Le Chic En Rose

Just in time for Christmas, this is the 3rd instalment of my rather extended series of “24 Hours in Paris”. After spending some time on the Left Bank checking out the restoration project of Notre Dame (Part 1 here) and enjoying a wonderful lazy lunch at Le Petit Châtelet (Part 2 here), we headed over the Pont d’Arcole to the Right Bank of the Seine. The Pont d’Arcole is the main river bridge that leads across the Seine to and from Notre Dame Cathedral.

In no particular hurry and having been lucky enough to visit Paris on several occasions, we simply wanted to enjoy the atmosphere rather than rushing from place to place. It was a glorious late summer’s day, perfect for strolling around in the sunshine.

The Place de l’Hôtel de Ville is just on the other side of the bridge – the city is evidently gearing up for the 2024 Summer Olympics (we visited at the end of August 2022).

I could happily wander around the elegant Parisian boulevards for hours admiring the iron fretwork and impressive facades of the stylish apartment buildings. If we’d had more time, it would have been nice to follow the self-guided walk round the Grands-Boulevards, a little further to the north from where we were in the 4th arrondissement. You can read about these famous boulevards here.

There was one place nearby that I was keen to visit, which has a family connection. One of my major interests is family history, something I have been doing for many years. I discovered a long-held family secret (courtesy of detailed research and backed up by DNA) that my 2nd great-grandfather on my maternal line was a Jewish merchant whose father Levi Louis (Levistal) had moved to Manchester in the late 1820s. I initially thought he had come from Germany (as he had been born in Hannover in 1802). However in fact his family had moved from Hannover to Paris at some point, probably after 1808 when Napoleon Bonaparte relaxed some of the restrictions on Jewish freedoms within his territories (see here).

It is a complex topic and not one I have time to go into here (in fact I’ve enough material now to write a book!). The main point is that I found out that the Levy family (now adopting the name “Levistal”) moved to the Marais district of Paris (traditionally the Jewish quarter). Here they set up and operated a transport and logistics company along with a relative, Anton Hamberg (my 3rd great-grandfather’s brother-in-law). The head office of Hamberg-Levistal was Number 51 Rue St Martin in the Marais. This narrow street led north from the Seine and was in the heart of the old streets of Paris (later swept away in the mid 19th century by Baron Haussmann’s modernisations see here). The street was also famous for being at the heart of the rebellions in July 1830 (the headquarters of the Republican movement were at number 30 Rue de Saint Martin) and barricades were set up at various points along the street. It continued to be at the forefront of political unrest during the 1830s, in the revolutions of 1848 and later in the 1871 uprising. You can read more here.

“Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) showed his bare-breasted Liberty-Marianne in a Phrygian cap walking across a barricade thought to have been at 8 Rue de Saint-Martin in his iconic painting Liberty guiding the People. He wrote to his brother soon after the July 1830 Glorious Revolution: ‘I’ve embarked on a modern subject—a barricade. And if I haven’t fought for my country at least I’ll paint for her.’“

Part of the street has now made way for a modern shopping complex. I wasn’t sure of the exact number when we visited, hence many of the photos are taken outside number 4 (now the Police Prefecture) not 51 but it was fascinating to be there and imagine that my family had once lived here during turbulent times. I know the business was in operation from at least the 1830s to 1840s and by implication earlier. Both my 4 times great-grandparents are buried in the Montparnasse Cemetary in the 14th arrondissement (south west of the Jardin du Luxembourg).

We had a brief rest in the beautiful gardens of the Tour Saint-Jacques, situated by the junction of the Rue de Rivoli and the Rue Nicolas Flamel. It was a peaceful spot and a sanctuary from the bustling streets and nearby shopping malls.

The 52-metre (171 ft) gothic tower that dominates the setting is all that remains of the 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie (“Saint James of the butchers”), which was demolished in 1797 during the French Revolution (see here). The butchers in question were the wealthy patrons of the church who plied their trade at the nearby Les Halles markets (which closed down in 1973). Châtelet-Les-Halles station is situated on the original market site. The Tour de Saint-Jacques was also one of the starting points for pilgrims seeking to travel along the road to Tours and ultimately linking with the myriad of routes leading to the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain. It is still part of the pilgrim route to this day.

By this time the afternoon was drawing on and we still had to get to the Pont d’Alma, the vantage spot for photographs of the Eiffel Tower, which I had promised faithfully to take for my granddaughters! We headed to the nearby Metro station (we had bought day passes for the relevant zones so could hop on and off as we pleased). Alighting at the Franklin D. Roosevelt station on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, we stopped briefly to take in the view up the boulevard before wandering down the Avenue Montaigne. This boulevard is the home of many of the famous European couture houses, complete with security guards at the entrances. The clientele had parked their stunning array of Lamborghinis and Porches in the street – certainly a little out of our league but we could admire the shop windows!

We reached the Pont d’Alma, which was thronging with people including, to our surprise, television crews. Mlle realised at one point she had wandered through a TV interview. We had arrived on the eve of the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death – sadly she was killed in the road accident in the tunnel beneath us. Surreally we were also in England just over a week later when Queen Elizabeth passed away on 8th September.

The Pont d’Alma despite its recent sad associations is the best vantage point to get distance shots of the Eiffel Tower.

After sitting on the banks of the Seine enjoying the late afternoon sun, we headed back to our base near Glacière Metro station in the 13th arrondissement. Later we headed out to the Square Saint-Médard in the nearby 5th arrondissement, which had been recommended by our French friends as a good place to find eateries and cafes. It was a lively locality, obviously highly popular with locals, but off the tourist trail and we only heard French spoken. We had a superb meal at the restaurant Le Bel Ordinaire Rive Gauche – excellent food and fine wines. All in all it was a wonderful experience. Alas whilst researching this post I found that Le Bel Ordinaire has since permanently closed.The website is still online though – you can find it here.

I have one more Parisian post to conclude this series, which will be coming up very soon – à bientôt!

Copyright © 2023 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose