Saint-Michel and Musée d’Orsay Walk

Bonjour Paris is pleased to present a series of excerpts from Paris Reflections: Walks Through African-American Paris, written by two of our editors, Christiann Anderson and Monique Y. Wells. In this article, Senior Editor Christiann Anderson walks through Saint Michel / D’Orsay districts, evoking the spirits of African Americans who once frequented what is one of her favorite areas. A Multicultural France feature. — The upper part of the 6th and 7th arrondissements where the Saint-Michel / Musée d’Orsay walk takes you, is by far my favorite Paris. It is the Paris of the literati and of the Liberation. It is rife with jazz and art galleries where African Americans exhibit their work. It is an important part of the history of African Americans in Paris. Richard Wright spent lots of time in this quarter visiting with his friend the writer Gertrude Stein who was instrumental in arranging to have the French government extend an official invitation to France for Wright. In the following excerpt from the Saint-Michel/Musée d’Orsay walk, You will see some of the splendor where these extraordinary people lived, loved, and worked. Saint-Michel/Musée d’Orsay walk This walk emphasizes the some of the successes of African-American artists and writers who have taken inspiration from the freedom and beauty that they experienced in Paris. Magnificent vistas from the quays of the Left Bank punctuate the route, which takes you through enchanting medieval streets and broader thoroughfares lined with hôtels particuliers (mansions), art galleries, antique shops and restaurants. Proceed down rue Gît-le-Cœur to rue Saint-André-des-Arts. Turn right. The second intersection on the right is rue des Grands Augustins. Enter this street and proceed to the first intersection on the left. This is rue Christine. No. 6, now the bookstore for Editions de la Martinière, was once the Hôtel Christine. James Baldwin and musician Albert Nicholas once stayed here. Across the street at No. 5 was the address that Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas shared when they returned to Paris after World War II. Richard Wright was a frequent guest here. It was Stein who arranged to have the French government extend an official invitation to Wright to come to France. Proceed to the end of the street, where it intersects with rue Dauphine. On the corner is No. 33, the Café Laurent, part of the four-star Hôtel d’Aubusson. This site was the home of the Tabou Club, a jazz club that became famous for its jam sessions after the Nazis occupied Paris during World War II. Opened in 1947, it was a rather shabby place. But it attracted the crème de la crème of Paris intellectuals, and featured French jazzman Boris Vian as the leader of the band. Though jazz had been banned by the Germans during the war because of its “degrading” influence, it went underground and emerged, vibrant as ever, in the post-war years. Turn left on rue Dauphine and proceed to the corner where it intersects with rue Mazarine and rue Buci to the right and rue Saint-André-des-Arts to the left. At No. 65, rue Saint-André-des-Arts (across the street and just next to the corner boutique) was once the jazz club called the Riverboat. It featured live music. One of its renowned guests was pianist Don Ewell, who regaled audiences in 1971. The site changed management and eventually closed in 1977. A Haitian art gallery, Galerie Antoinette Jean, now occupies the premises. Begin at metro Cluny-La Sorbonne. To exit the station, take Sortie 1 boulevard Saint-Michel. Once you reach the sidewalk, go to the corner directly ahead and turn right onto boulevard Saint-Michel. Proceed to place Saint-Michel and cross the boulevard to the left to stand in the center of the square. This 19th century square, dominated by the fountain that depicts a triumphant Saint Michael, has been a traditional meeting place on the Left Bank for centuries. The inscriptions on the squat pillars supporting the mythical beasts to either side commemorate the inhabitants of the 5th and 6th arrondissements who gave their lives in the struggle to liberate Paris in 1944. Facing the river, you have a marvelous view of the Palais de Justice (the law courts) and the delicate spire of Sainte-Chapelle cathedral rising above the palace walls. Cross the square and the street that borders it so that you end up on the opposite side of place Saint-Michel. Walk toward the river. As you approach the quai des Grands Augustins (the busy thoroughfare that runs next to the river), you will see the bouquinistes (book vendors) along the river and Notre-Dame Cathedral across the river to the right. These are two quintessential elements of central Paris. Turn left at the corner and go one block to rue Gît-le-Cœur. Turn onto this street. No. 9 on the left, now the 4-star Hôtel du Vieux Paris, was once the Hôtel Rachou. Detective novelist Chester Himes and his girlfriend Regine Fischer stayed here in the late 1950s. Himes wrote the detective story The Five-Cornered Square (French version – La Reine des Pommes) in one of the front rooms here. This book was awarded the French Grand Prize for Detective Literature in 1958. The Rachou became known as a hangout for “beatniks” in the late 1950s, and surrealist poet and plastic artist Ted Joans came here in 1960 because of this reputation. Vertamae Grosvenor, a self-described “poet, actress, culinary anthropologist and writer” was also once a guest at the Rachou. ________________________________________________________________________ Christiann Anderson is the author of The Single Woman’s Insider’s Guide to Paris (www.insiderparisguides.com).