Off the Beaten Track in Paris

by Owen Carmichael

With so many travellers invading their beloved city every year, it’s no wonder the Parisians keep some special places just for themselves. Of course, if it’s linked with their national heritage, so dear to the French, so much the better.

Here are three of them.

Parc St Cloud

When they want to relax, the French head for Parc St Cloud (or St Cloud Park). Here, amid the well-kept 460 hectares, they have plenty of room to jog, walk their dogs, picnic or simply stroll for pleasure away from prying eyes, and all for free.

The history of the park is closely allied with the Bourbon royal family and later with Napoleon.

In 1658 Louis XIV bought the estate of St Cloud for his only brother, Philippe, Duke of Orleans, usually known simply as ‘Monsieur’. This was partly so that Monsieur could keep a wary eye on what was happening in the unruly western section of Paris.

The king paid for an elaborate redevelopment of the gardens, in baroque style.

This was designed by Le Nôtre, who also landscaped Versailles. He set up the Lantern Terrace, with one of the finest views of Paris. From here you can clearly see the Eiffel Tower and, a little hazy in the distance, Sacré Coeur.

Le Nôtre also set aside a hillside for the park’s most distinctive feature, a waterfall 90 metres high. The upper section of this Grande Cascade, topped by a pair of statues symbolizing the Seine and the Marne Rivers, was built by Antoine Lepautre from 1669 to 1665. This section also features grotesque heads, all spouting water.

The great architect, Mansart, completed the lower section at the end of the 17th century. He included statues of the four winds, together with a riotous abundance of tortoises, frogs, dolphins and marine monsters.

The waterfall and the nearby fountains still use the original 17th  century hydraulic system. They are only switched on in June and July on Sunday afternoons, but are well worth a visit. Using a giant key the caretaker turns on at first a trickle at one side then the other. When the water starts, all of a sudden it seems to bring the stone statues to life. Gradually, as more and more layers of water spring into action the whole vast structure becomes animated. The statues look down with pride at the series of fountains below them.

Water gushes from the grotesque masks, outshining the carved imitation of water dripping behind them. It gradually builds up until the whole hillside becomes a playful torrent of water.

Nor is this all. A whole series of water features starts above the cascade with the grand jet in the pond of 24 fountains and then pours with abandon through the hunting fountains, complete with statues of Monsieur’s favourite dogs.

No wonder, with all this playful exuberance, that Marie Antoinette chose St Cloud as a summer residence. From 1783 to 1788 the architect, Richard Micque, extended the château for her, doubling the size of the southern wing. Alas, the queen had only one year to enjoy her new palace before the monarchy was deposed.

During the first stage of the Revolution much of the land was sold off. However, when Napoleon became First Consul he bought this back, so as to make a suitable setting when he used St Cloud as his summer residence. It was here that the civil ceremony for his marriage to Princess Marie-Louise of Austria took place.

During a bombardment by the Prussians in 1870 the château was burnt to the ground, but the splendid grounds still remain.

Château d'Ecouen

Further afield, but still easily accessible by train or car, is another magnificent historic estate. The château of Ecouen, situated 19 kilometres to the north of Paris, is in the Forest of Chantilly. Once again it is rarely visited, except by the French themselves.

This is a pity, as it holds an Aladdin’s cave of treasures of the Renaissance.

The château is full of stained glass, panelling, friezes, frescoes, marble and bronze. In the midst of this are displayed the shimmering enamels of Leonard Limosin, the ceramics of Saint-Porchaire, Italian majolica, tapestries, exquisite lace, paintings by such artists as Il Rosso and gold and silver ornaments. The cumulative effect is to create the atmosphere of a luxurious retreat for the favourite minister of two French kings.

Coming from a wealthy and noble family, Anne de Montmerency grew up as a close friend of François I and then prospered further under Henri II. At that period Anne was used as a Christian name for both boys and girls. Anne had fought alongside François in the Italian wars and seen the dazzling culture there.

On his return he inherited a medieval fort, but decided to replace it with a residence more worthy of his new title of First Constable of France. The building took 13 years to finish and employed many of the craftsmen and artists who had worked on the royal palace at Fontainbleau, including the sculptor, Jean Goujon. Even the dormer windows are surmounted by stone carving of astonishing complexity.

Ecouen has written in its stones the ambition of a powerful man who was both a generous patron and a passionate enthusiast for art and architecture. Anne was a fervent collector. He was aided by the colossal fortune he had inherited and which he increased even more by his marriage to Madeleine of Savoy. Ecouen remains their masterpiece. Today it houses the National Museum of the Renaissance.

Among other treasures, the museum has a hundred examples of the goldsmith’s art, which were bequeathed to it by Baroness de Rothschild in 1922. An outstanding piece is the marvellous Daphne, by Wenzel Jamnitzer, which brilliantly demonstrates the mannerist taste for combining silver gilt with exotic materials.

Château de Sceaux

The third estate that Parisians escape to is situated on a hill about 10 kilometres to the south of Paris.

It was bought by Colbert, the Finance Minister for Louis XIV, in 1670. He turned to some of the finest royal architects and craftsmen to design a seat to suit his status.

Le Nôtre himself designed the garden. He laid out a main axis centred on the château and descending in a series of formal terraces. He made great use of water, with fountains and tiered waterfalls that pour into an octagonal basin.

After Colbert’s death his son bought more land to extend the park and employed Jules Hardouin-Mansart to build the Orangerie beside the house. This was inaugurated by the king at a sumptuous fête in 1685. Today it’s a venue for exhibitions and summer concerts.

Sceaux was sold in 1699 to Louis XIV’s illegitimate son, the Duc de Maine. His wife, Anne, made it the setting for her glittering salon, which attracted even the young Voltaire. This reached its peak in the Grandes Nuits of 1714-15, sixteen fêtes of music, opera and ballet, presented by the best musicians in France. This tradition still continues. Outdoor operas are performed in the courtyard in summer.

During the Revolution the château was confiscated and fell into decay. Hippolyte Lecomte, a merchant from St Malo who had grown rich with on trade with America, bought the estate, but decided to demolish the château.

His daughter and heiress, Anne-Marie, married the handsome Duc de Trévise, the son of Napoleon’s Marshall Mortier. They had the architect Le Soufaché build them a new château from 1856 to 1863. It’s in the fashionable neo-Louis XIII style, with stone corners and a steep slate roof. The interior is also in this style. They restored the grounds, but replaced the parterres with lawns.

Today it houses the Museum de l’Ile de France. Both the grounds and the château are free. Amazingly, when we visited we had the house to ourselves. The ground floor reception rooms are high-ceilinged, with white and gold panelling. There’s a gentleman’s smoking room at the end, with an intricate parquet floor made of ten different kinds of wood.

Many Parisians come to Sceaux to relax, have a picnic, stroll through the gardens and admire the fountains, which are switched on at midday. But there are also places where you can fish, cycle, and play ball games. There’s even a children’s playground.

All three estates are a pleasant escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. No wonder the French like to keep them to themselves.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK IN PARIS

Parc St Cloud

Train, bus or tram to St Cloud, then walk.
Open all year from dawn to dusk.
Free admission
www.saintcloud.free.fr

Château d’Ecouen

By train:
From the Gare du Nord take the train, direction Persan-Beaumont. Get off at Ecouen-Ezanville.
Take bus 267, direction Garges-Sarcelles or walk 20 minutes through the forest.

By car:
Take the A1 to Porte de la Chapelle. Exit 3: Amiens. Follow Nationale 1, then Nationale 16, direction Chantilly.

9.30-12.45 and 2pm -5.15pm
Closed Tuesday
Adults: 4.50E, Students: 3E
Restaurant open 10am to 5pm
www.musee-renaissance.fr

Château de Sceaux

Take the RERB train to Parc de Sceaux.
Closed Tuesday and national holidays.
Free admission
www.chateau-sceaux.fr

© 2011 HUGH MACINDOE

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