Itinerary
These are iconic neighbourhoods of a more popular and cosmopolitan – some would say genuine and authentic – side of Paris. Have a great both nature-seeking and energy-filled long walk that will also be bring you to the Mouzaïa and Ménilmontant.
The first 3 steps – mainly Les Buttes-Chaumont Park and the Mouzaïa street’s neighbourhood – can be a full walk, and you may choose another day to follow the rest of the itinerary, which will focus on Belleville street and its south side – notably Belleville Park and Ménilmontant.
Get ready to explore yet another Paris : one that has somehow resisted the hausmannian public works of the late XIXth century, one that was once a working-class hilltop village, now thriving with artists and welcoming to all – in Belleville, the Asian community is side by side with the Jewish’s, the North African’s, the Polish’s. If you’ve ever heard of the parisian “titi” or “môme”, this is the place !
Further north, at the onset of the 19th district, don’t miss the exquisite large hilly park of the Buttes-Chaumont – this one is hausmannian, yes, but a famous one with a lovely atmosphere.
6 stops
1. Headquarters of the French Communist Party
This beautiful S-shaped contemporary building is the work of famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) and was finished in 1980.
It should be noted that the Place du Colonel-Fabien shares the same initials as the French name of the owner of the building, the Parti Communiste Français (French Communist Party), which now, being faced with some financial trouble, rents part of the building to third parties, including private, sometimes not very communist in spirit, shows.
2. Les Buttes-Chaumont Park
The Parc des Buttes Chaumont is the third largest of its kind in Paris. The park includes several cliffs and bridges, a grotto that encloses a 20-metre-high waterfall, a lake, and several English and Chinese gardens.
The most prominent feature is the belvedere of Sybil, which sits atop a 30-metre rocky peak at the top of an island partially surrounded by a lake. The belvedere, added to the park in 1869, is a Corinthian-style monument, modeled after the ancient Roman Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy. Two bridges allow access to the Island.
The park boasts many varieties of indigenous and exotic trees (many of which are Asian species) : in particular, several cedars of Lebanon planted in 1880, among many others.
The main entrance to the park is at Place Armand-Carrel where the mairie (town hall) of the 19th arrondissement is located. There are five other large gates to the park. It currently hosts three restaurants (Pavillon du Lac, Pavillon Puebla, and Rosa Bonheur), two reception halls, two Guignol theatres, two Waffle Stands.
The park was developed as part of plans for the remodeling of Paris directed by Baron Haussmann. The actual development of the park was carried out by engineer Jean-Charles Alphand. The site of the park was a former gypsum and limestone quarry. After four years of construction, it was opened as part of the festivities of the Universal Exhibition in 1867.
Source : Wikipedia contributors, “Parc des Buttes Chaumont“
3. De Mouzaïa Street
The whole neighbourhood is one the 19th district’s jewels. Mouzaïa is the name of a mountain pass in Algeria, where in 1839-1840, French forces led by General Lamoricière fought the troops of Abd el-Kader during the French conquest of Algeria.
The street is located just above the Buttes-Chaumont park. It is the main street in a neighbourhood (the Villas de la Mouzaïa and the Hameau de Danube) made of small alleys and their little houses (about 250, not higher than one story) with flowered gardens and sometimes even a kitchen garden.
Built on top of a former gypsum quarry which have been exploited until 1872 and which (at least it is the popular belief) could have produced the gypsum used to build the White House – hence, maybe, a nearby street bearing the name “des Carrières d’Amérique” -, the neighbourhood was unable to host higher houses, and like so many other neighbourhoods of this kind, was primarily a working-class area. This of course has changed a lot nowadays.
4. 40, Du Télégraphe Street
This is one of the highest places in Paris, but not the highest ! The altitude here, just aside the cemetery of Belleville, is 128.16 meters, whereas in Montmartre, to the left of the Saint-Pierre church, it is 128.21 meters ! That was close.
This measurements concern the public places. If private places are taken into account, the highest locations and their altitude slightly change, but Montmartre is still the winner.
A 1984 plaque marks the spot at 40, du Télégraphe street, but the altitude given (128.497 meters) is a little overestimated. It was where Claude Chappe set up its telegraph during the French Revolution.
5. Cité Leroy, Cité and Villa de L’Ermitage
A private dead-end, the Cité Leroy forms, along with the Villa and Cité de L’Ermitage, a small urban village made of quiet little and sometimes paved streets, pretty low-level houses, each with a garden or a courtyard, and lots of flowers and trees.
The different lots have the typical XIXth century set-up that is common in the 20th district. They’re residential, but the Cité de l’Ermitage also has a few offices and a theater.
The Cité Leroy houses a shared garden called “Leroy Sème”.
6. De Belleville street
The center of the Belleville district, this was the main street of the former Belleville village, which has been made a part of Paris in 1860. The name Belleville came from “belle vue” (“nice view”), the Belleville hill being of one the highest of the city.
The 1670 street features some nice places, notably the workshops at number 18 (you’ll need to go through a courtyard and a corridor) ; the 4 successive courtyards at number 38 (if you’re lucky to find the door open) ; a supermarket located in a former movie theater at number 146 ; the Regard de la Lanterne (a work allowing access to underground pipes) at number 213, or Belleville cemetery at number 250.
Singer Edith Piaf, (“la Môme”) might also have been born in the street, in 1915 (official documents mention another birthplace however). Some even say that the mother of the famous French singer (1915-1963) delivered her at her building’s entrance. Let’s find it (a plaque marks the spot) !
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