Tag Archives: bourse du commerce

Photos of the Week – First Arrondissement

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Back in Paris after a month’s cycling holiday in Germany, we’re having lovely weather so I’ve been catching up with friends especially in my neighbourhood, the first arrondissement, so I have some new photos of Paris.

Bourse du Commerce (commodities market) on rue du Louvre seen from the back opposite Sainte Eustache church
Bourse du Commerce (commodities market) on rue du Louvre seen from the back opposite Sainte Eustache

You may remember another photo I published of the front of the Bourse du Commerce (commodities market) after renovation. If you go past, just drop in. It’s now the Chamber of Commerce. The dome has a wonderful series of murals and if you stand right in the centre of the room, your voice will be heard everywhere. Note the semi-circular building on the right, which has also been refurbished.

Sainte Eustache
Sainte Eustache

 

Now that the area in front of Sainte Eustache has been renovated, its beauty is much more apparent.

Sunset over the Palais Royal from our balcony
Sunset over the Palais Royal from our balcony

Only 3 more months before we move to Blois and lose this view forever! On Saturday, to our great delight, we were able to have dinner on the balcony – the sun is usually too strong in the evening.

 

Photos of the Week – Spring in Paris

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We have just spent a week in Paris and are returning to Blois tomorrow for two weeks. I’m so looking forward to it! Although spring is present in Paris, it pales in comparison with the Loire Valley! Here are some spring photos anyway!

This is one of the magnolias in the Palais Royal Gardens, among the first flowers to bloom
This is one of the magnolias in the Palais Royal Gardens, among the first flowers to bloom
We had several spectacular sunsets during the week. This is taken from my baloncy.
We had several spectacular sunsets during the week. This is taken from my baloncy.
I was watching the Night Revellers' Kiosk, amused at how many fathers took photos of their children sitting on the seat when the light suddenly changed and all the glass baubles started twinkling
I was watching the Night Revellers’ Kiosk, amused at how many fathers took photos of their children sitting on the seat when the light suddenly changed and all the glass baubles started twinkling

For more on the Night Revellers’ Kiosk, click here.

Here's a photo for those who only saw the piazza in front of Saint Eustache under renovation.
Here’s a photo for those who only saw the piazza in front of Saint Eustache under renovation.

You can see the Bourse du Commerce (Commodities Market) in the back ground.

Photos of the Week – Sun in Paris in Winter

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We have been starved for sun in Paris recently so when it came out at last this weekend, I had a field day!

Reflections of the Louvre
Reflections of the Louvre
Looking down towards Notre Dame from Pont du Carrousel
Looking down towards Passerelle des Arts from Pont du Carrousel 
Looking in the opposite direction from Pont Neuf
Looking in the opposite direction from Pont Neuf 
The newly renovated façade of the Bourse du Commerce
The newly renovated façade of the Bourse du Commerce

The Bourse du Commerce is beautiful inside as well!

The newly renovated area behind the Bourse du Commerce
The newly renovated area behind the Bourse du Commerce 
Late night film of Rosemary's Baby in the Palais Royal Gardens
Late night filming of Rosemary’s Baby in the Palais Royal Gardens 
Who knows where this is?
Who knows where this is? 

Slow Walking on Rue du Louvre

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Now if you happen to walk down Rue du Louvre, with your back to the Seine, you should stay on the left side until you come to the remains of a stone wall that is actually part of the fortress built by Philippe Auguste at the end of the 12th century to protect Paris while he was off at the Crusades. It was later to become the Louvre.

Cross over to the other side and you’ll come to a large round building. Few people realise that it’s open to the public and that you can just wander in. It used to be the Bourse du Commerce which, despite its name, isn’t the stockmarket which is about ten minutes away, but the commodities market. It was originally built by Louis-Philippe in 1763 to store and sell wheat. Its location was chosen due to the proximity of the Seine and it was financed by constructing rental buildings around it.

Today it’s the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It’s built on a circular plan, 122 metres in circumference. There were two concentric galleries above 25 covered arcades. The galleries housed the police, the weights and measures office and the statistics bureau. Enormous wheat lofts on the first floor were accessed via two beautiful spiral staircases, one of which had a double revolution so that the administrative staff and merchants didn’t have to rub shoulders with the porters! The courtyard was orginally open but later covered with a wooden dome to protect the wheat.

After a second fire in 1854, the building was closed for 30 years before being renovated and converted into a commodities market in 1885. Wheat, rye, oats, flour, oil, sugar, spirits, rubber, cocoa, coffee, potatoes, and rape were sold by auction until 1998 when it was disbanded due to computerisation of the futures market. If you stand right in the middle and speak, your voice will be amplified.  The inside is decorated with murals depicting the four cardinal points. You’re not supposed to take photos, I discovered after I got to the third cardinal point, so you’ll just have to go and see for yourself !

Just next to the Bourse du Commerce, you’ll see a tall column which has an interesting history. It’s the last vestige of a private hôtel built by Catherine de Médicis in 1572. The queen had the 31-metre high tower built for her astrologist, Cosimo Ruggieri. They often used to go up to the top of the tower together, where he whispered, not sweet nothings, but magic spells.

The top part of the column used to be glassed in but all that’s left today is a metal frame. After Ruggieri died in 1615, it fell into disuse and the building was demolished in 1748 to pay the debts of the last owner, Amédée de Savoie. Only the tower was saved and bought by the City of Paris in 1750. A fountain was added, which has now run dry, and a sundial. Legend has it that on stormy nights, a long black silhouette appears in the iron cage every time there’s a flash of lightening! I’ll let you go and check that out as well too.

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