Ile St. Louis 1

That Island Mentality

Whether it’s the narrow streets, the quaint artisanal boutiques or simply the numerous ice-cream parlors with children licking creamy colored cones, there is something that remains undeniably enticing about the Ile St Louis.

Despite being joined to the mainland by 5 bridges, the island retains its exclusive air due to the fact that it is completely surrounded by water, has no metro stops, only two bus stops and just one main street, the Rue St Louis en L’Ile running the length of the island.

Home to many of the cities most important ‘Hôtels Particuliers,’ including the Hôtel Lambert and the Hôtel de Lauzun, a beautiful 17th century church, and many more exceptional private residences, the Ile St Louis has proved itself to he the Ile de la Cite’s prettier little sister (in earlier times, however, this was not the case).

For those living on the island (‘the Islanders’), the sense of village life and shared community is of huge importance. Not only do they publish their own magazine and have their own website, but leaving the island is still referred to, amongst many, as ‘going to the mainland.’ Some ‘Islanders’ are reported to have not left the island in years, which is a pretty mean feat when you consider that it has a total surface area of 11 hectares! One elderly Islander in particular can be seen dressed up in gloves, hat and red lipstick, driving her old Volkswagen up and down the island at a speed of 10 miles per hour, when running her household errands.

To understand that island mentality is to understand the importance of this village in the development of the city of Paris and to recognize the authenticity of what remains.

Officially owned by the Canons of the church of Notre Dame from the 9th century and known then to all as the Ile de Notre Dame, the island was once the grazing land for the church on the neighbouring island and it consequently played an important role in providing the agricultural land to feed the religious leaders of the city. It must be noted, however, that at this point, the Ile de la Cite was Paris, or at least the epi-center of the city.

The eastern third of the Ile St Louis was in fact know as L’Ile aux Vaches or ‘Island of Cows’ from the mid 14th century, a name to which the wonderful little restaurant ‘L’Ilot des Vaches’ on the corner of rue des Deux Ponts pays hommage to.

King Louis IX, the only King of France to be canonized and after whom the island was renamed the Ile St Louis in 1725, was especially enchanted by this little haven of tranquillity within the hub of the city and would reportedly come here ‘seeking solace’ from the pressures of his royal vocation. He also performed several important state and religious ceremonies within its shores, the last being the ceremony in which he received the pope’s official blessing for his final crusade in which, alas, he would be killed in battle.

Before being completely remapped and rebuilt under the Kings Henry IV and Louis XIII as a fashionable residential quarter in the 17th century, the Ile St Louis nevertheless remained important undeveloped territory, as both religious and royal pastureland, for what was then a much more nucleated city. It has now become one of the most exclusive addresses in Paris.

Staying in a finely furnished apartment on the island is therefore both a privilege, in terms of the centrality of the location, and a direct insight into the life and workings of a particular, yet very special community. During your stay here, you will not only be residing in a newly renovated 17th century apartment that retains many of the charming original features (tall windows, exposed beams, thick stone walls and high ceilings), you will also have the opportunity to integrate yourself into a life that is more yesteryear than modern era in every sense of the word.

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"... this time, I was going until 1 A.M., loading up my car with the following: 2 very large rectangular mirror frames, a lovely porcelain corner sink with its original faucet, an oak cabinet door, a small cheese cabinet door with its wooden grill, more carved marble mantle pieces, a large cast iron skillet, and bits and pieces of carved wood: from molding to cornices."

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