Discover the luxurious mansions of the Plaine Monceau. This popular area of the city gives you an impression of being in a Parisian village. In the second half of the 19th century, wealthy people settled in the Monceau district, building beautiful mansions near its picturesque park. We will approach several, uncovering hidden and magnificent courtyards, detail the park and finish with a very unusual street favored by up and coming 19th century artists.
Magic Monceau
Description
Magic Monceau
Practical informations
- Location : Métro Monceau (line 2)
- Duration : 2h15
- Walking tour
- Small group (up to 8 people) 50-80€ pp
- Private group tour at any date (270€/group)
Originally, Monceau is a village far from Paris where nobles go game hunting in the forests. In the 18th century, the Duke of Chartres from the Royal House of Orléans had constructed “la folie de Chartres”; a splendid castle in the middle of an enormous park. It was filled with antique and exotic decorations, lush greenhouses, theaters and exhibitions of his personal collections.
The park has since been changed and reduced in size, but traces from its glorious past still remain. The transformations that were made to it during the Second Empire brought about other noteworthy features, and made it a symbol of the bourgeois lifestyle of the neighborhood which was popular with bankers and businessmen. A number of superb hôtels particuliers (mansions) still remain, which gives the area a chic atmosphere. Many of them have been turned into museum, with one them containing the largest Bouddha in Paris! Another boasts the finest private 18th century furniture collection in the city.
The tour will manage to uncover secret stories and hidden yards behind closed doors, walking around the park limits, among cosy mansions belonging to bankers, tycoons or rich art sponsors. Finally, side streets lead towards a very unusual area where artists had themselves very original houses built with unusual features and decors.
