Hora fugit - Un peu de Paris
MONOPOLY
After Rue Lecourbe, Gare Montparnasse
Avenues Mozart and Henri Martin
this is the last part with Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Rue de la Paix...
Since we are on avenue Foch, I have to cheat a little bit to continue along the avenue des Champs-Elysées and the avenue Matignon ...
Generally, I do my best to avoid the Champs Elysées, whether driving or walking.
Though it is said to be the most beautiful avenue in the world. It certainly was in the past, when it was lined with private mansions and used by horse-drawn carriages on their way to the Bois de Boulogne.
It is also true that the view towards the Louvre is beautiful. Its way was originally designed by Le Nôtre across an area of marshes and woods. It truly became a fashionable avenue after the Revolution, during the Directoire period.
After hesitating between several other Parisian locations for his monumental Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon finally opted for the Place de l'Etoile. The monument was finally completed thirty years later, in 1836, under Louis-Philippe, after long and difficult periods of construction and several years of pause. From then on, the avenue became a venue for commemorations, celebrations and military parades, starting with the impressive cortege bringing back the ashes of the Emperor from St Helena. Since 1919, the Unknown Soldier has rested under the vault, where an eternal flame is relit every evening.
Hôtel de la Païva –
25, avenue des Champs-Elysées
Atget – 1901
(Musée Carnavalet)
The Champs-Elysées was at its peak under the Second Empire, with the construction of sumptuous mansions, all of them destroyed in the wave of demolition in the 1960s and 70s. The Hôtel de la Päiva at no. 25 is the only one spared. The hotel was built for the Marquise de la Päiva, one of the most famous demi-mondaines of the time, and it was a favourite spot for the literary celebrities of the time: Théophile Gautier, Sainte-Beuve, the Goncourts. Now the hotel is home to trendy brands.
In the 20th century, commercial buildings replaced the private mansions, and the avenue became a place to go out, with new restaurants, shopping arcades and cinemas. In 1994, the Champs-Elysées was restored and rows of plane trees replaced the lanes used by cars. Today, changes continue with the closure of cinemas as a result of lower attendance combined with huge rental price rises. Now rather neglected by Parisians, the avenue is mainly visited by tourists and people from the suburbs attracted by its image of flashy luxury.
- Now let's turn left onto rue du Colisée, named after a huge amusement park created in 1771 by the Marquise de Langeac, who lost her fortune in it. One can't always win! Although frequented by the VIPs of the time, such as Marie Antoinette, the place quickly fell on its decline and was demolished in 1780.
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Now turn right onto rue de Ponthieu and left onto avenue Matignon.
A popular Monopoly card because it is the winning card! Cheating is possible too, because cheating is in line with the origin of the avenue: I read that in 1775 a landowner who wanted to build on his land used it illegally to extend the avenue Montaigne to the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
Faubourg Saint-Honoré - 2 cells (only ....) after avenue Henri-Martin... but a lot of streets across both of the prestigious 16th and 8th arrondissements.
At the end of avenue Matignon, turn right onto rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where the most famous fashion names and the Palais de l'Elysée are located.
We arrive at Place Beauvau, named after the mansion built in 1770 and home to the Ministry of the Interior.
Façade sur rue, ancien hôtel de Beauvau
96 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Atget – 1901
(Musée Carnavalet)
Just a little further on, at number 55, is the Palais de l'Elysée, where French presidents have been staying since 1877.
Built in 1720, it was initially purchased by the Marquise de Pompadour, possibly motivated by a good financial investment with the creation of Place Louis XV (now Place de la Concorde) at that time.
It then had a succession of prestigious owners: Louis XV, Napoleon, Louis XVIII and Louis-Napoleon who made it the presidential residence. Every year, it is one of the most visited locations during the Heritage Days.
Then it's a series of beautiful mansions, most of them embassies and institutions and as well the most famous fashion designers.
With eight on the dice, we now head for the boulevard des Capucines.
- Now let's turn left onto rue Royale towards the Madeleine church.
- Take the time to stop at the elegant passage du Village Royal - Cité Berryer.
- The Madeleine church is a paradox. Originally designed as a classic church under Louis XV, it looks like an antique temple. A very classical place still visited by the fans of the French rock star Johnny Halliday.
- Its construction was discontinued during the French Revolution, a time not favourable to church building.
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Napoleon considered it as a site for the Stock Exchange and then the Bank of France. Finally he decided to turn it into a temple to the glory of the French armies. The project was stopped with the collapse of the Empire.
- After nearly being converted into a station for the Paris-Saint Germain en Laye railway line, it fially became a church in 1842 looking like a temple as imagined by Napoleon.
Door handle - Madeleine Church
Atget - 1907
(Musée Carnavalet)
Door handle - Detail
Madeleine Church
Madeleine Church font
- In need of toilets, do not miss the Art Nouveau toilet at La Madeleine. The underground Art Nouveau toilets at La Madeleine are on the left as you leave the church ...
- Now let's take the boulevard de la Madeleine. At the corner with rue Caumartin, look out for the two beautiful half-round houses built in 1779, quite worthy of Monopoly...
Maison – Boulevard de la Madeleine et rue de Caumartin
Atget - 1906
(BnF)
We arrive at Boulevard des Capucines, a name I loved as a child because it reminded me of the flower and the famous Dansons la Capucine round. On a less poetic note, the boulevard owes its name to a former convent of Capucines nuns..
The boulevard des Capucines was one of the grands boulevards so popular at the end of the 19th century, with their many theatres attracting much of Parisian life.
At 28, the famous Olympia music hall, a place where music stars all dream of having their names in red on the famous façade!
At 35, the photographer Nadar's former studio, where all that remains is the glass roof and the entrance door, painted red, Nadar's favourite colour. Demolished in 1993, it was revived thanks to a recent fantastic virtual reality experience.
Here, photography can be linked to cinema. The Lumière brothers screened their first commercial film in the Indian room of the Grand Café, now the Café Lumière in the Hôtel Scribe at 14 boulevard des Capucines.
Since our dice have rolled 5, we'll now head for the Rue de la Paix.
- Right onto rue Daunou, then rue de la Paix towards place Vendôme.
Prestigious Rue de la Paix is the most expensive street in the game, as famous jewellers like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Poiray and Mellerio ....
To temper all this luxury, you can hum the song rue de la paix by Zazie...
If you want to continue the game, the walk continues for a second tour of the game via the rue de Courcelles, since we rolled 9 on the dice ...
Texte / Photos : Martine Combes
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