Like the Cité Durmar or the Villa Santos-Dumont rue des Thermopyles is one of those little-known corners of Paris for which you could travel miles. Quiet, unspoilt and colorful, this bucolic cobbled alley nestles in the Plaisance district and bears witness to its past as a village bordering the big city. Follow us as we discover this hidden treasure of the 14th arrondissement.
A haven of peace in the 14th arrondissement
Along its 280-meter length, you can enjoy the lush greenery that surrounds you. On walls, sidewalks and windowsills, vegetation is everywhere. Between the climbing ivy, the invasive wisteria and the many plants carefully placed in planters, it’s a veritable urban jungle urban jungle into which we are gradually drawn. Between rue Raymond-Losserand and rue Didot, the alleyway is a delight for strollers and a sumptuous subject for photographers.
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As with many picturesque country lanes, rue des Thermopyles still shows traces of its working-class, modest past. Here, the typical houses of the old village of Plaisance are still standing, and the ambient charm of the place is still intact.
Small cottages, former workshops and mini-gardens form an eclectic and aesthetically pleasing ensemble. But what really makes us fall in love with this unusual passageway is undoubtedly the details and colors. A completely turquoise façade, a tiny yellow door, a delightfully retro sign or a work of street art: there are many curiosities hidden along the cobblestones of rue des Thermopyles.
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And who can fail to appreciate the Olympian calm that reigns in this little open-air paradise? Olympian, like the heroism of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae against the invading Persians in 480 BC. This courage inspired Alexandre Chauvelot, the developer who opened the passageway in 1859, and named it after him.
Rue des Thermopyles – 75014