So, we arrived at the Rue Chanoinesse on the Island “Île de la Cité”. This street is located in a part of Paris which is quite different and where another world besides the typical tourist track has its place. The history of Paris goes back thousands of years, then the Romans developed the Left Bank which is called the “Latin Quarter” and later medieval kings developed the Right Bank. Here in the East, between the Seine and Notre-Dame, a few streets have kept a sort of medieval romantic character. They are generally ignored by the crowds, which gives them even more quietness and mystery, especially in the evening onwards. You can see housewives doing grocery shopping and old men sitting on a chair and reading today’s newspaper. Promptly, you imagine yourself in a rural village somewhere in France but definitely not in the center of Paris.
So, if you like wandering off the beaten track, explore Rue Chanoinesse, with its beautifully-restored buildings, and walk into neighboring streets like Rue de la Colombe, Rue des Ursins, Rue des Chantres, and Rue Massillon, onto the steps of Esmeralda and Quasimodo. You might be overwhelmed by the contrast between these streets where time seems to have stopped and the big touristic confusion nearby at Notre-Dame, just one block away!
Look around and remember that this part of the city is younger than the one of the other side of the Seine but because of Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, small streets which testified to its historical role are gone. Moreover, the omnipresence of police and justice institutions break most of its charm instantly.
Now, we are leaving the Île de la Cité. We are passing the hospital and going back over the same bridge that we used before. Please go right and follow the Quai de Conti until the next bridge comes along. Go left on this street with the bridge in your back. Go all way down to end of the Rue Dauphine and here we are at Rue de Seine. Please turn left and go to the house number 75.
So, if you like wandering off the beaten track, explore Rue Chanoinesse, with its beautifully-restored buildings, and walk into neighboring streets like Rue de la Colombe, Rue des Ursins, Rue des Chantres, and Rue Massillon, onto the steps of Esmeralda and Quasimodo. You might be overwhelmed by the contrast between these streets where time seems to have stopped and the big touristic confusion nearby at Notre-Dame, just one block away!
Look around and remember that this part of the city is younger than the one of the other side of the Seine but because of Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, small streets which testified to its historical role are gone. Moreover, the omnipresence of police and justice institutions break most of its charm instantly.
Now, we are leaving the Île de la Cité. We are passing the hospital and going back over the same bridge that we used before. Please go right and follow the Quai de Conti until the next bridge comes along. Go left on this street with the bridge in your back. Go all way down to end of the Rue Dauphine and here we are at Rue de Seine. Please turn left and go to the house number 75.