20th

french author allan kardec's grave in pere lachaise cemetery

Paris Neighborhood Guide: the 20th Arrondissement, Part 2

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Note from the editor: Be sure to read Paris Neighborhood Guide: the 20th Arrondissement, Part 1 if you haven’t already — MS

In 1859, the 20th arrondissement was the last of the outlying neighborhoods to be integrated into Paris. It is the highest of the Paris arrondissements and is even higher than Montmartre — the reason the first telegraph was built here and why the metro stop nearby has been named “Télégraphe.” 

Here I have been living for most of my Paris life and have no plans of moving until I go out feet first, and even then considering that Père Lachaise cemetery is also located in this arrondissement, I hope to stay around.

Père Lachaise and a Little-known Cemetery

Père Lachaise is the 20th arrondissement’s most famous and visited landmark. The cemetery is enormous and is worth an afternoon’s walk. It is built on a hill, with the main entrance on the rue de Repos at the highest point near the Gambetta metro station. The Père Lachaise metro station is at the lowest point on the boulevard Mesnilmontant. To plan a visit to the resting place of the celebrities buried here it is recommended to have a map of the cemetery. An official map of graves is free to take at the Conservation Center inside the cemetery near the Mesnilmontant entrance. Many maps are also available online.

Graves are scattered throughout the cemetery with no division among religion or nationality. On the other hand, there is a section reserved for homage to those murdered in the concentration camps of World War II and to those who died during the Commune. 

Among the many famous buried here are Edith Piaf, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt Alain Kardec the spiritist… the avenue where Delacroix is buried is named after him. Once I had an enlightening morning on a tour of Proust and his friends, along with those who served as the exemplars of his characters. 

Women had been kissing the Sphinx sculpture on Oscar Wilde’s grave, dirtying it with their lipstick marks in the hope of having a wish come true, for years. Ultimately, the tomb was cleaned up and a plexiglass protection was put in front of it to keep it clean. Lipstick kiss marks are now to be found on the easily cleaned plexiglass protection. 

Sadly, Jim Morrisson’s tomb is surrounded by barriers and you cannot get very close. When I first visited it in 1980 on a sunny, untouristic weekday, autumn afternoon, I found two guys having a picnic on his tomb. I wished them “bon appétit” and continued my tour. I do not think he would like to know that he has been so isolated from his fans.

Looking at the names and dates can be amusing: on my first visit, I found a Mr. Boney. Unfortunately, this was long before digital cameras so I have no picture and no idea where to find him now.  

From an art point of view, there are beautiful constructions of chapel-sized monuments with stained glass and handsome sculptures to appreciate.

On the subject of cemeteries, the Église St Germain is the last church in Paris to still have a cemetery attached to it. A pleasant visit will take you up and up from the rue de Bagnolet to the rue Stendahl and to the entrance of the Ferme de Charonne. 

La Petite Ceinture

This is the name of the former railway line that went around Paris. In various areas of the outer arrondissements of the city, the abandoned tracks are still visible. The land has been left fallow for the sake of bio-diversity and, where open, the track lines are inviting areas for a stroll. For the moment it is not possible to follow the former track line uninterruptedly around the city but it is exactly to this end that the association promeneurs de la Petite Ceinture are battling for.

The tracks are visible in three different areas of the 20th arrondissement. From street level over a bridge on the rue Menilmontant, they can be viewed and then accessed by a stairway at number 79 or by the stairless but sloping street at 11 Rue de la Mare. Just before the liberation of Paris, the French resistance attacked two Nazi trains and forced the soldiers to surrender at precisely this section of track. 

Over the tracks, at 102 bis rue de Bagnolet La Fleche d’or cultural center has taken up residence in the former Gare de Charonne station of La Petite Ceinture. The tracks can be seen from an inside window above, but there is no access down.

A second access to the abandoned railway is through the recently created Jardin de la gare de Charonne. An easy entrance through the park toward the tracks for those with reduced mobility and prohibited bicycles (but…) is at 63 boulevard Davout. 

Waterways

Another curiosity is the vestiges of an underground medieval water system permitting water to flow down from the higher hamlets of Mesnilmontant and Belleville in the east of Paris into the city. Two of the small structures built to monitor water flow and quality as well as the workings of the system can still be seen. On the rue des Cascades, just at the corner of the rue de Savies stands the Regard St Martin. Right next to it is the staircase street rue Fernand Raynaud, which runs along the Jardin des Petites Rigoles from the rue des Cascades to the rue de l’Hermitage. In a far corner of this tiny park can be perceived the Petite Rigole, a particularly small,  fenced-in water monitoring structure (un)reachable via a locked staircase. 

Guided tours of the arrondissement’s waterways are sometimes offered by the association AHAV, (Association d’Histoire et d’Archéologie du Vingtième Arrondissement) for members only, during the year and the Journées du Patrimoine for the general public. 

Art

At the corner of Mesnilmontant and Pyrénées street is the town hall’s free cultural center, Le  Pavillon du Carré de Baudouin. Before entering through the small garden, its outside walls typically host a photography exhibit. Inside, it accommodates an art gallery and an auditorium. Here can be seen art linked to the 20th arrondissement, whether by theme or by the artist’s attachment to the quarter.  The auditorium serves as a place for free talks and films. 

Tucked away on the little street for which it is named, the Espace Monte Cristo houses wonderful themed exhibitions centered around the Collection Fondation Villa Datris whose main and sister institution is located in the south of France in the Vaucluse départemement somewhat east of Avignon. Exhibitions are always free and the guided tours offer significant insight into the chosen theme, the artworks, and the artists who created them. Besides works from the Datris collection, the exhibitions often include works lent from collectors, galleries, and the artists themselves. Most of the works on temporary display are by living artists who sometimes offer a hand to install their works.  

Le Grand Belleville brings together a young community of art to be found in the 19th, 20th, and 11th arrondissements.

In the 20th there are two emerging galleries to be found. The Crevecoeur gallery is located in a lovely courtyard with its own patio sporting tables and chairs. The gallery space is luminous on a sunny day with its skylights and picture windows. The Marcelle-Alix gallery, just off the rue de Belleville offers installations and other works on its ground floor and a basement that can be reached by a wonderful staircase, which has mirrored floors as landings. There, when I admitted that I was not much into installations,  I was informed that this art has been around for the past 50 years. Not far, on rue Francis Picabia is the “Atelier des Artistes.” 

Once a year, typically in May, the artists of the Belleville area celebrate Portes Ouvertes. On this weekend they open the doors to their studios whereby the general public can come, visit, see (and purchase if they like) the artists’ works. 

Albeit somewhat removed from Paris’ illustrious center, this seldom-visited arrondissement has much to contribute to the city’s culture.

Photo of French author and educator Allan Kardec’s grave taken in Père Lachaise cemetery.

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parc de belleville in the 20th arrondissement

Paris Neighborhood Guide: the 20th Arrondissement, Part 1

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How did I land here, so comfortably that there are no plans to leave? In fact, I was looking to buy a house in Paris; yes, I did say “house.” According to an article I once read in Capital magazine, there are 3,200 houses in Paris. My criteria? Minimum two rooms, with garden, within Paris itself, not expensive. When one becomes sensitive to houses in Paris, you will realize that they exist in every arrondissement; however, some neighborhoods are more expensive than others! 

Lost on the outskirts of Paris the 20th arrondissement has lots going for it: it has the most number of associations of all the arrondissement of Paris, lots of unexpected greenery, and areas with a small town atmosphere. 

Le Parc de Belleville

This is the largest park in the 20th arrondissement, on a hill whose high point is where rue des Envierges, rue du Transvaal, and rue Piat meet. From this belvedere stretches a view of Paris all the way to the Eiffel Tower on the other side of the city. The belvedere itself is an open mosaiced, graffitied pavilion with many promenaders rambling around. On a sunny day, it is pleasant to sit in one of the cafés overlooking the park before starting along the grassy, flower-strewn, winding walks passing a tiny vineyard, a children’s playground accompanied by a waterfall fountain leading ever downward, to 47 rue de Couronnes. Or do things the hard way: come up 600 feet from below and time the climb to arrive at the top as the sun is going down to behold all of Paris at its rosiest.

L’hermitage

A lovely quiet little flower-filled park (there are even flower boxes across the top of the recycle garbage shed) away from the maddening crowd. A spray mister is installed near the children’s play area which was greatly appreciated on our visit on a very hot day. There are also public toilets for visitors’ comfort (when they work). In one corner can be found the last Regency folly. I have been told that the French term for such a structure comes both from the idea of leaves, feuilles, because they would typically be constructed deep in the park belonging to a stately mansion, and folie where gentlemen’s mad, or folle, carousing would transpire.

La ferme de Charonne

This unique parcel of land is devoted to organically growing small plants: flowers, herbs, and, most famously micro-greens, which can be purchased in their boutique. On entering, can be seen a large perspective of the “farm” with all types of plants, flowers, and a large greenhouse to the left. An employee will be glad to take you on a visit to the greenhouse and even have you taste some of the micro greens. On our visit, we tried the radishes and the mustard greens. We were also taken to where they prepare their beautiful, good-smelling, black compost which they sell at a very low price. In the middle of the gardens, there are small tables around which visitors can sit and take in the air of a miniature field seemingly far from city life. 

Neighborhood Plantings

In this heavily built-up city, Parisians have found a number of ways to satisfy a need to work the soil and grow things. 

Community gardens have been popping up wherever empty lots have been found. Requests to use such plots can be submitted by a group of gardening enthusiasts who have formed a legally recognized association where they will work together growing flowers and vegetables. Schedules are set up to work the garden and new members are often welcome to join. It is a pleasure to visit and chat with the members about how their gardens grow. Any tiny bit of unused land will do. Usually, they can be visited on Saturday afternoons. Should one feel the need to work the soil, it is often possible to join the association that tends these gardens. 

One such example is the space to be found between two buildings at 54 rue St Blaise. This strip of land between two high buildings is being worked by a very friendly group who have chosen whatever plants can be grown in the shade. I do remember during a jasmine malady in Paris I had seen the workers cutting it way back. I was happy to visit this tree now some 5 years later to see it growing, albeit only up to knee level. 

With such limited growing space, some people have found ways to turn rooftops into what is known as “suspended gardens,” as they are suspended far above ground. In the 20th, at the top of Collège Flora Tristan, 2000 square meters of garden are being cultivated by students and members of the garden staff. Visiting days for the general public are scheduled and it is best to reserve by sending a short email to the organizers. Beginning in May and until November, their produce is put on sale at their “Marché de la Salamandre” located on the Square de la Salamandre. 

The metal grids set into the earth around the foot of the trees along the streets were originally considered protection, although dogs have found them very handy for their needs. Since 2015, Paris has little by little taken them out as Parisians have signed up to use these tiny spaces to create vegetation. Parisians enthusiastic about greening Paris streets have built low fences and have planted all kinds of flowers at the base of the trees. The Place Edith Piaf is especially well-endowed with circumambient plants around three tree trunks, and other plantings just across the rue Belgrand. Keep your eyes peeled for what is growing and blooming. And when hollyhock and four-o’clock seeds are ripe, anyone with a green thumb can pick the seeds and then grow their own plants. 

Townhouses and Small-town Constructions

Scattered throughout the 20th are the remains of small-town life in the form of single-family residences, many of which were built with the help of bank loans for the working class. It seems, according to a friend, they wanted to house the working class as far from the center of Paris as possible.

The most famous of these is the “campagne à Paris” (the country in Paris).  Here, protected by Paris urban planning, is a concentration of single-family homes. Offering a pleasant stroll around three cobblestoned streets, overgrown rose bushes and honeysuckle meet the eye, nose, and face when walking on the narrow sidewalks. Originally built with the help of a mutual trust bank to house working-class families, it is now the most expensive area of single-family dwellings in the 20th arrondissement. A former president has bought a house here and can sometimes be seen at the local market where he is politely greeted as Mr. President. This is a favorite place for cinematographers to shoot scenes for middle-twentieth-century films and here can be found Serge Gainsborough’s recording studio. 

La rue des Vignoles is mainly known for the many cul de sacs that run perpendicularly off this street from approximately numbers 28 to 42. The narrow walking lanes are a pleasure to visit with their greenery, decked patios, and decorated doors. In the same section on the street itself can be found a number of cafés and socio-cultural venues. Just off 42 rue des Vignoles is the short street, Michel-de-Bourges, which leads to the Jardin Casque d’Or where visitors can relax in quiet. At the top of the street is the Place de la Réunion, a market square on Thursday and Sunday mornings and a pleasant place to have a drink at one of the surrounding cafés. 

Welcome to the 20th, the last of the Paris arrondissements, where tourists rarely tread. Here, hiding in plain sight, are stretches offering a getaway from the big city without ever passing the city limits. 

Photo taken at the Parc de Belleville, just before sunset.

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