Overview of the prettiest hidden courtyards to discover during a Parisian stroll.
1 – Cour du Bel-Air – 12th arrondissement
If the east of Paris is full of courtyards, courtyards and other passages, the Cour du Bel-Air, at 56 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, is distinguished by its authentic charm, unpretentious, but terribly bucolic. Lovers of virgin and lilac vines that flourish on the facades, come here!
2 – Cour Damoye – 11th arrondissement
Finding peace around Place de la Bastille and Rue de Lappe, a difficult challenge to overcome? Not when you know this pretty cobbled courtyard whose entrance opens directly onto the square: the facades of the industrial Paris of yesteryear, the disjointed cobblestones and a few touches of greenery will be your only companions!
3 – Passage Delanos – 10th arrondissement
Hidden behind a large portico that is often closed, this passage located a stone’s throw from the Gare de l’Est is formed around three dead-end courtyards and is undoubtedly the quietest corner of the whole district. A place in which we dream of living!
4 – Cour du Commerce Saint-André – 6th arrondissement
Undoubtedly the most famous courtyard of this selection, the Cour du Commerce Saint-André, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près, is one of the places most steeped in history in Paris: the Procope (oldest Paris café-restaurant) has been established there since 1686, it is here that the first guillotine was manufactured and Marat had installed the printing press for his political newspaper there… among others!
5 – Cour de Rohan – 6th arrondissement
Next to the previous one, the Cour de Rohan will be much more difficult for you to discover! Private, this superb courtyard will only be accessible to you with the precious help of a local, but the effort is worth it: this place frozen in time, very green, is a delight.
6 – Villa des Platanes – 18th arrondissement
Another style for this Villa nestled a stone’s throw from Pigalle and Boulevard de Clichy: within this set of six ultra-luxurious 19th century buildings, and behind an unfortunately often closed gate, there are several small courtyards and even private gardens that are hiding. A truly privileged place in a district rich in animation!
7 – Court of Industry – 11th arrondissement
Recently renovated, the Cour de l’Industrie, located in the heart of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, houses many artists’ workshops and craftsmen in an environment that seems to have not budged an inch for centuries. A paved courtyard which has, in style or for its atmosphere, no equivalent in Paris!
8 – La petite Alsace – 13th arrondissement
Nestled not far from the Butte-aux-Cailles and the Montsouris park, little Alsace is an old workers’ city built at the beginning of the 20th century around a green courtyard of 500 square meters: the pavilions are built in a style sometimes reminiscent of the Norman architecture, sometimes Alsatian architecture, all forming a very harmonious and quite picturesque whole.
9 – Cour d’Alsace-Lorraine – 12th arrondissement
If the name of this courtyard is close to that of the previous place, its style is very different: hidden not far from the Place de la Nation, the Cour d’Alsace-Lorraine is one of the most colorful streets in Paris, thanks in its workshops of all colors established throughout.
Visit Paris live: around the famous Faubourg Saint-Antoine
10 – Cité du Figuier – 11th arrondissement
This former working-class city on rue Oberkampf has everything one looks for in a hidden courtyard in Paris: endless vegetation, colorful and eclectic facades that make our eyes widen, little details to discover here and there and, of course, precious tranquility in the heart of a lively district! To discover in spring or summer, when its abundant vegetation flourishes.
C.D
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