Secret Place in Paris? Place des Fetes
 

I read about this place on a website about Paris but to be honest, I cannot find any reference to it in a guidebook or elsewhere online. I thought someone here might know.

Apparently in front of 13 rue des Fetes at the lower end of the place des Fetes, there is a door that leads to a passage and some secret gardens. Has anyone heard of this place or actually visited? I am going to try to find it in April but not sure I want to go on a wild goose chase.

Any information appreciated. :)

Topping for coldwar.

Sounds interesting. :)

I don't know about that particular spot, but there are various residential streets in Paris that are sort of secluded, meant only for the local residents, and have some gardens. The Mouzaia area of the 19th arr is one of those, but it is a little north of that particular location you mention. I wouldn't go out of my way to go up there for there, it's not unique, you can see similar things elsewhere. The ones that really are "secret" (which generally means not open to the public, maybe the gate is locked or something) you may not be able to get in. I've seen some of them as they have fairly regular tours with names like "secret gardens of Paris" or similar in Pariscope. They are in French, however.

One such area which really is nice is Cite des Fleurs in the 17th arr. YOu should find mention of that somewhere, maybe in a Michelin guide or something. It's on a map by that name, just a bit north of the Brocant metro stop. I don't recall if anyone off the street can walk up it or not without a special key for the gate, but maybe.

Other such areas that are typically on "secret garden" tours are the small streets right across the street, west of Parc Montsouris. They are lovely and anyone can walk on them (rue du Parc du Montsouris, etc). There is also the Cite Florale area near there across the border in the 13th which is also public. This is just NW of place de Rungis and should be on a good map (rues des Orchidess, Glycines, etc.).

I imagine the place up in the 19th is similar to those streets.

You could have a look in Thirza Valois's books on Paris Walks.

Thanks for the tip. I have Valois' Romantic Paris and saw no mention of it but will try the other book.

Here's a link to a NY Times article on Paris secret gardens. There's no mention of the one you're looking for but thought you might be interested in reading the article. You might need an ID to access the article. If so and you don't want to sign up for the NYT email me and I'll send the Word document.

http://query.nytimes.com/search/arti...52C1A9649C8B63

Fantastic article! Many thanks. :)

Adrienne: Thanks! This is just the kind of thing I love.

I don't particularly recommend this as an excursion, but if you are out there, follow the Rue des Fetes down to Rue Levert and then to the end of the Rue des Envierges, where there is a nice view of the city above the Parc de Belleville.

This is one of the most interesting Paris threads I've seen in a long, long time.

No, I didn't see that mentioned in either Thirza Vallois' "Romantic Paris" nor her "Around & About Paris".

Any more?

If you go into www.pagesjaunes.fr and put in 'rue des fetes' and '75019', you will get some listings (but not one for # 13). Choose one, like the restaurant at #17, go to its photo, then "walk"
to the left a couple of doors up the street. You can see a photo of a doorway and a metal gate. Neither looks like a place you could wander in, though...

Travelnut: Thanks for the site.

I was able to see 12 rue des Fetes but not 13 either. What a mystery! Well I will be there in April and I suppose have to find it myself. :)

This is exciting. I checked my Paris par Arrondissement map and there is a Jardin du Regard de la Lanterne listed.

It is near the little point rue des Fêtes makes with rue de Pt. St.-Gervais off the Pl. des Fêtes. It actually looks like it's on the corner of rue A. Thierry and rue Compans. Think I'll try that on the yellow pages and see what comes up. It is a listed garden though.

http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/

In the pages jaunes (above) type in 3 rue Augustin Thierry and you'll get three views of the little park. I don't think the surrounding area would be worth the trip. There are many much more attractive parks in Paris with lovely surroundings instead of highrise apts.

Good luck.

Adrienne: Thanks for the very intriguing article. I'll be taking a printout of it with me to Paris in October. It was really thoughtful of you to share this information with the rest of us.

Hey Adrienne, I'm so glad you posted that article, but I must say that between this thread & that article I'm now obsessing over all the tiny green spaces on the Plan de Paris. I don't think this obsession is ever going to let up. Every time I think I've done everything in Paris and gotten it all out of my system, something new & intgriguing pops up.

SalB, that's a nifty website for Les Pages Jaunes. I use www.pagesjaunes.fr all the time but I didn't know about this link to it. It's really cool, isn't it? As you're clicking the arrows to see subsequent photos you can note the arrow on the map moving with you as well so that you can tell which direction you're going! Tres cool!!!

:)

Hi Beatchick - I'm with you on the Paris obsession. It seems like that's the one place I can never have enough information on. If your obsession leads you to compile a list of all the parks, gardens, etc. let us know. That's an entry I'm missing from the Paris section on my web site and one I'd like to complete soon.

Oh, Adrienne, you know me only too well. That's EXACTLY what I plan to do in between studying - ar ar ar!!

I didn't know you have a website!! What's the URL? You may e-mail me that info if you wish.

Are we sharing Paris obsessions now? My wife gives me grief because I keep a map of Paris in our master bathroom. Not framed, mind you...just an ordinary map of Paris that I go over almost every day, searching for something I haven't seen. Only 11 more months until I can return :-(

LOL!! Zeppo, it appears we are sharing Paris obsessions now! I keep a mapbook & whatever latest Paris guidebook I happen to have. Right now it's the Cadogan Guide to Paris.

I'm hoping, hoping, hoping to get to go next Christmas with my children.

Oh, God, please let the months pass quickly.

I'm glad to hear about the Paris obsessing now. :)

50 more days........ :)

http://tourisme.voila.fr/villes/pari...jrega/za01.htm

Here is a photo of the Jardin du Regard de la Lanterne. I didn't find it on les pages jaunes.

Best,
Sandy

I nearly fell over laughing, Beatchick. I've also got Cheap Eats in Paris by my bed, and Eugene Atget's Hidden Paris in my office. It's getting bad.

That's it; that's the park in the photos at http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/ when you type in 3 rue Thierry.

There are three views of it. The park looks fine. My objection was to the high rises around it. I'd rather go to the Luxembourg or the Tuileries. I'd actually love to go to the zoo at Vincennes but my husband isn't wild about the idea of going to a zoo while in Paris. We have the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Parks, the Living Desert and the LA Zoo in easy driving distance. We have enough zoos to make him happy at home . . . perhaps in the house too!!

91 more days...:)

I feel a nice, fuzzy kinship growing with you people!! Ah, the glow of an obsession with Paris!!

However, I must say that I'm very jealous of you people who are actually close enough to going that you can ACTUALLY COUNT THE DAYS! (weep weep) No, no, feel no pity for me. I'm just happy for you lucky folks (Keren & ColdWar27).

Zeppo2, you should see my Amazon wishlist!! I wonder if I have the latter book you mentioned on my wishlist?

Count me among the obsessed. . . and I'm counting down, too (about six weeks--why does February have to have an extra day in it? Damn this leap year!)

In the weeks leading up to a trip, I read so many books about a destination that I feel as if I can quote them by heart.

BTW, Cite Floral in the 13eme is not public.

Beatchick, I don't know if I'm obsessed about Paris, it's just that I've "discovered" it 4 months ago (had been there twice before, in 94 and 95 for 4 days each time, was disappointed with it, but kept wanting to come back, for some reason). Then I found this forum and somehow fell in love with the idea of touring France as often as I can. So now I'm saving like crazy to be able to go to Paris again in May and then to Lyon and the Alps in September. Great thread!

Beatchick: Maybe we should start a thread where we post our Amazon wish lists :-) I fell in love with Eugene Atget's b/w photos of Paris in the early 1900's when I found a book on his work in Zurich. Amazon doesn't have the best book, which is arranged by arrondisment, though. When I go to Paris I like to locate spots where he took pictures and then take present day photos to compare.

Zeppo...have you see "Paris Then and Now"? Old photos placed next to current ones with interesting text. Another for London.

RonZ: just picked up Paris: then and now at Costco about two weeks ago. They didn't have the London book at my Costco, but I'll have to pick it up at Amazon. I thought the text was suprisingly detailed for a coffee table book, and loved the juxtoposition of old/new Paris.

You mean it's not normal to have my Michelin Paris blue guide at work?

I also like Henri Cartier-Bresson's pictures.

Bientôt Paris...

Eight months before I return but at least I'll be there for three weeks. Obsession, I know all about that. Three guide books and museum guides from past trips on the nightstand; Another giude book in each bathroom; old issues of Paris Notes (with hilighter close by)in the parlor; several maps here and there and a Plan du Paris in my attache case and another gere next to the computer. Let's not even mention my office. I guess you'd say that Paris is always on my mind.

well, I've been in the Cite Floreale (just last summer) and I'm the public, and I know others who have, also, so don't know about it being private. Perhaps I am forgetting, or it wasn't obvious, but when I was there, I don't recall any limitations to walking those streets. If there is a gate to those streets (which have regular Parisian street signs, rue des Orchidees, Glycines, Iris, etc) that is normally locked, I don't recall, but maybe it's open a lot because nothing special had to be done to walk that area when I was there. I've also seen it recommended for sightseeing in various articles. Maybe I just got lucky, I don't know, but if it is private property, I think it's open quite a lot so you can walk through with no problem, and I thought there was a bar/restaurant in there, also (on rue des Orchidees). It's just a small "quartier", but is comprised of normal city streets (although small), and I don't think it's private. I found a page about it with some cute photos that give an idea what it's like:
http://perso.club-internet.fr/shost/...te_florale.htm

I think the Cite des Fleurs in the 17th is private, but that's kind of the back "alley" running behind the back yards of private houses and not a regular street.

I wouldn't probably recommend Cite Florale as a must-see for someone, but I was speculating that might be similar to what the original reference to rue des Fetes is like. It is a pleasant area to walk around for someone looking for new things to do, along with nearby Parc Montsouris. I would think it a better bet than 13 rue des Fetes in searching for this type of thing as that one really seems doubtful.

Here's a map which appears to show the gardens mentioned in the original post. Click on Paris street maps and then scroll down to Place des Fetes.

http://www.ratp.fr/ParisVisite/Eng/Pla_q/f_pla.htm

I have one copy of my Michelin Paris Plan at the office (a London map also). My home copies are in the den where I can pick them up every evening. I think this is perfectly normal!
I arrive in Paris in 49 days. Can't wait!!

Great info! Thanks

I just remembered, when I was in Paris in September 2001 (yes 9/11) the city was having some sort of garden festival and the gardens were all being spruced up and open to the public. If you are really interested in private gardens, this might be the ticket for you.