Points of interest and stops:
Accessible toilets:
Inaugurated on 2 February 1977, the Centre Pompidou, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, is an architectural masterpiece characterised by its colourful exterior skeleton (staircases, pipes, posts, beams).
This cultural centre houses a museum and a creative centre where the visual arts rub shoulders with music, film and audiovisual research. The building has four distinct colours: blue for air, yellow for electricity, green for water and red for human movement.
Option: The Centre Pompidou, holder of the Tourisme et Handicap label (hearing, mental, motor), offers adapted tours for all.
Continuation of itinerary:
This hidden garden, dedicated to Anne Frank (author of her diary describing her life as a young Jewish woman under the Nazi occupation) is located on the site of the former gardens of the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan, now the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme. A graft of the chestnut tree she admired was planted here in 2007.
Option: You can visit the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, which holds the Tourism and Disability label (hearing and mental) and specialises in tactile tours.
Continuation of the itinerary:
In the 13th century, the district was full of contrasts: rich priests lived in streets such as Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, while weavers and parchment manufacturers lined the ramparts. Rue des Francs Bourgeois takes its name from a hospital for destitute bourgeois, the ‘Maison des Francs Bourgeois’. The ‘Blancs-Manteaux’ were beggars from the order of the servants of the Blessed Virgin, recognisable by their white coats.
With the expansion of Paris, the district became gentrified in the 17th century. The Hôtel de Soubise, confiscated by the State in 1808, became the Archives Nationales and the Imprimerie Nationale under Napoleon. In May 1871, the Archives escaped destruction thanks to a Communard. Today, the building is a museum and still houses part of the National Archives, with gardens open to the public.
Option: Visit the Archives Nationales which offers tactile tours and tours in sign language.
Continuation of itinerary:
The civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians (1407-1435) pitted two branches of the Valois against each other for the regency of Charles VI, who had gone mad. This conflict weakened France, which was already at war with England. Since 1392, Philip of Burgundy and Louis of Orleans, the king's uncle and brother, had been fighting over the regency. After Philip's death in 1404, Louis increased his influence. In response, John the Fearless, Philip's son, had Louis assassinated in 1407, triggering civil war. The Armagnacs (supporters of Orléans) and the Burgundians (supporters of John the Fearless) fought for Paris and the regency, exacerbating differences over the state, religion, the economy and diplomacy.
At the impasse des Arbalétriers (now the Centre Culturel Suisse), Jean sans Peur is said to have had his cousin, the Duke of Orléans, killed. This medieval road once led to a shooting range for crossbowmen.
Option: Visit the Cognacq-Jay museum, which is accessible to the hearing, mentally and visually impaired, and specialises in tactile tours, lip-reading and LSF.
Continuation of itinerary:
The term ‘Blancs Manteaux’ refers to the mendicant order of servants of the Blessed Virgin, named for their white cloaks. In 1258, Saint Louis gave them a convent on rue de la Parcheminerie (now rue des Blancs-Manteaux), where they often begged. In 1811, the Blancs-Manteaux market was built, surrounded by new streets to facilitate traffic. A separate butcher's hall was opened in 1823 for reasons of hygiene.
During the Revolution, the rue des Blancs-Manteaux was the scene of massacres, immortalised in a song by Jean-Paul Sartre, sung by Juliette Gréco in 1944, denouncing the death penalty. To listen to the song, click here.
Continuation of the itinerary:
The Hôtel de Coulanges, built outside the walls of Philippe Auguste, belonged to the Priory of Sainte-Catherine du Val des Écoliers in the 13th century. In 1391, the Estouteville brothers laid out an adjoining garden. In 1639, it was seized by creditors and sold to Philippe de Coulanges, uncle of Madame de Sévigné, who lived there until his marriage.
Converted in 1707, it was listed in part in 1926 and in its entirety in 1961 as a Historic Monument. In 1972, the City of Paris acquired and renovated it, and the Maison de l'Europe moved in in 1978.
The garden is named after Joseph Migneret, a teacher and headmaster who saved Jewish children during the Occupation. He was recognised as the Righteous of the Nations in 1990. The garden houses a stele in memory of the Jewish children who died during the deportation.
Option: Visit the Musée Carnavalet, which is accessible to all and specialises in tactile tours, lip-reading and LSF.
End of itinerary:
According to Saint-Foix, ‘Bretonnerie’ comes from a battle in 1228 in which five Englishmen or Bretons were killed. In 1258, the canons of Sainte-Croix settled there, and in 1314, the street was renamed Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie. Since the 1980s, it has been a hot spot for gay Parisians.
On the way, admire the Fontaine Stravinsky, also known as the Fountain of the Automatons, created in 1983 by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle.
Commissioned by the City of Paris, the Ministry of Culture and the Centre Pompidou, it is located near the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou. Comprising sixteen mechanised sculptures in resin and metal, it pays tribute to Igor Stravinsky's compositions, such as The Firebird and other symbolic themes such as Life and Death.
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