A search for two old Prisons on a Friday in Paris

Friday, 12 October, was busy day for us here in Paris. Susie left early (again) for Pascal's. She has been going in extra early (just about the time the metro begins operating in fact) this week to try and get a glimpse of some of the decorative proceses that happen at the shop first thing in the morning. As for me, well I took off and I went to the Gare du Nord by bus and then strolled along the St. Martin Canal in the morning; in the afternoon I spent some time searching for a few bits and pieces of "unexplored Paris." (photo: part of the St. Martin canal.)

Midmorning I left the apartment and caught the no. 46 bus from near our building along rue Parmentier to the Gare du Nord (the northern train station in Paris); I wanted to retrieve our train tickets for our upcoming trip to London. Well of course I got on that one no. 46 bus that wasn't going to the Gare so I got off at Place Colonel Fabien and walked across the St. Martin Canal around Gare d L'Est to Gare du Nord. Soon after I entered the station I discovered, to my surprise, that I could retrieve our tickets from one of the automatic ticketing machines -- apparently the Eurostar system does not require a French credit card like the regular train (SNCF) machines do.

I also discovered that on the upper level of the station, the same level that one uses to access the Eurostar check-in, there was a large statue by Ludmilla Tcherina. I first saw her work over her own gravesite at Montmartre cemetery, so this another pleasant surprise.

I left the station by slidding down into the Metro where I caught the no. 5 line to Jaures, which put me at the point where the Bassin de la Villette meets the St. Martin Canal. From there I strolled along the canal all the way down to where it disappear beneath Boulevard Richard Lenoir. (You can see more photos of the canal by clicking here.) It's really quite a remarkable walk and I recommend it to anyone wanting to get away from the hordes of tourists thronging the Paris "icons."

I then walked through the large market -- and while I wasn't "in the market" for anything at the moment I did stop to buy a falafel for lunch and gaze fondly over the endless line of tables with produce, meats, cheeses, everything you could possibly want or need for dinner (or lunch).

After making a quick stop at the apartment I headed back out again in the afternoon, this time with a copy of Rodolphe Trouilleux's Unexplored Paris 2003 in hand. This is a fantastic little book, arranged by arrondissement, that provides the backstreet tourist with little gems often missed by the harried traveler.

My objectives today would take me to the 5th, 18th and 11th arrondissements.

After leaving the apartment I walked to the no. 5 at Breguet-Sabin and got off at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, located next to Gare Austerlitz. The hospital began as a gunpowder factory and eventually became a prison for prostitutes and dumping ground of the mentally ill. More recently it was the hospital where Diana, the princess of Wales died as did the jazz singer Josephine Baker. I was there looking for the buildings that once constituted the women's prison. Trouilleux's directions were a bit vague I'm afraid and I had quite a time finding the building that housed the central women's prison (which was stormed in 1793 and the prostitutes released presumably). I did find the building that housed the company of archers assigned to guard the prison and believe the building opposite is the prison itself.

(photo: the dormitory for the archers, the prison guards, and the women's prison on the left, I think.)

After leaving the hospital I walked back to Gare austerlitz and took the no. 10 to Cluny-La Sorbonne. After exiting I crossed Blvd. Saint-Germain and turned north up rue Saint-Jacques, heading toward the river. A block later I came in sight of the southside of Saint-Severin church, my next objective. I rounded the garden and entered the church, hoping to get into the garden itself where one can find a row of arches, gently curving inward toward the church. One might think they are cloisters when in fact these are the remains of an ancient charnel house used for the remains removed from the burial ground that is now the garden. Sadly the entrance was apparently closed to the public, although I could still see the arches quite clearly through the gates.
Leaving Saint-Severin I walked to the Metro no. 4 on the Isle de la Cite and took it to Barbes-Rochecouart where I transferred to the no. 2, getting off at Blanche in the 18th arr. I was looking for the Cite Veron alley (and found it), right next to the Moulin Rouge. This tiny street with it's own city sign was once home to numerous writers, musicians and artists seeking refuge in the decadence of Montmartre.

A few minutes later and I was back at the Blanche metro where I hopped on the no. 2, taking it all the way to Philippe Auguste, which is next to Pere Lachaise cemetery in the 20th arr. After exiting I walked down rue de la Roquette, heading for the Square Roquette. Across from the entrance to the square (or small park) are two large buildings, today apartments and retail shops, but once upon a time a men's prison stood on that site, the Grande-Roquette. And right in front of the prison a guillotine used to be set up for those prisoners who had been condemned to death. I was looking for the flagstones that were once used to lock the base of the guillotine in place. Sure enough they were right in the middle of the street where rue de la Croix-Faubin intersected with rue de la Roquette.

And where this wonderful little green space is today, there too had once stood a prison: the Petite-Roquette prison for women. You can still see the entrance to the women's prison since it is today the entrance to the park.

I then walked home, a short ten minutes' away.

So many discoveries and in just one day -- wish you had been there,

Steve