Many of the little out-of-the-way spots on the outskirts of town offer a country setting and a timeless atmosphere. Not in great numbers today, they bear witness to the past, when the villages on the outskirts of the capital were not yet annexed. The Villa Santos-Dumont, picturesque and verdant, is one of these nuggets, whose secret is still well kept by the lucky residents, just like the Cité Durmar or the rue des Thermopyles. We’d like you to discover it.
Villa Santos-Dumont: a haven of peace in southwest Paris
Flat calm, overgrown cobblestones and timeless charm: all the attributes of the quintessential Parisian hidden street. Untouched by tourists, the 15th arrondissement also boasts a number of small, pleasant and intimate alleys. Nestled just behind the street of the same name, the Villa Santos Dumont is located in the heart of the Georges Brassens district Georges Brassens and offers a handsome reward for those who stumble upon it.
Typically, this is where you can immerse yourself in the area’s working-class and artistic past. As for the Villa Santos-Dumont, Fernand Léger, Ossip Zadkine and Guglielmo Gatti all set their sights on this little haven of peace in southwestern Paris. Today, Norman mansions, workshop houses and modern lofts are among the dwellings on either side of the cobblestones. Originally intended for more modest populations, this urban paradise is now being snapped up at prices beyond comprehension.
We secretly envy the handful of locals who stay here, who take care to pamper their place of residence on a daily basis. In this sense, the alley’s superb cachet is also due to the lush vegetation it contains. On walls, in planters and in residents’ flower pots, greenery is omnipresent and pleasantly invasive. In fact, it intertwines with the grids of colorful portals to form a totally exotic whole, in total contrast to the surrounding hustle and bustle.
Just like the Cité Durmar the Villa Santos-Dumont is one of those unsuspected Parisian places that we discover by chance on a walk or jealously guard in our address book.
Villa Santos-Dumont – 75015
Read also: Parc Georges Brassens: one of the capital’s little-known treasures