Ok hoping you are enjoying the ride as I, with my many posts on my eternal Paris taking advantage I am in the area for a while. The post is the same following brief stint in my blog like writing a bit on the Place St Michel and its fountain on a previous post.
This time with new pictures let me tell you a bit more on one of the must see in Paris, do you read me, walk!!! walk Paris I did all over and the beauty is many monuments are so close to each other you will have a full list of monuments in a short while. OF course, many of these I have already entered but even if do there is time to see many in a small radius Paris is walkable ,just do it.
Now a bit on the wonderful fabolous Place Saint Michel and Fontaine Saint Michel of Paris of course!
The Place Saint-Michel is a square located in the Sorbonne and the Monnaie neighborhood or quartiers of the 5éme and 6éme arrondissement or districts of Paris.
It should not be confused with the former Place Saint-Michel, located further south and incorporated into the Boulevard Saint-Michel in the 1850s. It owes its name to the proximity of the Pont Saint-Michel bridge, which was located near the Chapel Saint-Michel du Palais.
The square was created during the breakthrough of Boulevard Saint-Michel, in 1855 under Napoleon III. The breakthrough of this square led to the disappearance of the Place du Pont-Saint-Michel, part of the rue Saint-André-des-Arts, part of the rue de l’Hirondelle and part of quai des Grands-Augustins. The Saint-Michel bridge built in the 14C was redone at the same time as the square. The Place Saint Michel officially takes its name in 1864.
The Fontaine Saint-Michel fountain is located on the Place Saint-Michel, at the intersection of boulevard Saint-Michel and rue Danton. It has the distinction of occupying alone a whole gable wall. The Saint-Michel fountain is part of the aeration plan of the city planned by Haussmann under Napoleon III.
The first idea was to erect a huge statue of Napoleon I but it was abandoned, and at the insistence of the municipal commission who wanted to recall the memory of the old Chapel Saint-Michel in the city. it was finally the struggle of Good against Evil which was retained as a program with the Archangel Michael slaying the Devil in a triumphal arch surrounded by winged chimeras or dragons.
The Fountain of St Michael is 26 meters high and 15 meters wide. It is composed in the manner of an ancient triumphal arch, a rhythmic bay marked by Corinthian columns in red marble from the Languedoc cushioned by four bronze statues representing the cardinal virtues. The composition with a central niche framed by four columns and a pediment is a reference to the Medici fountain of the Luxembourg Garden. The purpose of the polychromy is to balance the lack of illumination. This fountain, whose construction began in June 1858 was inaugurated on August 15, 1860.
The tourist office of Paris has info on it in English: Tourist office of Paris on the Fountain of St Michel
There you go another dandy in my eternal Paris, a wonderful area and while there I had the nostalgia to eat for lunch was perfect at the Le Clou de Paris ,1 Rue Danton right by the Place Saint André des Arts which itself is near the Place Saint Michel! Fantastic service and the food was delicious lentils and sausages with bacon, ,crême brulée, all with a quart of Bordeaux house red and expresso coffee, all for about 25€;nice!!! Oh yes came by car lol! and parked at the underground right there St Michel (indigo group) super! Of course, I have a totally different opinion then the so call travel site, the resto is great maybe not crowded had to do but great nevertheless. No webpage. The RestaurantGuru reviews here: https://restaurantguru.com/Le-Clou-de-Paris-Paris.
Therefore, always remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 