Guide Tour of the Gros Caillou district, Paris, France

Gros Caillou is one of the districts forming the 7th arrondissement. It is the 28th administrative neighbourhood and covers an area of 138.3ha. This neighbourhood is home to the true symbol of Paris city and the entire France. The Eiffel Tower, the Champ-de-Mars, the Quai Branly museum… The Gros Caillou district of the capital and its monuments are among the most emblematic of the capital.

Quartier du Gros Caillou, with its urban landscape and lively atmosphere, is home to 2,448 inhabitants who have an average age of 40, have comfortable incomes, live mainly as single people, and are mainly tenants of their accommodation. The district has, around, various services and infrastructures of transport, trade, sport, leisure, culture, health, education.

The Gros Caillou neighbourhood borders the Seine on its left bank, which forms the limit of the district’s northern part. It is connected by the right bank neighbourhoods through Pont de l’Alma and Pont des Invalides. Triangular in shape, it is bounded by Avenue de la Bourdonnais to the south-west and separated from the Invalides neighbourhood by Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg to the east.

It is one of the busiest neighborhoods in Paris. With the Eiffel Tower, the Champ-de-Mars or the Quai Branly museum, tourists flock to this corner of the capital’s 7th arrondissement. It is not difficult to discover charming places such as the delightful Lutheran Evangelical church of Saint-Jean-Denys-Bulher at 147 rue de Grenelle.

However, this is both the most family friendly and the liveliest district in the 7th arrondissement. The district of Gros Caillou has kept a village atmosphere, centred by a church of modest dimensions at the end of rue Cler, which is a permanent market. It is very agreeable to settle down here in a neighbourhood that has an almost provincial spirit. Schools and shops abound.

This district is known for the iconic Parisian style of views, the prestigious addresses and the reputation of the district. With the space, the wide avenues, the streets… today this large area exudes discretion and serenity. A lot of parquet-moulding-chimney with beautiful porches with rounded entrances and can be dating from horse-drawn carriages eras, surrounded by beautiful alabaster cut stones and enhanced by ebony wrought iron balconies, wide sidewalks, double alleys of chestnut trees, large spaces.

History
When the new administrative districts were created in 1859, nearly all of the newly carved districts (80 in total, as today) were named after an iconic building or place within its boundaries. boundaries. The Enfants-Rouges district for the market of the same name, the Combat district for the Place du Combat, the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul district for the church in honor of this religious figure canonized in 1737, etc.

However, This is not the case for the Gros Caillou neighbourhood where the Eiffel Tower is located. In fact, the first shovels to build this 324-meter-high tower started on January 28, 1887. The project was achieved in 1889 and the tower was presented to the public for the first time on March 31, 1889.

In 1859, this part of the capital located not far from the Invalides did not yet have a truly emblematic monument. In this district which remained very rural until the 18th century, the most important monuments were atobacco factory called Manufacture du Gros-Caillou, and a religious building, the small Church of Saint-Pierre-Gros-Caillou built in 1738.

Gros Caillou, which means “big pebble” in French, became the name of the district. This name would come from the Middle Ages and would designate a stone terminal which ensured the delimitation between the lands conceded by the King of France to the parishes of Sainte-Geneviève and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The inhabitants would use this term as a name for the neighbourhood while the first mention of it dates back to 1510.

Local landmarks
In addition to the Eiffel Tower, the Gros Caillou neighbourhood offers many activities to its visitors. Théâtre de la Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower Theater) located in 4 Square Rapp, Bibliothèque Américaine de Paris (the American Library of Paris), 10 Rue du Général Camou,

Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower, without doubt the most iconic monument in Paris. The Eiffel Tower is a 330m2 high wrought iron tower located in Paris, at the northwestern end of the Champ-de-Mars park on the banks of the Seine in the 7th arrondissement. Its official address is 5, avenue Anatole-France. It has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Symbol of Paris among all, offers a magnificent view of the whole city.

Built in two years by Gustave Eiffel and his collaborators for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889, celebrating the centenary of the French Revolution. Originally 312 meters high, the Eiffel Tower remained the highest monument in the world for forty years. The Eiffel still is the highest viewing platform accessible to the public in the European Union.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level’s upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.

Champ de Mars
Grand Parc du Champ de Mars and its wonderful view on the Eiffel Tower. The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius (“Mars Field”) in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war. The Champ-de-Mars park extends over more than 24 hectares. Bordered by the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire, this entirely open green space offers large lawns ideal for picnicking. It regularly becomes the setting for festive and sporting events and major national events.

Paris Sewer Museum
The Paris Sewer Museum is a museum located in the sewers at the esplanade Habib-Bourguiba, near the pont de l’Alma. An exhibition space is located five hundred meters underground. It introduces the water cycle in Paris, its history, models and machines used for centuries. The museum details the history of the sewers from their initial development by Hugues Aubriot, provost of Paris in the late 14th century, to their modern structure, which was designed in the 19th century by the engineer Eugène Belgrand. The museum also details the role of sewer workers and methods of water treatment. This fascinating place which inspired the book, The Phanton of the Opera.

Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, located in Paris, France, is a museum designed by French architect Jean Nouvel to feature the indigenous art and cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum collection comprises more than a million objects (ethnographic objects, photographs, documents, etc.), of which 3,500 are on display at any given time, in both permanent and temporary thematic exhibits. A selection of objects from the museum are also displayed in the Pavillon des Sessions of the Louvre. Besides the exhibits, it is known for its famous plant wall created by the botanist Patrick Blanc.

The Quai Branly Museum opened in 2006, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, along the quai de la Seine which gives it its name and at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The Museum is the newest of the major museums in Paris and received 1.15 million visitors in 2016. It is jointly administered by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and serves as both a museum and as a center for research.

The Russian Orthodox
Holy Trinity Cathedral and The Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center is a complex that consists of 4 buildings: the Cultural Center found on Quai Branly, an educational complex in University Street, an administrative building in Rapp Street and the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church. From an architectural point of view, it mixes the Byzantine and Russian styles: it is surmounted by five traditional bulbous bell towers made of composite material covered with matte gold, and an Orthodox cross.

Dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to “historical, cultural and spiritual relations between France and Russia”, it was inaugurated in October 2016, taking over from the Trois-Saints-Docteurs cathedral as the episcopal see. It is integrated into the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center (CSCOR), a complex which includes, in addition to the cathedral and the parish house, a cultural center (auditorium, bookstore, exhibition halls, Franco-Russian bilingual school).

American Cathedral in Paris
The American Cathedral in Paris is one of the oldest English-speaking churches in Paris. Created at the beginning of the 19th century, it is characterised by its neo-gothic style. It is the gathering church for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, and is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and is the first American church established outside the United States. The church is located in central Paris between the Champs-Elysées and the River Seine at 23 avenue George V in the 8th arrondissement.

Church of Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou
The Saint-Pierre-du-Gros-Caillou Catholic Church is located at 92, rue Saint-Dominique in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Saint-Pierre du Gros Caillou church is listed as a Historical Monument. It dates from the beginning of the 19th century.

Streets
The very small neighbourhood streets (often old country roads) have lost none of their provincial charm. The shops on rue Cler have not been replaced by luxury names. The shops on rue de Grenelle have kept their authenticity (so much so that people come from all over Paris to shop here). On the fringes of these charming alleyways are some Art Nouveau masterpieces, such as the remarkable square Rapp, or the Jules Lavirotte building at 29 avenue Rapp, whose fascinating arabesques have been hypnotizing passers-by since 1900…

Rue Saint-Dominique
Rue St-Dominique is the spine of the 7th Arrondissement, arcing through the quartier and connecting three of its iconic monuments — from Musée d’Orsay in east, passing by Hotel des Invalides, and ending up at Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower in the west. Along its curved length you find the places where local residents shop and eat, boulangeries and patisseries, clothing boutiques, fruit & vegetable vendors, a string of good restaurants and bistros.

Rue Cler
Rue Cler is generally oriented north-south, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, halfway between the Hôtel des Invalides and the Champ-de-Mars. Rue Cler and its shops, breweries, cafés, restaurants and caterers, provides the most authentic and most Parisian life experience. Rue Cler, one of the most famous streets for food in Paris, and the perfect place to start learning the fine art of Parisian living. Walk along the colorful street and enjoy the mouth-watering displays and divine aromas that come spilling out of every little shop. Walk by without stopping at one of the patisseries to admire the jewel-like displays of tempting desserts.

Cuisine
There is also a wealth of restaurants, both relaxed and more formal. such as the delicious Ami Jean, rue Malar; the famous Thoumieux brasserie, rue Saint Dominique; and the gourmet pastries in the tea room Les Deux Abeilles, rue de l’Université, opposite Musée Quai Branly…

Dinner on the terrace, on a spring evening, opposite the charming fountain on the corner of rue de l’Exposition and rue Saint Dominique – a pure delight! Whether you choose classic dishes served in La Fontaine de Mars or the more creative cuisine from Fables de la Fontaine.