Bellechasse
in the 7th arrondissement

From the Ladies of Bellechasse to the Orsay Museum

The rue de Bellechasse was constructed in 1085 through a parcel of land that included the convent of the ‘Ladies of Bellechasse’, a holy order founded in Palestine at the end of the 11th century. Today, the elegant Bellechasse street maintains a discreet image, or at least, it remains in the shadow of the more illustrious streets like the rue de Grenelle, the rue de Varenne, the rue de l’Université, etc. which run east/west and which cut across the north/south Bellechasse line. In fact, the Bellechasse street has its own claim to distinction; for it is the one that leads directly to the entrance of the Orsay Museum, which faces the Legion of Honour building at the end of the street. The rue de Bellechasse starts at the very edge of the Seine and goes all the way up to become the rue de Vaneau (where we have another apartment).

Our rue de Bellechasse apartment is just a few blocks away from the Orsay Museum, on the south side of the Boulevard St. Germain, just far enough away from the museum not to be hounded by the hordes of tourists in the vicinity of the museum itself, but close enough to walk there in less than 5 minutes.  One of the finest gourmet food stores in Paris, the Bonmarché’s LA GRANDE EPICERIE, is also less than a 10 minute walk from the apartment going south. And just 2 blocks to the west of the apartment is the St. Clothilde church, a lovely Gothic style church with a park facing the main façade.

In a limestone building from the early 19th century, the apartment itself is very functional with a high end, contemporary Scandinavian décor. There is parquet flooring and all of the modern amenities you would expect in the apartment (washer, dryer, dishwasher, etc), as well as an elevator in the building for easy access.  With 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms, the apartment is very spacious and can easily house a group of 4 to 5 people. Since the rue de Bellechasse is not a major thoroughfare, the apartment is very quiet. It also gets sunlight and has good cross ventilation, with windows on both sides of the apartment.

Like most any central Parisian, Left Bank apartment, the rue de Bellechasse flat has everything that you could possibly need within a short distance, from outdoor food markets to gourmet specialty shops, along with the best of the Parisian historic sites to be seen. There is no comparison with staying in a hotel versus staying in your own furnished flat in one of the most exclusive locations in central Paris. Marcel Proust himself said that the rue de Bellechasse apartment (where he used to hang out in a literary salon directly across the street from our apartment building) was one of his favourite places to be in all of Paris.

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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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