I wanted to show a courtyard in another part of the city besides the Marais. I ventured to the Ile St. Louis, pressing buzzer upon buzzer to gain entry to a courtyard but none of the doors opened. I ended up in the 5th arr. where I found two delightful courtyards to end my series.
The first was in a Haussmann Belle Epoque building constructed in the 1890s. I love the black iron entrance door with the curlicues (I almost saved it as a Door of the Month) and the limestone Corinthian columns in the lobby.I then walked through another even more fabulous ornate black iron and glass door to the courtyard where the centerpiece is a towering tree surrounded by a bed of red, white, and lavender impatiens and another bed of lovely impatiens in full bloom in each corner. The buildings around the courtyard are a soothing pink and beige stone and each have a handsome iron and glass portico canopy above the wood frame doors.
The next courtyard was a around the corner and was once housing for students from the College du Cardinal Lemoine from the 16th century to the 18th century. Romantic is the first adjective I thought of with its rough cobblestone walls,rusted old lanterns and abundant greenery.The surprise of the ceramic urns angling out of the walls was so clever.
I hope you enjoyed courtyard week and I had a ball finding and photographing them.I would love your feedback to see if you would like me to do Courtyard Week 2.
49 rue Jussieu, 5th arr.
28 bis rue Cardinal Lemoine, 5th arr.
Metro: Cardinal Lemoine
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook. First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Yes, yes! More courtyards, please!
Posted by: Evelyn | August 27, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Quite delightful. More courtyards AND more doors, please!
Posted by: John W. | August 27, 2009 at 02:45 PM
Loved seeing what was behind those doors and gates. We just came from four days of walking Paris in July and always wondered what sights we were missing behind the gates. Thanks for showing us. More please.
Posted by: Sherron | August 27, 2009 at 04:19 PM
This is great Richard...I think more courtyards please!! I am going to direct my friends that live in Paris, over to your blog. They love all this..getting around into the nooks off the little streets!! :-)
Posted by: anne | August 29, 2009 at 12:25 AM
your courtyard blog was great; same thing in Moscow and St Petersburg; going into courtyards was one of my favorite things to do; albeit a bit dangerous in St Pete where crime was more prevalent - Moscow not so dangerous as everyone was busy making money!!
Posted by: Linda l. | August 29, 2009 at 03:42 PM
Richard, it is precisely because you have found hidden gems like this that your blog convinced me to ask you to lead us in December. We want to see the undiscovered by most people kinds of places.
Posted by: Beth | August 29, 2009 at 04:05 PM
I love, love, love the courtyards!!! Definitely need another week!!
Posted by: Catherine | August 29, 2009 at 04:08 PM
Beautiful! Richard, you could be a Realtor in Paris!
Posted by: vicki | August 29, 2009 at 04:13 PM
I have ogled and awed over this “series”, as do I with your doors. For me, this is one of the greatest pleasures in Paris…seeing what is behind the big, imposing doors and stone walls. One would hardly expect to see such architectural and horticultural treats! These are the little surprises that the average tourist really does not get to know. It also allows my imagination to wander back to the time when these large doors opened for the horses and carriages that took their masters and mistresses into the courtyard and into the privacy of their home. I believe that I am correct in that many of these with the exquisite courtyards were, at one time, hôtels de ville, or private mansions which were sold and eventually divided into multiple apartments. It is a particular treat to see what is in each of the arrondisements as they each have a particular flavor of their own. These photographs and information truly whet the appetite and make me long for ma ville préféré!
Posted by: claudia | August 29, 2009 at 04:18 PM
Love it. Yes I want to see more.
Posted by: laurence | August 29, 2009 at 04:23 PM
this series is absolutely fascinating. I would think that all of the parisien lovers would adore more. The closed courtyard is the one thing that I danced around peaking at. On my walks I just press the top button all the time to see if it will open and sometime it does...... Thank you for the great peak a boo at these courtyards.....I hope that you keep doing more of them
Posted by: linda | August 29, 2009 at 04:27 PM
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Posted by: marklee | September 01, 2009 at 08:02 AM