Travel is all about seeing the world, but part of seeing the world, especially in Europe, is to relive and remember history. Every city has its main attractions, and they are main attractions for a reason, but there is always more to every city than meets the eye.
There are too many travel and tourism articles on Paris to even count, and yet I am about to attempt another one. Why? Because, in this humble traveler’s opinion, the most significant place for anyone to see in Paris is not the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, or the Champs Elysées, as beautiful as they all most certainly are.
First, let me add a disclaimer that if you are looking for a post outlining the ‘must see’ attractions in Paris, including where to stay and where to eat, there are many well-written blogs on the subject, such as Peter Hahn’s post titled Paris – mon amour, but that is not the type of trip that I am about to bring you on.
The most important place in Paris to my eyes is 27 Rue de Fleurus – otherwise known as the birthplace of Modernism. I promise this is not an ode to the 2011 movie Midnight in Paris; I’ve been in love with Paris of the 1920’s since 2007, long before that film, when I came across the Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas – a novelistic memoir written by Gertrude Stein.
Being a former arts & literature scholar obsessed with Modernism, the Parisian Salon of Gertrude Stein is more beautiful than any tower or church, even more beautiful than the perfect mille-feuille – and believe me that comparison coming from me is very high praise, anyone who has never tried mille-feuille has not lived! The reason why I feel that 27 Rue de Fleurus is so beautiful is because it was the birthplace of some of the greatest literature and art that has ever been created and has given such living beauty to the world that could never have been adequately conveyed in any other way.
Some of the biggest names in arts and literature (painters, sculptors, poets, novelists, philosophers, etc.) were guests at the Stein Salon, including Ernest Hemingway, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau, Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, among many others. For more on the Salon and its guests see the Yale library archive “Extravagant Crowd.”
The Salon started as a small art collection being shown among friends to a high-brow ‘right-of-passage’ for any artist participating in the Modernist movement. It was a place for all of the ‘serious Modernists’ to discuss art, literature, and philosophy and their interpretations of what existed and what was yet to be created, and how it should be created.
One of the biggest findings of this time period is Picasso, whom Gertrude Stein is credited for having discovered and acted as patron to. Stein purchased Picasso’s paintings and displayed them in her collection at a time when no one else would, thereby giving him a medium through which to show his work. And to date, Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein is regarded as his most famous piece.
The Salon was located on the Left Bank and has been maintained as a museum. Being at 27 rue De Fleurus is to be in the presence of the most culturally significant ‘think tank’ of all time which resulted in the creation of some of the most profound and beautiful work that we will ever know.
For other cool ideas regarding the Parisian tour less travelled, see our article on Paris’s Hidden Museums.