The 16th Arrondissement and Art Nouveau

By Thirza Vallois

Between Auteuil and Passy further north was an unbuilt stretch of land which was developed only after the area was annexed to Paris. Around the turn of the twentieth century it provided space for Hector Guimard and others in his wake to explore a new style of architecture known as Art Nouveau, disparagingly dubbed style nouille by Paul Morand because of the spaghetti-shaped lines that characterise it. It was rather the curving forms of nature that Hector Guimard had in mind, to which bear witness his soft green entrances to the Métro stations. However, a generation later architects substituted geometric rigour for his natural profusion and invented Art Deco. Discovering the Art Nouveau and Art Deco heritage in the neighbourhood will be the main focus of the following walk.

Start at Place Clement Ader next to the Maison de Radio France, home of French National Radio, which also boasts a good concert hall. Walk into rue de Boulainvilliers along its western side. An elegant house used to stant at no. 15, surrounded by a pretty garden, which served as a detention centre for the deserters of the Garde Nationale between 1864 and 1870. It was also nicknimed l'Hôtel des Haricots (beans) because of the unimaginative menu it served to its inmates, many of whome were great celebrities such as Alfred de Musset, Théeophile Gautier, Gavarni, Daumier, Balzac and Baudelaire, who spent their time covering the walls with witty graffiti and cartoons. An Earlier institution was founded during the Revolution, on the premises of the Collège Montaigne in the 5th arrondissement, likewise nicknamed Collège des Haricots - its menu must have been just as unimaginative!

Turn left into rue la Fontaine, where, at no 14, stands on of Guimard's best known buildings in Paris, le Castel Béranger, built between 1894 and 1898. The artist's manipulation of the Gothic style is spectacular (notice the gargoyles and the blend of animal and vegetal forms, notably on the fountain in the courtyard). Needless to say, the average mortal was bewildered by his architecture and the building was nicknamed Castel Dérangé (`deranged'). Notwithstanding, the City of Paris awarded the façe;ade first prize, which boosted Fuimard's career overnight. The entrance hall, beyond the fabulous wrought-iron gate, is stunning with its blend of brick and glass and its Gothic staircase. All being well, you will be able to walk in during week days, although certainly not at weekends.

A later compund was erected across the street in 1911, between rue Gros and rue Agar. Not the attractive plaque carved in the stone in memory of the actress agar, who lived in Auteuil between 1870 and 1880 and after whom the street is named. The spectacular balconies on the 6th floor run throughout the street where everyhing bears Guimard's stamp.

Continue along rue la Fontaine and turn left into rue François-Millet. At no. 11 is another block of flats built by Guimard in 1910. Notice on the right corner the pretty garden and church, now part of an orphanage, reminiscent of a pastoral past. Back on rue La Fontaine, at no. 60 stands a hôtel built by Guimard in 1912 for a friend.

Turn right into rue Georges Sand and left into avenue Mozart. At no. 122 is the Hôtel guimard, built by the artist for himself and for his wife, the American painter Adeline Oppenheim, between 1909 and 1912. He set up his agency on the ground floor, a studio for his wife in the attic, while the couple's apartment was situated on the main floor. Because the house was built for his own use, guimard could follow his aspirations, and he abolished all right angles. Thus the living and dining rooms are oval in shape. The façade overlooking the side alley, Villa Flore, on your right, looks almost human! How different from the building opposite, an Art Deco construction dating from the 1920s.

Retrace your steps and turn left into rue Henri-Heine. At the corner of rue Jasmin is a much later work by Guimard, built in 1925/6. Turn right into rue Jasmin, a pleasant street with the tiny Cour and Square Jasmin running into it.

Turn left into rue de l'Yvette and left into rue du Docteur Blanche. At no. 51 is Le Corbusier's foundation, located in the Cubist white villas of Raoul La Roche and Albert Jeanneret (1923) at the back of a dark, leafy alley. You can see on display in one of the windows his celebrated deckchair, which began its long career on this site. The library, which is open to the public, contains practically all the research work of Le Corbusier.

Retrace your steps and continue to no. 9 rue du Docteur Blanche which opens into rue Mallet-Stevens, another lovely nook, built in the 1920s by Robert Mallet-Stevens for himself and for his friends (Mallet-Stevens lived at no. 12, where he died in 1945), in a style of exemplary purity of line, surrounded by a countrified environment. Mallet-Stevens was a great socialiser and invited Tout-Paris to the inauguration of the alley in 1927.

Continue along rue du Docteur Blanche and turn right into rue de l'Assomption, which commemorates a magnificent convent that once stood here in exquisite rolling grounds. Walk downhill in the direction of La Maison de Radio France and turn left into rue de Boulainvilliers and left again into the Hameau de Boulainvilliers, a tiny remnant of the 8-hectare grounds of the Ch7acirc;teau de Passy. (The Consulate of the Philippines is now located here, enabling you to walk in during opening hours).

First mentioned as the castle of Passy in 1381, the château itself was situated halfway up the present steep rue de Boulainvilliers. It was in the 18th century, when it was the property of the Farmer General Le Riche de la Popelinière, that it became a social centre of dazzling glitter, described by Farrère in Le Dernier Dieu, long out of print. `The authentic of a French Duke, an accomplice and companion of the Regent. Violins must have made a frenzy of sound but little by little, they fell silent.' Indeed, the best orchestra in Paris used to play here, conducted from the harpsichord by no less a musician than Rameau. However, La Popelinière also took under his wing some beautiful sinners, which is why his home came to be known as Le Temple des Muses et des Plaisirs, although, in view of the diversity of guests who frequented the place, some preferred to call it the ménagerie. La Popelinière may have been a cuckold himself, for when a month after his death at the age of 70 his widow of 23 gave birth to a boy, it was rumoured that the father was Louis XV, although he was given the name of Alexandre-Louis-Gabriel La Riche de la Popelinière.

The resplendent gardens, landscaped by Le Nôtre, were devastated by the English in 1815, and the house itself was demolished in 1826. All that is now left is the name of the last owner and a pretty nook, immortalised by the now-forgotten Farrère: `the silent oasis continued to be at that time - bur for a few more years only - a haven for great dreamers, the last of their race ... where Claude Debussy had just died.'

Thirza Vallois brings Paris to life in a way that enthralls her readers and provides them with a detailed knowledge of the city which exceeds that of most Parisians, while her fast moving style disguises a depth of historical fact that is normally only found in academic tomes. Writer William Boyd wrote in The Spectator: "I think we can safely toss all other Paris guidebooks aside....There can be no higher praise than when I say they come close to the world's greatest guidebook, J. Link's "Venice for Pleasure" and they should soon achieve similar legendary status." The French Ambassador to the UK wrote: "I am convinced that this guide will constitute from now on, for the British lovers of Paris, a reference book which will have the success it deserves." Around and About Paris may be ordered online here.

A long time resident of Paris, she currently lives just three hours outside of Paris in London, and may be contacted via thirzavallois@iliadbooks.demon.co.uk.

On 3 March, Thirza was interviewed by CNN and appeared on their Travel Now show, walking them through the Marais. Excerpts of from Around and About Paris also appeared on CNN's website here.

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