View on the 13th arrondissement:
the Butte-aux-Cailles by Heather Stimmler-Hall
Tourists and residents alike have often never heard, least of all visited, tthe Butte-aux-Cailles. But that doesn’t mean you should pass it up.
The Low-down
The Butte-aux-Cailles doesn’t make it into too many mainstream
guidebooks. Even Parisians, who may be able to point out
the Butte-aux-Cailles on a map, rarely make the trek up
to the small hill. After all, there are no museums, no clubs,
no trendy clothing shops or cinemas with enormous screens.
At an altitude of just under 65 meters, there’s hardly a
view to speak of, unless you find the modern tower blocks
at the neighbouring Tolbiac interesting in a post-modern
kind of way.
So why is it that each time you meet someone from the Butte,
they gush on endlessly about the "charm" and "authenticity"
of the neighbourhood? Well, because it is charming -- in
an authentic kind of way.
Named after the family Cailles that once farmed on the hillside,
the Butte-aux-Cailles was covered in windmills up until
the late 19th century, and was one of the last corners of
the city connected to the electric company (EDF) grid. It
has been forgotten as the place where Pilâtre du Rozier
launched the first manned hot-air balloon in 1783. It’s
usually remembered as one of the strongholds of the Paris
Commune of 1871, where the "communards" resisted the Versaillais
troops until the bitter end (memorialized by the Place de
la Commune de Paris at the centre of the Butte). After that
time, the neighbourhood remained a working-class village.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that the Butte was surrounded
by the ugly residential towers that plague most of the 13th
arrondissement. Fortunately, the centuries of tunnelling
into the hillside to excavate stone left the Butte-aux-Cailles
too fragile for any buildings more than a few stories tall.
Rising prices elsewhere in Paris made the Butte grow popular
with artists, intellectuals, and eventually bourgeois executives
looking for something off the beaten path.
The Butte-aux-Cailles remains "populaire" in the French
sense, with its co-op owned restaurants and Socialist party
mayor. But there are also trendy bars and busy sidewalk
cafés, which makes the local business owners happy and gets
some grumbles from long time residents not ready for the
change. People on the Butte are quickly staking sides on
the issue…still a feisty neighbourhood, indeed!
A walking tour of the Butte-aux-Cailles
Get off at Metro Corvisart and head up the Rue des Cinq-Diamants to the intersection at Rue de la Butte aux Cailles. This is pretty much the centre of the action after dark. During the day things are a bit quieter, and it’s a good time to explore the little streets and their hidden gardens. Turn right at the Place de la Commune de Paris and head down to the Rue Daviel, with its Alsace-styled public housing from the early 1900s, and the adorable houses with mini gardens on the Villa Daviel. Just around the corner to the left, at 31 rue Vergniaud, is a newly-opened Antiquités flea market (Tues-Sat 11am-7pm). Anyone with a sweet tooth should stop into Les Abeilles (21 rue de la Butte aux Cailles) for locally-made honies and honey-based products, or L’Osive Thé (5 rue de la Butte aux Cailles; also a tearoom by the same name across the street) for teas and dainty home decorations. On the other side of the Butte, the art-deco style Piscine de la Butte aux Cailles (5 place Paul Verlaine; don’t forget your Speedos, boys) is one of the nicest public pools in Paris, supplied by a natural hot spring that keeps the waters a constant 28°C. Fans of French theatre can find the program of the Théâtre des Cinq Diamants at www.theatreonline.com. This fall they have a bit of vaudeville and Jean Racine (not together, of course).
Eating and Drinking
You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to eating and drinking on the Butte-aux-Cailles, from real Breton crepes at the Des Crêpes & Des Cailles (13 rue de la Butte aux Cailles) to authentic boudin à la Normande at the budget-priced co-op restaurant Les Temps des Cerises (18-20, rue de la Butte aux Cailles, closed weekends. Gourmet foodies can try the Italian trattoria Les Cailloux (58, rue des Cinq Diamants) and L’Avant Goût (26, rue Bobillot), both packed full for lunch and dinner. Happy hour starts at many of the neighbourhood’s bars at 6pm, including the tropical Papagallo (25 rue des Cinq Diamants) and the internet bar Sputnik (14-16, rue de la Butte aux Cailles). Le Ménestrel (10, rue de l'Espérance) specialises in feu de bois pizzas, and has Brazilian soirées every Sunday night. The Folie en Tête (33, rue de la Butte aux Cailles), with African percussion instruments decorating the bar, is known for its friendly reggae and jazz atmosphere, from 5pm until 2am.
Heather Stimmler-Hall is an American travel writer
living in France since 1995. She’s the author of the Paris
& Ile-de-France Adventure Guide (Hunter Publishing, 2004)
and editor of the Secrets of Paris Newsletter. To sign up
for the newsletter, visit www.secretsofparis.com.
Heather provides custom, private tours of Paris neighborhoods
to help familiarize visitors with city’s central tourist
districts and charming historic quarters as well as up-and-coming
areas and quiet residential neighborhoods off the beaten
path.
For inquiries, email her at heather@secretsofparis.com.
