Faubourg St-Antoine and place de la Nation
From Paris Hotels Reviews
Faubourg St-Antoine and place de la Nation
After Louis XI licensed the establishment of craftsmen in the fifteenth century, the rue du Faubourg-St-Antoine, running east from place de la Bastille, became the principal working-class quartier of Paris, cradle of revolutions and mother of street-fighters. From its beginning, the principal trade associated with it has been furniture-making, and this was where the classic styles of French furniture – Louis XIV, Louis XV, Second Empire, were developed.
There are still quite a few furniture shops on the street, and a number of workshops, as well as related trades such as inlayers, stainers polishers, still inhabit the maze of interconnecting yards and passages that run off the faubourg, especially at the western en. One of the most attractive courtyards is at no. 56, the Cours du Bel Air, with its lemon trees, and ivy-and rose-covered buildings.
To the east, rue du Faubourg-St-Antoine ends at place de la Nation. The place is adorned with the "Triumph of the Republic", a monumental bronze group topped with a stately female figure personifying the republic. To the east, franing the avenue du Trồne, are two tall Doric columns, surmounted by statues of medival monarchs, looking very small and insignificant. During the Revolution, when the old name of place du Trồne became place du Trồne-Renversé ("the overturned throne"), more people were guillotined here than on the more notorious execution site of place de la Concorde.
