Café Antoine

The “art-nouveau”-architect Hector Guimard created a number of buildings in Paris and is today perhaps best known for the design of the metro entrances. I already posted about all this several times as well on my old blog as on this one.

What I didn’t yet post about is the little restaurant you can find in one of these buildings (referred to as “Agar”). The bistro, named “Café Antoine” after its first owner,  is as old as the building, from 1911, and the original Guimard design has hardly been touched. 

We went there together with blogger friend Genie and enjoyed reasonably good eating and drinking and especially the atmosphere. 

It’s situated one minute’s walk from Guimard’s most famous building, “Castel Beranger”.

(Nothing to do with Guimard, but this is also what we also saw during our walk in the area.)

(Probably) where Guimard designed his metro entrances.

In different posts, as well on my previous blog as on this one, I have referred to Hector Guimard (1867-1942), especially well-known for the typical Paris metro entrances. Here are a few examples from some of my previous posts. (Please see how Guimard has in a perfect Art Nouveau style managed to write a “M” for “Métro”... do you see it?)

Guimard was of course also an architect who created a number of buildings in Paris. In a post of September 2007 on my previous blog, I made a complete tour of his buildings that we can still find in the 16^th arrondissement, where most of the remaining ones are concentrated ... and where he lived and worked. You have a map in that post.

One of his most famous creations is the “Castel Béranger”, built in 1898, just before he created the metro design (1900). These are the illustrations of “Castel Béranger” I presented in the above referred post.

He had his working place here. When I passed in front of the building the other day, I saw an open window. His working studio was under renovation and I managed to take a photo or two before the painters reacted... I like to imagine that this may be where he designed the metro entrances. I took some additional photos, where we can e.g. see the open window and the little door leading to his work place.

Mid-month theme - subways

Time again for the mid-month theme “subways” and once more I have the privilege to have a “guest star”. This time it’s “Sparkle Mirror” with the real name David Lorell Hoskins. He has a studio upstate New York and specialises in a very artistic way in ceramic tiles of which you can often find examples on his blog.

This one represents obviously the Porte Dauphine metro station, designed by Hector Guimard. Together with the Abbesses station they are the only remaining ones with entrance roofs. If you wish to check how well David has captured this specific design, you could go to some of my previous posts about Guimard (G1, G2) and the metro stations Porte Dauphine and Abbesses.

The subway theme is shared by bloggers from New York, Stockholm, London, Budapest and Sydney. You can find today’s and other related posts by using the following links:

New York City Daily Blog – Stockholm by pixels – Fresh Eyes on London – Budapest by Andrea Gerak – Sydney Eye – Peter’s Paris.

(You can also find some other related older posts on my previous blog via this link: PHO.)

Once more, time to wish you a nice weekend!

I will be off to Sweden again for a bit more than a week. I have prepared some posts from our last blogger meeting on the French Riviera. So next week there will be some photos from Monaco-Monte Carlo, Roquebrune and Gorbio. I hope you will have a look, although I may not be there to visit your blogs. Next post “in direct” should be only on Wednesday the following week.

Mid-month theme - subways

The 15th of each month is the day for the mid-month theme “subways”. Which I share with bloggers from NYC, Stockholm and Budapest. You can find today’s and some related posts by using the following links:

New York City Daily Blog - Stockholm by pixels - Budapest by Andrea Gerak – Peter’s Paris

(You can also find some related posts on my previous blog via this link: PHO.)

I already made a post about Metro Abbesses, but only seen from ground level. This time I will show you the way to – or from – the underground.

Let me just first repeat that this station on metro line 12 is one of the three left with the original covered Hector Guimard (see previous posts) entrance. Another one is at Place Dauphine (see again previous post) and a third at Sainte Opportune (no post – yet). This one was transferred here in 1974 from close to “L’Hôtel de Ville”.

Place des Abbesses is one of the most typical Montmartre squares (see previous post). Some accordion accompanied dancing took place as you can see. In the background you can perceive the “I-love-you wall” (on which I also made a post). The station is one of the deepest in Paris, some 30 metres (100 ft) below ground. There are lifts, but I believe it’s more interesting to use the stairs – some 110 steps.

One circular staircase leads upwards, decorated by paintings. Another one leads downwards, decorated by photos. The present illustrations replace earlier ones. I don’t know how the stairs were originally decorated.

As a detail on one of the paintings is the portrait of a famous Paris eccentric character, Michou, always dressed in blue. His cabaret is just round the corner as well as another similar one, Madame Arthur.

Avenue Foch

When the Avenue Foch was created in the 1860’s, Napoleon III wanted it to be the most beautiful avenue in the world. It was given the name of Avenue de l’Impératrice, his wife. It later got the name of Avenue du Bois and in 1922, Avenue Foch, after Ferdinand Foch, Marshal and supreme commander of the allied armies during the end of WW I, co-signer of the armistice.

When the avenue was opened, the Bois de Boulogne (see previous post) had just been created and attracted crowds. It’s 1,2 km (0,75 miles) long, goes from l’Etoile to the Bois and, as you can see on the map, it’s much wider – 120 m (130 yards) - than the Champs Elysées. In addition to the large driving lanes (originally for horses) in the midle, there is plenty of walking and green space... and then again more narrow streets in front of the buildings.

At one end of the avenue, you find thus Place de l’Etoile (Place Charles de Gaulle) with the Arch of Triumph (see previous posts).

At the other end, Porte Dauphine, is a memorial to another more recent French war hero and marshal, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, who represented France at the WW II armistice signing. There is also a small railway station, originally built for the “Petite Ceinture”, the railroad which surrounded Paris and connected to the major railway stations – opened in 1852 and closed in the 30’s. This station is still in use for an express metro line. You can also buy your newspaper in a typical “kiosque” and find another “Guimard” metro station. One entrance is one of the few remaining with a protecting roof. (See previous posts about Guimard.) Some of the “hôtels particuliers” (private mansions) that were originally built along the avenue have been replaced, but a few remain like the private Paris home for the Grimaldi (Monaco) family and the Angolan Embassy. Today, you find mostly apartment houses ... but what apartments! Here is where you will find some of the most expensive flats in Paris. I will not make a list of the world wide celebrities who live or who have lived here, but they are numerous. As it’s often only one residence among others that these people own or rent, it’s striking to see how many window shields that are closed. There seems to be a slight price difference between the (sunny) north side and the south side. You can enjoy some 66 000 m² (15 acres) of green space. Some of the trees - a large variety – are huge, seem to be there since the creation of the avenue and many are certainly more than 100 years old. It’s a perfect place to read your newspaper, to walk your dog... Again, some room has been made for wild flowers! As there is a considerable amount of space – and trees - between the traffic and the buildings, I don’t believe that the noise is a major disturbance here, but if you really want it calm, you could perhaps consider Square Avenue Foch, a private street and square (see map above). No names of who lives here, but the building with some red is the Singapore Embassy.