At the time, the hunting lodge of King Henri IV, it is today an essential place in the life of Saint-Denis where, according to our reporter David Kolski, you can taste the best fries on the island. of France.
“At the Pavilion” in Saint-Denis, you can treat yourself at low prices. The huge portion of fries costs 4 euros, the burger and fries menu costs 9.50 euros, all homemade of course. Rabah, the bosshas maintained its prices despite inflation because “It’s important to do good stuff at the right price. I recover a little on drinks”.
“Saint-Denis is like a small village with a lot of diversity and brewing. And the bistro is one of the places of connections, meetings. We do quite a few events, screenings, concerts and even tango. All in a decor created by a school welcoming people with Down syndrome”.
But before being a meeting place, the place was reserved for nobles. “It was before the hunting lodge of King Henri IV. He came with his friends in a carriage, hunted on the road and stored game here. His private mansion was located right next door, rue de la boulangerie. Here it was called le triangle d’or, this is where the kingdom and the people separated. When King Henry IV came to Saint-Denis, it was generally for sad things, either to bury a king or queen, or to take the standard and go to war”.
The Pavilion is therefore today, a place of life where gastronomy is king. Here, everything is homemade and the fries, a must for our reporter who believes that they are the best in the region. The secret ? “It’s to make them rest 24 hours in the water to remove the starch and make cooking in 3 stages for fries that are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside”.
Another typical bistro dish that you can find here, the croque monsieur. “We left it forgotten but it’s a real shame because it’s very good with béchamel, ham and toast and what’s more, it’s not very complicated to make. You just have to stay close to the pan when preparing Béchamel. He really needs to find his place again. in the bistros”.
The restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to midnight during the week and from 9 a.m. to midnight on weekends.
–> At the Pavilion : 54 Rue Gabriel Péri, 93200 Saint-Denis
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis, the final resting place of the kings of France
Gothic style church located in the center of the city of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis Basilica is home to many treasures of our history. An incredible place confirms Serge Santos, administrator of the place. “There is an absolutely extraordinary light, it was not called until the 18th century “The Saint-Denis lantern” for nothing. It’s a sort of cage of lights with magnificent stained glass windows which illuminate the recumbent figures, these elongated figures with their eyes wide open towards the sky. They are kings, queens, princes, princesses… It’s a magical place”.
“Some stained glass windows were redone in the 19th century, copied from the 12th century with blue. The famous Chartres blue we are talking about is the blue of Saint-Denis. It was estimated that the construction of stained glass windows cost more than stone construction in the 12th century because the blue was created from metallic oxide, cobalt blue, which came from central Europe”.
The Basilica offers several extremely different spaces. “In the center of the nave there are rose windows which represent the signs of the zodiac, the work of monks in the fields in medieval times and recumbent figures. In the crypt, it’s darker. There we see the remains of tombs found during archaeological excavations with the ancient place where Saint-Denis was buried. A much more secret place but just as magical”.
The Basilica has been a very important place in our history. “The Capetian monarchy functioned in 3 places. Paris where the king lived even if he was very itinerant, Reims where he was sacred and Saint-Denis where he was buried. But it was not just the cemetery of kings, it was also the place where the history of France was written.*. The monks who lived next door, the intellectuals of the time, produced history and preserved it. And then there was no question for prelates or important people to visit Paris without visiting Saint-Denis. *As early as the 12th century, there have been guides for visitors. Paper guides but also monks responsible for presenting the treasure”.
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