Small Neighborhoods in the 14th

September 2025

The 14th is called Observatoire. It refers to the Paris Observatory

Plaisance

The little area of Plaisance contains the street Rue de Thermopylas and Cité Bauer. It is a quiet, quirky neighborhood you would expect in such an arty arrondissement.

Rue des Thermopyles was a private road until 1959, when it opened to the public. It was named after the Battle of Thermopylae, between the Greeks and the Persians in 480-479 BC. It is said that the people gave this name to the street because it was as narrow as the passage of Thermopyles in Greece. The Greek historian Herodotus said it was so close that only one chariot could pass in one direction at a time.

I was somewhat surprised to find a park in this small neighborhood, but I got a kick out of the fact that it is named after the sculptor Alberto Giacometti.

*There is a sign on the fence surrounding this house with the sign out the window saying Viva La Commune.

The sign reads: It is a wonderful story that began in 1997. When the owners of this house refused to allow it to be restored. But no matter! The tenants, who love Greece, rolled up their sleeves. With the help of some hard-working paintbrushes, they gave their home a holiday feel with walls plastered white and shutters painted blue…just like on the Greek Islands. The nickname “Greek house” was naturally adopted by the people of the 14^th. Protected from destruction, it is a popular and unmissable feature of the Rue des Thermopyles.

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Rue des Artistes

In keeping with the artistic theme of the 14th, I visited Rue des Artistes.

At number 6 is this mural “Momiji: Kingyo et feuilles d’érable d’Automne” (2019) by the artist Antoine Bertrand. The mural incorporates two traditional symbols of Japanese culture: the “kingyo” (goldfish) and the maple leaves that fall in autumn (momiji).

Rue des Artistes was opened in 1853 under its current name. The name came about because several young painters and sculptors lived here at the beginning of the 19th century.

7 Rue Mechain

Way off the beaten path is this interesting building by Robert Mallet-Stevens. Built in 1928-29 at the request of Jean Deschamps.

The two circular windows at the entry are a definitive mark of the 1920s Parisian Art Deco.

Sites around the 14th

Let’s pass, let’s pass, since everything passes, I’ll often turn around, Memories are hunting horns, whose noise dies among the wind

This mural is the collaboration of a painter and a photographer forming a group called Treize Bis.  One explanation is that the piece consists of images recovered from the 19th century, primarily engravings whose images recall dreamism and surrealism.

Peeking through a wall, I looked down at this construction project, astonished to find trees acting as a construction element.

The 14th is primarily known for The Catacombs, The Observatory of Paris, Notre Dame du Travail, and the Montparnasse Cemetery, all of which I have visited. It was fun to get off the beaten path.