There is a version of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine that most visitors to the Bastille never find. They arrive at the Place de la Bastille, photograph the July Column, walk briefly along the rue de la Roquette or the rue de Lappe, and leave with the impression that they have seen the neighbourhood. They have seen the surface of it.

A Brief History of the Faubourg

The Faubourg Saint-Antoine has been the working-class heartland of eastern Paris since the Middle Ages, when the Abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs granted its workers the right to practise their trades free from guild restrictions. Cabinet-makers, joiners, upholsterers and glassblowers settled here in enormous numbers, creating the most concentrated craft district in France.

The French Revolution was made here, in these courtyards — the Bastille was stormed from this neighbourhood, by people who lived in these streets. The barricades of 1830, 1848 and the Commune were built from the furniture that came out of these workshops. The political memory of the Faubourg is inseparable from its physical geography.

Today, the workshops are mostly gone — replaced by apartments, design studios and small galleries. But the courtyards remain, unchanged in structure if not in function, and they are among the most quietly remarkable spaces in Paris.

The Route: Five Courtyards to Push a Door Into

Cour de l'Étoile d'Or — 75 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine

My first recommendation, because it is the most accessible and the most immediately beautiful. The entrance is a low archway that most people walk past — it looks like a delivery entrance. Through it, a long cobbled courtyard opens up, lined with the original workshop facades and ending in a second, quieter yard. The ironwork, the proportions, the unexpected calm — it is one of those Parisian discoveries that makes you question how you have never been here before.

Cour des Trois-Frères — A Few Doors Further East

Less known and less visited than the Étoile d'Or. The courtyard is narrower, more uneven, with cats and abandoned bicycles and the smell of wood dust from a workshop that still operates at the far end. This is not a curated experience — it is simply a working courtyard that happens to be open.

Passage de la Bonne-Graine — Via the rue de Lappe

Accessed from the rue de Lappe, this covered passage connects two streets through a narrow gallery lined with what were formerly wine merchants' cellars. The name — "passage of the good seed" — refers to the grain trade that once operated here. Today it is a quiet shortcut that most people navigate separately.

Village de l'Arsenal — South of the Main Faubourg

A cluster of courtyards converted into artists' residences in the 1990s. The exterior shows nothing; the interior is a small world of studios, planted terraces and shared spaces that has the feeling of a private village. One of those Paris discoveries that rewards the visitor who looks for unmarked doors.

Cour de la Maison-Brûlée — The Burned House Courtyard

The name refers to a fire that destroyed one of the original buildings, at some point in the 18th or 19th century. The courtyard is irregular in shape, slightly overgrown, and completely empty on most weekday afternoons. It is one of my favourite stops on this route precisely because nothing remarkable is supposed to happen here.

How to Do This Walk

The route takes approximately ninety minutes at a relaxed pace. Start at the Place de la Bastille and walk east along the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, checking the left side of the street for numbered archways. Most of the major courtyards are on odd numbers — 75, 83, 95 — though the exact configuration changes as buildings are renovated.

Push gently. If a door is unlocked, it is generally open to the public — the tradition of accessible courtyards in this neighbourhood is centuries old. If you encounter a digicode, the space is private. Move on. Wear flat, comfortable shoes — cobblestones are uneven and occasionally wet.

The best discoveries in the Faubourg happen when you stop looking for something specific and start noticing the doors that are simply left open.

— Didier
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Insider Tips

  • The best days for this walk are Tuesday through Friday, when the few remaining workshops are open and the courtyards have the ambient sound of a working neighbourhood
  • Avoid weekends — some courtyards are used for private events and may be closed
  • The Marché d'Aligre (a ten-minute walk south) is one of the best and cheapest food markets in Paris — combine the two for a full morning
  • Many courtyards are best photographed in the early afternoon when the light falls directly into them

Bohemian Paris & Street Art

The Bastille courtyards and the hidden craft history of eastern Paris are part of our Bohemian Paris circuit — a route through the 10th, 11th and 12th arrondissements that takes you well beyond the tourist map.

Discover the Circuit