Introduction
Begin: Corner of rue de Sèvres and boulevard RaspailEnd: Saint-Germain-des-Prés métroTime: One to two hoursIntroductionTo the attentive flâneur, a walk around Paris is a journey through time—not a linear, chronological tour typical of a history museum, but a poetic wandering that weaves in and out of centuries with every few steps. During this relatively short walk, you will brush past the grandeur of a twentieth-century art deco hôtel and stroll along streets lined with seventeenth- and eighteenth-century houses, ending at the site of a sixth-century abbaye. At the halfway point, you will stop at l'église Saint-Sulpice, once an ignored eighteenth-century church made (in)famous in the twenty-first century by a novel based in “facts” invented by a twentieth-century prankster. And because no stroll in Paris is complete without food, this walk will tempt you with the creations of two very different bakeries: Poilâne—a boulangerie (bakery) whose old methods seem to suggest that resisting the passage of time can be a virtue, and Hermé—the cutting edge of pastry fashion that delights the foodie with changes for every season.
#1 Hôtel Lutetia
Begin by walking down boulevard Raspail along the side of the Hôtel Lutetia—a four-star hôtel built in 1910, and the first art deco hôtel in Paris.During the 1920s and 30s, the Hôtel Lutetia housed famous guests including Picasso, Matisse, André Gide, and Josephine Baker. Charles de Gaulle chose the Lutetia for his honeymoon. The Lutetia recently underwent an extensive four-year renovation—regular suites begin at 935€ per night; signature suites upwards of 1900€. This is a bargain, however, compared to the Imperial suite at the Ritz, which is 18,000€ a night.
#2 Au Cherche Midi
Time to snap back to reality (but what a beautiful reality it is here in Paris), and keep walking until you reach place Alphonse Deville. Turn left on rue du Cherche-Midi, and enjoy the historic buildings.Number 18 was constructed in 1720. The Au Cherche Midi sign on Number 19 (originally built in 1675, reproduced in 1874, and later restored) represents an astronomer measuring the lines of a sundial with a compass. The sundial reference corresponds to the street name (cherche-midi: to look for noon). In Number 17, eighteenth-century aristocrat Saint Simon (1675–1755) finished writing his tell-all Mémoires (published in 1753, but immediately confiscated by authorities). Number 15 stands out as a seventeenth-century building. Compare the proportions of its floors to the two neighboring buildings.Number 8 houses Poilâne, the most famous boulangerie in Paris. In 1932, Pierre Poilâne opened this bakery that specializes in hearty, traditional bread baked in wood-fire ovens. The large, round loaves are made of stone-ground flour and raised without yeast. Since 1932, Poilâne has used the same traditional baking methods and has never used preservatives. The signature bread is a 4.2 pound round loaf of light brown sourdough. Poilâne loaves make their way to restaurants around the world every day, and they may be shipped to your home in the US (for a hefty price!). Other Poilâne breads include rye, currant raisin, and walnut. If you don’t want to buy a huge loaf but would like to sample, I suggest a petit pain de blé aux noix.
#3 The Centaur
As you come out of Cherche-Midi at place Michel Debré, you’ll have a more-than-you-cared-to-see view of a centaur’s backside.The Centaur, by sculptor César Baldaccini, and commissioned by the French ministry of culture in 1985 (what were they thinking?!?), is made mostly of scrap materials.
#4 Théâtre du Vieux Colombier
Turn right on rue du Vieux Colombier. You should have a view of the right tower of l'église Saint-Sulpice in the distance. Continue toward the church. On your right, you will notice the théâtre du Vieux Colombier.Created in 1913 as a venue for trendy new productions, the théâtre du Vieux Colombier’s most notable debut was that of the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre’s play Huis Clos (No Exit) in 1944. Closed between 1977 and 1993, the theatre is once again running.
#5 Rue Bonaparte
Cross rue de Rennes (as you cross, look right for a view of the ugly tour Montparnasse), and then continue on rue du Vieux Colombier until you arrive at rue Bonaparte.I highly recommend you take a delicious detour by turning left on rue Bonaparte and walking to Number 72, home of the most innovative and exciting chocolate and pastry stores in France: Pierre Hermé. Perhaps a sign of global culture, the Pierre Hermé brand has been present in Japan since 1998, longer than it has in France (since 2001). The small boutique resembles a jewelry shop, and each creation is indeed a gem. During my most recent visit, Hermé was featuring his version of an ice cream sandwich: marbled flavors of sorbet and ice cream (e.g., passion fruit ice cream, rhubarb compote, strawberry sorbet) between delicate macarons. Research oblige (obliged), I bought a heavenly creation made of pistachio ice cream, red currant sorbet, currants, and pistachio macarons for just over 5€. Even the strapped-for-cash student should skip a meal to afford an Hermé creation occasionally. A treat at Hermé runs about double the price of the run-of-the-mill pastry shop, but it is well worth it. For any season, I recommend a sampling of some small macarons. Hermé’s lineup is to the macaron what a great couturier’s runway show is to the world of fashion. In other words, if your average pastry were a pair of Gap khakis, these little cookies would be a Jean-Paul Gaultier original. As in fashion, the line-up changes each season and has its own catalog. Sample not only the safe (chocolate or caramel) but also the unexpected (olive oil-vanilla, litchi-rose-raspberry, etc.). Take the time to smell each one and savor the combination of flavors. Enjoy your treat seated on a bench with a view of l'église Saint-Sulpice. Note: eating while walking is a dead giveaway that you’re a tourist.
#6 L'église Saint-Sulpice
The large church across from rue Bonaparte is l'eglise Saint-SulpiceAlthough l'église Saint-Sulpice is the second-largest church in Paris (Notre Dame, of course, is the largest), it was never a tourist attraction until Dan Brown’sDa Vinci Code became an international best seller. Jean-Nicolas Servandoni designed the building’s façade. Servandoni was an architect and set decorator who enjoyed success during the mid-eighteenth century as the creator of elaborate theatrical adaptations of works, such as Paradise Lost or Jerusalem Delivered,complete with pantomime, music, ever-changing decor, and unsurpassed special effects. Perfectly at ease blending the sacred and the spectacular, Servandoni would probably not only approve of the Da Vinci Code but would be the first to adapt it as an effects-laden musical.The fact that the Marquis de Sade and Charles Baudelaire were baptized in Saint-Sulpice certainly does nothing to advance the building’s sacred aura, but most damaging is the alleged association of the church with a supposed secret society called the Priory of Sion. Brown’s book promotes the myth that Saint-Sulpice is built on the site of an ancient pagan temple and that the brass line (erroneously called the Paris Meridian or “the rose line”), and the gnomon to which it leads, represent ancient vestiges of those pagan roots. In truth, the gnomon was built in the eighteenth century to help indicate the equinox leading to Easter Sunday, and an ambitious trickster named Pierre Plantard invented the Priory of Sion as an elaborate hoax. In the 1960s, Plantard planted forged documents in the Bibliothèque nationale in order to give scholars “proof ” of the priory’s medieval lineage. The Catholic Church is none too pleased with the notoriety Brown brought to Saint-Sulpice. Local church authorities have tried to educate tourists by posting articles on the wall next to the gnomon: “Go ahead and take a picture of the gnomon like all the other tourists, but please, don’t go knocking around for hollow tiles hiding clues to the Holy Grail. (It’s hidden under the Louvre pyramid anyway, remember?).”
#7 Rue des Canettes
When you exit l'église Saint-Sulpice, turn right and walk across rue Saint-Sulpice to rue des Canettes.You are walking in one of the areas that preserved much of the architecture and character of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The rue des Canettes has changed names several times since the thirteenth century, with its current name dating from 1636. During that time, the area was a hot spot for commerce as the bourgeoisie grew.
#8 Au Plat d’Étain
Turn right onto rue Guisarde, and you will see an eighteenth-century store on your left called Au Plat d’Etain.Since 1783, Au Plat d’Étain has specialized in miniature figurines. History is embodied in their impressive selection of handmade toy soldiers. After taking a look, continue up the street until you come to rue Princesse.
#9 Rue du Four
Turn left onto rue Princesse and continue walking, noticing the architecture as you go. At the top of rue Princesse, turn right onto rue du FourOn rue du Four, as on most of the larger streets, you will encounter beautiful late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century architecture. Building Number 14, for example, owes its magnificence to redesigns in 1898 and 1913.
#10 Rue de l’Échaudé
When you arrive at the place d’Acadie, you will cross to the left until you are on the right side of boulevard Saint-Germain. From boulevard Saint-Germain, turn right onto rue de l’Échaudé, where you will once again find fragments of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Number 23 rue de l’Échaudé, a seventeenth-century building, houses a store called Ragtime (the Vintedge), which specializes in women’s clothes from 1860 to 1970. Up on the next corner you will also see high-end vintage clothing at the Dépôt-Vente de Buci (the Vintedge). The two shops are owned by the same parent company.Note: You are now bordering another Paris walk but don’t stray!
#11 Musée national Eugène Delacroix
Turn left on rue de l’Abbaye and continue toward the Catholic church.Note that if you turn right on rue de Furstenberg, you’ll see a peaceful little square with a light post in the middle and the musée national Eugène Delacroix. If you are a fan of Delacroix, you may want to return for a visit on another day, but for today, keep walking
#12 Abbaye Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Continue on rue de l’Abbaye until you come out toward rue Bonaparte and see the Abbaye Saint-Germain-des-Prés on your left. On the corner is the garden. Enter the small garden through the gate and imagine you are not in the heart of one of the most chic areas in Paris but rather out in the fields surrounding the city.In the sixth century, King Childebert I (496–558) founded the abbaye in the fields just outside of Paris (hence, prés (fields) in the name Abbaye Saint-Germain-des-Prés). During the ninth century, the Vikings burned the original abbaye, but it was rebuilt in the eleventh century and subsequently enlarged in the twelfth century. The tower you see dates to that period. The rest of the building, however, dates from a nineteenth-century reconstruction, the older version having met its demise during the French Revolution when it was used as a prison and, lastly, as a storage facility for gunpowder (I think you can imagine what happened once the building caught fire).At the side of the church, you'll find the charming garden known as square Laurent-Prache, or "Picasso's Garden," so called because of the sculpture dedicated to his friend, the French poet Guillaume Apollinaris, who lies beneath the garden's quiet beauty. (The sculpted head, however, is not Apollonaire but of Dora Maar, a companion and lover to Picasso.) More importantly, notice the fragmented remains of the abbey's cloister that remain standing as a testament to the proud past of the abbey.
The End
Having traversed centuries of history in a short walk, we end here near the Saint-Germain-des-Prés métro stop.After the WalkAs you stand at place Saint-Germain, you may contemplate the confluence of history in the streets of Paris. Down the long vista provided by rue de Rennes you may see the 1970s tour Montparnasse, while right in front of you stands a tower nearly one thousand years older.You have ended your walk in front of two of the most famous cafés in Paris: Les Deux Magots, and a few steps further down the boulevard, the Café de Flore. Both cafés have served famous writers and the elite of Paris. Both are expensive and frequented by tourists, but only one at a time is truly fashionable—only the elite know (or care!).
