Down and out in the Bastille: the maze of the Fbg. St. Antoine

Faubourg Saint Antoine

As the City of Lights grew and spread across the centuries it swallowed its surrounding villages, as big cities often do. But many of the villages that sacrificed their individual existence to create the French capital had unique atmospheres and specialties, and, to the informed eye, the traces of these communities are still discernible.

In the shadow of the Bastille lay such a village, the Rue du Fbg. St.Antoine and the Rue de la Roquette set the boundary of the home of the ebonists guild. Here is where the great pieces that today grace both museums and chateaux were created, and Dr. Spearman will bring her particular knowledge of this highly specialist field to bear on unwrapping the haunts and the secrets of the great cabinet-makers and artisans whose productive lives left their mark on not just one small quartier but the whole world.

Price of the Tour: 20 Euros

Place if you join us in Paris: Meet in front of the métro entrance at the corner of rue du

Fbg.St.Antoine and the rue de Charenton.

Métro : Bastille (take exit Quinze Vingt)

Suggestion: Have that extra coffee at the counter before our tour at the nearby

“Café Rey Bastille” (1, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75011).

Lunch: Participants might like to envisage lunch at the “Bai Thong” (47, rue de

Charenton 75012) close to the Bastille Opèra which offers the most tasty Thai

cuisine at excellent prices.