Description of the attraction
The Ile Saint-Louis is an oasis of tranquility in the middle of the bustling capital. Life here seemed to stand still. There are three thousand inhabitants on eleven hectares, there is no metro, offices, even a police station. There are several straight narrow one-way streets, two bus stops, one church, small shops, restaurants. Quiet, not crowded, respectable, out of date, magically beautiful. Very rich people live here.
Who would have believed at the beginning of the 17th century that two small uninhabited islands would turn into such an area! The islets belonged to Notre Dame de Paris. One was called Notre Dame, the other was the Isle of Cows. Cows grazed on it, duelists came here. This deserted place was one of the first examples of urban planning in France.
The urbanization of the islands began in 1614 by decree of Louis XIII. Engineer and entrepreneur Christophe Marie was engaged in it. He filled up the canal, strengthened and raised the embankments, built bridges. One still bears his name - the Mari Bridge. The main street, Saint-Louis-en-l'Ile, ran along the island, and seven others crossed it at right angles.
The embankments were lined with charming mansions, most of them designed by the architects Louis and François Le Vaux. Among the most famous is the Lambert mansion. Voltaire and Rousseau lived here; later, when it was bought by Prince Adam Czartoryski who emigrated from Russia, the mansion became the center of Polish life in Paris. Frederic Chopin played here, Adam Mickiewicz read poetry. Writers Charles Baudelaire, Roger de Beauvoir, Théophile Gaultier, Jean de La Fontaine, Moliere, Jean Racine lived in the Lausin mansion.
In 1725, the island was given the name Saint-Louis - in honor of Saint Louis IX, canonized by the Catholic Church. During the revolution, Saint-Louis was renamed the Island of the Brotherhood, the church was desecrated. However, the name was quickly returned, the church was reopened. Now everything on the island looks as it was planned in the 17th century. Saint-Louis has kept the imprint of that time almost intact.
It is easy to make sure of this - the island can be walked around in an hour and a half. Stroll along the exquisite quays of Anjou, Bourbon, Orleans and Bethune, or visit the Saint-Louis-en-l'Isle church with its delightful baroque interior. And be sure to try the ice cream at the Berthillon cafe. There, most likely, there will be a lot of people - "Bertillon" is one of the ten best ice cream parlors in the world.
