Site Home

St.Ouen flea market

Walking flea markets Malik, Vernaison and Paul Bert

Walking flea markets,Valles, Serpette, Biron and Cambo

Paris-18th arr-Passage-Avenue Junot-Villa Leandre

If you want to see something very special, you would never have discovered by yourself, return at no.75, rue Lepic and try to enter the small door unless these new damned electronic key locks will not lock it. It gives access to a terreplein, a raised strip of the Hameau des Artistes (it connects the Lepic with the avnue Junot). The place is very picturesque, with its houses built in an unexpected architecture, large pavilions and ateliers hide behind dream gardens (beware, picnic is forbidden, it's a private property). The surrealist painter, Max Ernst used to live here.
But return again lower on the rue Lepic and enter a new adventure at no.65, by a secret passage, this time certainly open, anonymous, followed by exactly 63 stairs. Trees, last survivors of former scrub are still the home of numerous birds. Just in the middle of the path, an enormous stone, popped out from nowhere blocks your route, its presence puzzles you….Just in front a Directoire building of unknown origin. Next to it a“ boulodrome” (where they play petanque or boules) waiting for its clients. The about 20 trees you see are the last remnants of the former Monmartre forest. They almost disappeared, victims of real estate promoters, never short of ideas wanted to raze it all down and build some imbecile parking lot. Luckily, the Montmartrois, always ready to save their patrimony formed a committee! Their hard opposition of the inhabitants and the support of a lot of artists, decided the promoters to let go. Like Jacques Fabbri said:" One feels a little ridicule to fight over a few trees, but it's life we defend!!
So the mysterious stone still stands there, nobody knows where it comes from. Maybe some asteroid? Notice that this scrub area often inspired Van Gogh.
We step out and are now 23, avenue Junot. Total changement! The scrub is replaced by Montmartre houses. The avenue Junot is the Champs-Elysees of Montmartre. The most expensive houses of the area. You'll never see much people here. Make right away a left to discover this street, which destroyed almost all the scrub (where a lot of painters had their home) of the butte when it was built. Today a few nice samples of modern architecture and Art Deco of the twenties. At no.25, “Villa Leandre”! Welcome to Chelsea or Kensington! Created in 1926 this allotment has stunning Victorian allure and style. Podded, husked, monstrous of peace and tranquillity, insolently covered with greenery, this villa looks as it defies all epochs and gets fixed in an immutable privileged instant. Max Ernst lived there for a while. So did Jean Marais and Anouk Aimée.
Just in front of the exit (or entrance) of the villa Leandre, observe at no.10 the nice facades of the thirties of this hotel particulier. We come now to 30, avenue Junot. Built by the architect Adolf Loos in 1926 it belonged to Tristan Tzara, a Dadaist poet. The architecture of Adolf Loos, a pupil and founder of the Viennese Art deco style, expurgated the facade of any ornament. Sobriety is the rule. The theory of Loos was that the decorative effect had to be obtained by the combination of different materials and not by working on these materials.
At no.13, the house of Poulbot. Poulbot? Of course, the street boy, frolic and chaffer, everyone knows him! What we know less is that he wears the name of his “spiritual father” Francisque Poulbot, a humorist and cartoonist who had a lot of success. He initiated and developed a social structure for the poor kids in his neighbourhood he liked to draw. Adopted Montmartre citizen from the heart he built this house and never left the butte anymore.
The promenade continues in next article.

Bibliography

Vie et histoire des arrondissements de Paris, ed.Hervas (1985-1988--Nouvelle Histoire de Paris, ed.Hachette--Le Pieton de Paris, by L.P.Fargue, ed.Gallimard --Guide du routard 1999, (ed.Hachette), Paris 19eme siecle, l'immeuble et la rue, by F.Loyer, ed.Hazan, 1994, --Montmartre, balades et decouvertes, by Vincent de Langlade, (own folders 1998), --Montmartre dans l'histoire de Paris, by E.Botteau
(Presse Cité, 1993)—Le 18th arrondissment, by Renaud Lefevre(ed.Nelle’s)

Hidden, unknown Paris	Secrets Notre Dame Paris	Paris impressionist walk	Paris literature walk	Paris flea and other markets
10 very special shops	Parisians in Paris		Special shops in Passy	Unknown parks and gardens