Parisian Walkways: Rue Saint-Blaise, A Village in Eastern Paris

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PA R I S I A N WA L K WAY S ❘ R U E S A I N T- B L A I S E

RUE SAINT-BLAISE Just half an hour from the heart of touristic Paris you can be in a historic neighbourhood that still maintains its village feel. Jeffrey T Iverson gets on a bus to Charonne…

GALERIE DERNIERS JOURS

GALERIE LITHIUM

LE SOUK DE PANAME

5 rue Saint-Blaise Tel. +33 (0)6 85 07 63 32 Founded by a globetrotting photographer and an economist/art collector, this innovative gallery brings a social dimension to an avaricefuelled art market. Offering a platform for brilliant artists whose remote locations or reclusive nature are hurdles to exhibiting their work, the gallery presents paintings, photography and prints from around the world, from Finland to Korea to Bolivia.

6 rue Saint-Blaise Tel. +33 (0)6 72 71 88 31 At a time when street art is sold in posh Champs-Élysées auction houses, Lithium is earning a reputation as a gallery representing the true street art’s spirit of freedom and generosity. With a passion for both the genre’s history and future, the gallery exhibits street art’s founding fathers (Jérôme Mesnager, Jean Starck) and the new generation across France and Europe (Tona, TKV, Olivia Paroldi).

13 rue Saint-Blaise Tel. +33 (0)6 51 00 05 07 This concept store’s name (a souk is an Arab bazaar and Paname is a nickname for Paris) perfectly describes the France-meets-NorthAfrica designs you’ll find inside. Founded by a lover of interior design and Berber craftsmanship, the boutique abounds with chic baskets, pillows, rugs, blankets and other home décor items that marry modern tastes with the true savoir-faire of Moroccan craftspeople.

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fter a stirring morning walking the banks of the Seine, gazing on the Eiffel Tower from the Pont des Arts and soaking up the entire history of art at the Musée du Louvre, the beauty of Paris is enough to leave anyone dizzied and breathless. And often it’s precisely when you are a few awe-inspiring sights away from a case of Stendhal syndrome that you find yourself searching for a little park or a quiet café to collect yourself, wishing you could just be transported to the countryside temporarily for a moment of calm. But what if you could? What if it were possible to be whisked away from the busy heart of Paris to a rural haven in only minutes? Impossible? Not quite. Stroll back towards the Seine and step onto the No. 76 bus at the Hôtel de Ville stop across from Île de la Cité. Less than 30 minutes later you arrive at Pyrénées-Bagnolet. There may not seem to be much promise of bucolic bliss at first. Most of the surrounding buildings are tall and modern, like the Philippe Starck-designed Mama Shelter across the street – a chic, hugely popular hotel which opened at

The view down the northwestern end of rue Saint-Blaise from the courtyard of the Église SaintGermain-de-Charonne

109 rue de Bagnolet in 2008. But continue on a bit further and a vision of green leaves and old stone begins to take shape around the bend. Suddenly you’re standing before an ancient church perched on a hilltop, its Romanesque bell tower flanked by trees, gardens and a peaceful little cemetery. This is the Église Saint-Germain-de-Charonne. Dating back to at least the 12th century, this charming church’s courtyard overlooks a broad, cobblestoned plaza that funnels down a gentle slope into a narrow pedestrian street called rue Saint-Blaise. As you walk downhill, a hush seems to descend over the street and, save for the midday bells of SaintGermain-de-Charonne, the noise of rue de Bagnolet disappears behind you. There are children playing, colourful boutiques and galleries, and a small lunchtime crowd relaxing on quiet café terraces. Peeking into some of the courtyards on either side, you discover verdant gardens, old fountains and houses resembling country cottages. If this doesn’t resemble any part of Paris you’ve visited, it’s because only a century and half ago it wasn’t Paris. Welcome to the quartier Saint-Blaise, the historic heart of the once

54 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Dec/Jan 2020

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