Page 236 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

234  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

Further Afield Greek-cross plan and the rich acquired by the state and half
within the interior mosaics and frescoes the land sold off for property
are Neo-Byzantine in style, while
development. The remaining
Périphérique the exterior and gilt domes are land was made into public
traditional Russian Orthodox. gardens. These were restored
Paris’s Russian population and new buildings erected by
increased dramatically follow ing Adolphe Alphand, architect of
the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Bois de Boulogne and the
when thou sands of Rus sians fled Bois de Vincennes.
to France for safety. Rue Daru, in The park, one of the most chic
which the cathedral stands, and in Paris, has lost many of its early
the surrounding area form “Little features. A naumachia basin –
Russia”, with its Russian schools an ornamental version of a
and the many dance academies, Roman pool used for simulating
tea shops and bookshops. naval battles – remains, flanked
by Corinthian columns. There
2 Parc Monceau are also a Renaissance arcade,
pyramids, a river and the
35 Blvd de Courcelles 75017. Map 5 A3. Pavillon de Chartres, a charming
Tel 01 42 27 39 56. q Monceau. Open rotunda designed by Nicolas
7am–8pm daily (to 10pm summer). Ledoux which was once used
See Eight Guided Walks pp262–3. as a tollhouse. Just south of
The gilded domes of the 19th-century here is a huge red pagoda,
Cathédrale St-Alexandre-Nevsky This green haven dates back which now houses a gallery
to 1778 when the Duc de devoted to Asian art.
1 Cathédrale Chartres (later Duc d’Orléans)
St-Alexandre- commissioned the painter-writer
Nevsky and amateur landscape designer
Louis Carmontelle to create a
12 Rue Daru 75008. Map 4 F3. magnificent garden. Also a
Tel 01 42 27 37 34. q Courcelles. theatre designer, Carmontelle
Open 3pm–5pm Tue, Fri, Sun. 5 6pm created a “garden of dreams”, an
Sat, 10am Sun. ^ 8 by appt (book exotic landscape full of the
at visites.cathedrale.daru@gmail.com). architectural follies in imitation of
English and German fashions of
This imposing Russian Orthodox the time. In 1783, the Scottish
cathedral with its five golden- landscape gardener Thomas
copper domes was designed by Blaikie laid out an area of the
members of the St Petersburg garden in English style. The park
Fine Arts Academy and financed was the scene of the first
jointly by Tzar Alexander II and recorded parachute landing,
the local Russian community. made by André-Jacques
The cathedral was completed Garnerin on 22 October 1797. Musée Nissim de Camondo, housing a
in 1861. Inside, a wall of icons Over the years, the park changed collection of decorative arts
divides the church in two. The hands and in 1852 it was
3 Musée Nissim de
Camondo
63 Rue de Monceau 75008.
Map 5 A3. Tel 01 53 89 06 40, 01 53
89 06 50. q Monceau, Villiers.
Open 10am–5:30pm Wed–Sun
(last adm: 4:30pm). Closed 1 Jan,
1 May, 25 Dec, public hols. & 7
restricted. ∑ lesartsdecoratifs.fr
Comte Moïse de Camondo,
a leading Jewish financier
during the Belle Epoque,
commissioned this mansion
in 1914. It was built in the
style of the Petit Trianon, at
Versailles (see pp250–55), to
Colonnade beside the naumachia basin in the Parc Monceau house a rare collection of

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