Secrets of the 10th Arrondissement

By Thirza Vallois

Paris has some unsuspected secrets that even most Parisians have never heard of. Most, however, have been uncovered by Thirza Vallois in her internationally acclaimed Around and About Paris series.

One such place is the Hôtel de Bourienne (open to the public on Saturday afternoons, between 2 and 4 pm only). If you want a peaceful experience away from the madding crowds of the Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay, why don't you follow the walk Thirza Vallois has designed for you in the 10th arrondissement and treat yourself to an astonishing and little known place in a neighbourhood once studded with palatial homes? The full walk is to be found in the chapter on the 10th arrondissement in volume 2 of Around and About Paris.

Retrace your steps and turn right into rue de Paradis. This unlikely neighbourhood has been Paris's showcase of porcelain and crystal since the Restoration, when the Comte d'Artois, later to become Charles X, and his sone, the Duc d'Angoulême and last Dauphin of France, were the first to set up porcelain workshops here, soon to be followed by others.

Before browsing along the street, turn right into rue d'Hauteville, also once lined with palatial homes such as the little mansion tucked away in the courtyard of no. 58, hidden behind a commonplace building;: just ring the doorbell and you will be let in.

Begun by Madame de Dompierre in 1787, in 1790 the hôtel was bought by a wealthy sugar manufacturer from the West Indies, whose daughter, the Creole Fortunée, inherited the house in 1792. She was the beautiful, sparkling and intriguing Madame Hamelin, the friend of Napoleon and Josephine, who during Napoleon's reign set the tone in Parisian society. Fortunée had the place redecorated in the style of the Directoire, but by 1801, ridden with debts, she had to sell the house. The buyer was Antoine Fauvelet de Bourienne, one of those figures who managed to wade their way through the political upheavals of French history: after a close friendhsip with Napoleon, during which time Josephine became the godmother to one of his daughters, he was disgraced, but managed to resurface during the Restoration and to return to France with Louis XVIII and the other emigrés of Ghent (Gand, in French), the Gandins. Louis XVIII appointed him head of police and from 1815 to 1824 his salon was one of the most brilliant gathering places in the city, thanks to the sparkling wit of his wife, which largely compensated for her unfortunate looks. The hôtel was redecorated at the time of Bourienne and this is the way it has been left since.

IN 1886 the house became the property of Charles Tuleu, a prosperous printer who had worked with Monsieur de Berny, Balzac's partner in 1828. Balzac had opened a printing-house a yer earlier on rue Visconti (in the 6th arr.) but was unsuccessful and handed it over to the son of his much older friend and mentor, Madame de Berny, who turned it into a prosperous venture. A portrait of Balzac and another portrait of Madame de Berny can be seen in the study. Photos of present-day members of the family also decorate the house, reminding the visitor that the Hôtel de Bourienne is still lived in. Its present owners are the great nephews of Monsier Tuleu and the printing-house he built at the back of the garden still stands, now converted into an outpatients' clinic. The winder garden with its marble floor, the dining-room with its magnificent painted wooden panelling in the style of Wedgewood china, the exquisite drawing-room with its Carrara marble fireplace, the tender blue ceiling of the boudoir with its exotic birds and delicate Cupid and Psyche in its centre, above all, the bathroom with the infinite reflection of its mirrors, combine to make an exceptional example of Empire and Restauration styles. Do not omit to take your time and enjoy the lovely gardens, so unexpectedly serene in this busy part of present-day Paris.

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.

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