High above the clamor and din of Paris, we entered an oasis of calm with a profusion of trees, flowers, and plants. What set this walk apart from so many others we have taken in Paris was its perspective on the city: We were able to view Paris at the level of treetops, church spires, and the roofs of apartment houses and public buildings.
We set off on a well-marked garden path leading under several ivy-covered, arched trellises. As we rambled, the path opened onto a changing panorama of architectural styles and tastes. On our left we were at eye-level with the steeple of the Romanesque-Byzantine Church of Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts, built in 1903, while minutes later, on our right, we gasped at the sight of 12 caryatids - kitschy reproductions of Michelangelo’s “The Dying Slave’’ in the Louvre - adorning the top of a modern police station.
Soon after, we glimpsed the imposing facade of the Gare de Lyon, a big rail terminal reconstructed in 1855 by the city planner Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Along the way, we examined at close range the decorative moldings, ornamental brickwork, and intricate wrought iron balcony railings of some of the city’s most elegant apartment buildings.
There is an idyllic sense of solitude to this walk, and it is jealously guarded by the regulars from the neighborhood. “I don’t advertise this place,’’ one of them confessed. “Parisians don’t like to give away their secrets.’’ The people we met were an eclectic mix: a father and son arranging toy soldiers in an elaborate re-creation of one of Napoleon’s battles; a couple taking photos of their 3-year-old daughter, gussied up in vintage clothing; joggers enjoying a traffic-free run; and assorted strollers like us.
