Page 238 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

236  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

7 Portes St-Denis
et St-Martin
Blvds St-Denis & St-Martin 75010.
Map 7 B5, C5. q Strasbourg-St-Denis.
These imposing gates give
access to the two ancient
and important thoroughfares
whose names they bear,
running across Paris in a
north–south direction. They
once marked the entrance
to the city. The Porte St-Denis
is 23 m (76 ft) high and was
built in 1672 by François
Blondel. It is decorated
with figures by Louis XIV’s Western arch of the Porte St-Denis, once the entrance to the city
sculptor, François Girardon.
The gates commemorate Napoleon III’s many projects 0 Belleville and
victories of the king’s armies to renovate the city (see pp36– Ménilmontant
in Flanders and the Rhine 7). Baron Haussmann worked
that year. Porte St-Martin with the landscape architect/ 75011, 75012, 75019, 75020.
is 17 m (56 ft) tall and was designer Adolphe Alphand, who Le Food Market: Blvd de Belleville.
built in 1674 by Pierre Bullet. organized a vast programme q Couronnes, Ménilmontant.
It celebrates Besançon’s to furnish the new pavement- Open 6pm–10:30pm one Thu per
month. ∑ lefoodmarket.fr
capture and the defeat of lined avenues with benches Edith Piaf Museum: 5 Rue Crespin-
the Triple Alliance of Spain, and lampposts. Others involved du-Gast. Tel 01 43 55 52 72.
Holland and Germany. in the creation of this large park q Ménilmontant. Open by
were the engineer Darcel and appointment only, 1–6pm Mon–Wed.
8 Parc des Buttes- the landscape gardener Barillet-
Chaumont Deschamps. They created a Originally two separate villages
on the outskirts of the capital,
lake, made an island with real
Rue Manin 75019 (main access from and artificial rocks, gave it a the neighbourhoods of
Rue Armand Carrel). q Botzaris, Roman-style temple (the Belleville and Ménilmontant
Buttes-Chaumont. Open 7am–8pm Temple de la Sibylle, modelled now share four different
daily (open 24 hrs in summer). 8 0 after the Temple of Sybil in arrondissements in Paris: the
See pp272–3. Tivoli, Italy) and added a 11th, 12th, 19th and 20th. In
waterfall, streams, two foot- the past, the local population
For many, this is the most bridges leading to the island tended to be mainly working
pleasant and unexpected park and beaches. Today, visitors class and multi-ethnic – a
in the city. The panoramic hilly will also find boating facilities combination of Chinese,
site was formerly a gallows for and donkey rides. North African and Jewish.
the execution of criminals, a Nowadays, although both
lime quarry and a rubbish 9 Parc de la Villette quarters remain diverse, they
dump. It was converted in have proved popular with
the mid-1860s, one of See pp238–41. young professionals, who
have moved in looking for
affordable rents, a lively
nightlife, organic markets
and a dynamic arts scene.
This delightful mix of
inexpensive and sophisticated
has contributed to creating
a modern but charming
neighbourhood. Food-wise,
Belleville is known as the
second Chinatown, rivalling
the one in the 13th
arrondissement, with many
authentic restaurants and a
Chinese New Year’s parade. The
hip monthly Le Food Market
The Temple de la Sibylle, high above the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont has sprung up in Ménilmontant,

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