Levallois-Perret ,anyone?

Ok so let me tell you some of roundabouts that usually do not fall into the Michelin tourist book lol! Indeed ,France is the most visited country in the world according to the official UN WTO but there are still many places where they don’t show up at least not much in my belle France.

One of this spots is Levallois-Perret a town situated in the Hauts-de-Seine department 92 of the Ile-de-France region. Occupying the right bank of the Seine river, the town is bordered   by Asnières-sur-Seine, Clichy, the 17éme arrondissement of Paris,   Neuilly-sur-Seine, and the Seine river, facing Courbevoie.  The main public transports here are the train station Clichy-Levallois SNCF train station line L, Gare de Pereire – Levallois RER C located in the 17éme arrondissement of Paris. The metro station that have taken is the line 3 Pont Levallois-Bécon; Anatole France and Louis Michel; and the RATP bus lines (I have taken the 84 93 and 94); and others available such as 20 163 164 165 174 238 274 275 341 etc.

levallois perret

A bit of history I like , and can’t write anything in France without the roots!

In 1215, the abbey of Saint-Denis, owner of the royal palace of Clichy, acquires a plot on the site called the vineyard to priests to practice viticulture.  1429: Jeanne d’Arc gathers her army on the plain of Clichy-Levallois for the lifting of Montjoie (upsetting the lords of France). This episode precedes the unsuccessful assault on Paris,at Porte Saint-Honoré (today 15 rue de Richelieu).

According to Abbé Lecanu, historian of Clichy, there is a very close proximity between St. Vincent de Paul, priest of Clichy between 1612 and 1625, St. Louise de Marillac, Antoine Portail and the parish of Clichy. It is in Clichy that  Vincent de Paul  Antoine Portail, his dearest and oldest companion to the Congregation of the Mission met. After having been his pupil in catechism, Father Portail is his first assistant, the first secretary of the Congregation and the first director of the Daughters of Charity. He died in 1660, the same year as two other Clichois: Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul.

Nicolas Levallois had such veneration for Saint Vincent de Paul that he founded the village of Levallois, September 27, 1845, with a Catholic liturgical festival in honor of the patron saint of Clichy. Levallois also gives the name of this patron saint to the market and the street leading to it. He finally ensures that Saint Vincent de Paul appears on one of the three stained glass windows surmounting the tabernacle of the Saint-Justin Church. On either side of the stained glass window depicting the Ascension of Christ before the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, we see on the right the stained glass of Saint Justin, patron saint of Levallois and, on the left, the stained glass window of Saint Vincent de Paul, patron saint from Clichy.

During a good part of the 19C, the territory of the future town of Levallois-Perret belongs to the family of a relative of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1806, Count Jean Berenger bought a large property in Clichy, at a place called Planchette. At that time, the village of Levallois does not exist yet. This count of empire, close to Lucien Bonaparte, Stendhal and Benjamin Constant plays a determining role for the success of the coup d’état of 9 novembre 1799 (18 Brumaire) . Appointed State Councilor for life by the Emperor, he takes a considerable part in the preparation of the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Commercial Code, the Code of Criminal Investigation, and the Penal Code.

The project of a city on the future site of Levallois-Perret is born in 1822 when a subdivision operation is launched at a place called Champerret (the stony field), after the disappearance of two hamlets still existing in the 18C: Villiers and Courcelles , by Nicolas Eugène Levallois with the help of a friend geometer Rivay, an operation that is a great success. The village of Levallois is officially born September 27, 1845, day of the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul (former priest of Clichy). It corresponds to the day when Nicolas Eugène Levallois bought his first parcel: “the vineyard to the priests”.

levallois perrret

In 1845, when Nicolas Levallois draws the plans for his city, he integrates without hesitation the property of Jean Berenger. But he categorically refuses any intrusion into his domain, and does not want to sell his property. Nicolas Levallois will have to wait for his death, in 1850, to begin the fragmentation of the locality of Planchette. It will take almost half a century. Count Bérenger’s family will be expropriated from his last parcels (the current Parc Planchette but also the lands used to make the Place des Fêtes, current Place de Verdun) in 1924. On June 30, 1866, Napoleon III promulgated a law of creation of the town of Levallois-Perret, law taking effect on January 1, 1867. Until this official creation in 1867, the history of Levallois-Perret merges with that of Clichy to which it was incorporated.

levallois perret

The historical monuments of Levallois-Perret of special attention are: the Temple de la Petite Étoile (Little Star) inaugurated in 1912; the former Hertford British Hospital, the Moorish villa of the Villa Chaptal, The Ravel hall is located in the premises of Maurice Ravel conservatory and host several cultural events. Other anecdotes are that the very year of the creation of the town (1867), Gustave Eiffel installs his workshops where all the elements will be made, which will then form the famous Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. In 1878, the famous bicycle manufacturer, Clément Bayard, buys a vast piece of land and all the inhabitants take up again the challenge that the Meyer cycling champion launches in 1893 to a rider, Colonel Cody, better known under the name of Buffalo. Bill. The outcome of the competition between the machine and the animal is eagerly awaited in this city which, born with the industry, lives in the cult of the technical innovations. The local Levalloisians are disappointed to witness the victory of the horse on the bicycle!

Famous at the cemetery of Levallois are of course Gustave Eiffel, whose tomb is the only one that is not in alignment with others. It is indeed turned to his tower, each of its pieces which was manufactured in his workshop in Levallois-Perret. The revolutionary Louise Michel, the composer Maurice Ravel, the generous Marie-Jeanne Bassot, founder of the Social Residence, but also Madame Soleil who knew the notoriety with its radio forecasts and Leon Zitrone, the famous journalist specializing in sports and royal weddings.

This is the city of Levallois-Perret on its history in French: City of Levallois-Perret on its heritage

TOurist office dept 92 Hauts de Seine on the Ravel salle in Levallois-Perret

City of Levallois-Perret cementery see map lot 10 Gustave Eiffel

And of course, I do walk here too and do like one particular restaurant away from Paris that is worth the detour.

The restaurant of Laure and Thomas, the Le Chartier at 146 rue du Président Wilson in Levallois-Perret is to recommend by yours truly. They are “Master Restaurateur” since 2011 . This title is issued by the prefect after an independent audit, rewarding the excellence of the best professionals of traditional catering. The cuisine is elaborated on the spot with fresh products , of quality (without any frozen). A cuisine that changes every season, like the menu à la carte every quarter. Different appetizers and dishes each day on the slate (ardoise). A simple and good quality cuisine. Also, a great wine menu, beautiful wine list at all prices. Nice bistro, wine bar, restaurant, inn, Chartier is a table like been at home . The dishes are traditional and beautifully presented, very good and at affordable prices. Since 1996, the Le Chartier offers a warm welcome and generous dishes.

More on their official webpage here: Official Chartier Restaurant at Levallois-Perret

Levallois perret

And there you go another dandy right next to Paris so easy to get to and see something different of my France. Enjoy Levallois-Perret for its history, and good food away from Paris!

And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all !!!

Tags: ,

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: