern art (yes, Watteau or Fragonard were once considered modern art) and is considered the first museum in the world (until then, only nobles or wealthy merchants could enjoy works of art, which they collected).

To buy a ticket to one of the temporary exhibitions displayed there, go toLink thisIf you would like to stop your trip for a moment and visit the garden (always a good idea), I recommend you read the article by Yoel Tamanlis and me. Luxembourg Gardens – A walking tour of Paris’ most beloved garden.

After you have finished visiting the museum or the garden, head west and turn right on Rue Bonaparte. Here you will find a small garden called Allée du Séminaire Jean Jacques Olier. This small garden is named after the churchman Jean Jacques Olier (1608-1657), who founded the famous seminary here on the ruins of a palace of Queen Margot.

The seminary, where Talan and many other senior clergymen studied, was destroyed during French Revolution And today in the garden you can find the Fountain of Peace (Fontaine de la Paix), which was built on Napoleon's orders to commemorate the Peace of Amien and was initially placed in Place du Châtelet.

Continue to number 80. There used to be a very large Jesuit compound there, but it was demolished in 1763. In its place, a Masonic lodge was established here, which became one of the largest lodges in the city. Paris.

Continue to number 78. There used to be a monastery here, but since 1860 it has been the municipality of the 11th arrondissement (as you remember, the municipality was previously located on Rue Garancière and was then the municipality of the XNUMXth arrondissement).

The Fragrant Queen of France and the Duke Who Was Torn Apart

Continue on Rue Bonaparte and turn left onto Rue Vieux Colombier. This is one of the oldest streets in Paris, named in the 13th century after the dovecote of the Abbey of Saint-Germain.

Why was Marie Josephine called Madame? Because it was customary to call the king's younger brother Monsieur. The most famous "Monsieur" in French history was Philippe of Orléans, the brother of King Louis XIV, and you are invited to read about him in Ronen's article. Sass-Missier: The Fascinating Life of Philip I, Duke of Orléans.

And speaking of Marie Josephine of Savoy, if you would like to read a little about her and her unsuccessful hygiene habits, you are welcome to visit the article The most fragrant queen in French history.

After reading spicy stories about the French aristocracy, it was time to return to Rue Madame. I walked the street and most of the buildings there are beautiful (like any old building in Paris), but nothing special to tell the guys.

As long as this is the case, I will call it “The Anonymous Building of Madame Street” (if anyone knows its story, I would be more than happy if you would respond to the article or contact me).

Continue on Rue Madame and turn right onto Rue Marie Pape Carpantier and at the end turn left onto Rue Cassette. This is a relatively old street with quite a few houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. You are welcome to stroll along the street and enjoy its beautiful buildings. I personally really liked the building at number 24.

If you're missing a little history, don't worry, you'll find that too here at number 25. This building belonged to Louis Hercule Timoléon de Cossé-Brissac, Duke of Brissac (Louis Hercule Timoléon de Cossé-Brissac 1734-1792).

The Duke's end was bad and bitter. As commander of the Royal Guard, he was arrested and imprisoned inVersaillesOn September 9, 1792, he and several other prisoners were being taken to court, when a murderous mob attacked the carriage in which he was being transported and tore him and the other prisoners to pieces. His head was taken to Madame du Barry and thrown through the window of the Château de Louveciennes, where she lived. Madame du Barry would also fall victim to the Terror about a year later, and her head would be guillotined inConcorde Square.

The murder of the Duke of Brissac was part of the September Massacre of 1792, which we will discuss in a moment, when we visit the last stop on this trip. But before that, let me suggest that you take a break from the horror stories and read the article about Chateau de Brissac, where you will learn about the family from which the Duke came and their beautiful palace that you should not miss on your next visit toLoire valley.

The church where the worst massacre of the French Revolution took place

Continue on Rue Cassette to Rue Vaugirard and turn right. You will immediately see the entrance gate to the Carmelite monastery, built in the first decades of the 17th century, with the cornerstone laid by Queen Marie de Medici (1573-1642) herself.

Enter the Saint Joseph Des Carmes church in the courtyard and you will suddenly feel as if you are no longer in France but in Italy! Everything about this church reminded me of my visit to Naples a few years ago, whether it is the dome or the sculptures and the feeling that there is not an inch left that has not been painted on.

And the truth is, it's not surprising at all when you think about it, since the Carmelite Order (which takes its name from Mount Carmel) originated in the Italian peninsula (and was therefore patronized by Marie de' Medici, who came to France from Florence). There is no doubt that this is one of the most beautiful and unique churches in Paris and I believe that you will be as amazed by all this beauty as I was.

But it was here, in this beautiful church and the monastery next to it, that the most horrific massacre of the French Revolution took place. It all began on August 11, 1792 (the day after the monarchy was abolished), when the revolutionaries began arresting priests throughout the Sixth Arrondissement and imprisoning them in the monastery, which became a large prison.

On September 2, a group of Republican Guard soldiers burst in, shouting “Long live the Republic” and “Death to the unbelievers,” and began holding show trials of the priests imprisoned there. At the end of each such trial, the priest was dragged into the monastery courtyard and slaughtered there.

In a short time, the place turned into an orgy of killing, as the priests were taken one by one and in groups and slaughtered (sometimes their commander had to shout at them to stop because he had not yet had time to “judge” those priests, because even in a mass massacre there must be order…).

The murderous campaign did not remain within the confines of the monastery, but spread throughout Paris, and quite a few political prisoners who were imprisoned inConcierge, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and other prisons, were brutally massacred (one of them, as mentioned, was the Duc de Brissac, about whom I wrote earlier).

One of the most famous victims of that terrible massacre was Princess de Lamballe (Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe 1749-1792), Marie Antoinette's best friend, who was imprisoned in La Force prison, whereIn the Marais district and was brutally murdered by the revolutionary mob on September 3, 1792.

Even after the September Massacre, the monastery continued to be used as a prison, and one of its famous prisoners was none other than Joséphine de Beauharnais, who was imprisoned there with her husband Alexandre de Beauharnais (Alexandre François Marie, vicomte de Beauharnais 1760-1794).

Alexandre was executed, but Josephine managed to survive in prison until the end of the Reign of Terror and was released shortly after the fall of Robespierre. After her release, Josephine became a famous socialite and lover during the Directory, until she met Napoleon Bonaparte, who would make her Empress of France in 1804.

If you would like to read more about their love story, which had quite a few ups and downs, you are welcome to visit the article. Josephine de Boernais and Napoleon: A love story of fire and brimstone.

Looking for more information about the Saint-Germain district?

Did you like this itinerary and would you like to explore other parts of the Saint-Germain district? Or maybe you want to live in the district or get recommendations for good restaurants in the area?

You can find all this information and much more on the page Saint-Germain-des-Prés.