Paris by the Numbers, 15th and 16th

My Paris by the Numbers series continues this week with the 15th and 16th arrondissements. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there are 20 arrondissements in Paris and I’m covering each and every one over the next few months. The landmarks I have chosen in each neighborhood are the ones that appealed to us, so this won’t be an inclusive list of sites for each neighborhood.

The 15th arrondissement is located on the left bank of the River Seine and is sometimes referred to as Vaugirard. In 2020, it had a population of approximately 220,000 residents, making it the most populous of the arrondissements in Paris. Here you’ll find the Bourdelle Museum, Square Saint Lambert, views of La tour Eiffel and plenty of shops and restaurants.

Square Saint Lambert is a public park that used to be a gas factory and is listed as a monument. Apparently it’s a beautiful, green space, but it was snowy when we were there.

Musée Bourdelle was of particular interest to us. Antoine Bourdelle was a student of August Rodin and an amazing sculptor. (To read about the Rodin museum, click here). The current museum was his studio and gardens between 1885 -1929; that’s an amazingly long time considering the physicality of the work. Here you’ll find over 500 of his works including statues from the size of a human hand to others that are easily 30 feet (9.1 meters) tall or more.

His works also include sketches, paintings, frescos, just to name a few. He was also an art instructor and his list of over 40 students from around the globe include some famous artists; Henri Matisse, France; Angela Gregory, US; Ryumon Yusada, Japan; and Margaret Butler, New Zealand. His daughter was once the manager of the museum which opened in 1949. The museum is open Tuesdays – Sundays and admission is free.

My eye doctor is also located in this neighborhood, on Rue de Vaugirard, which is the longest street in Paris and extends through the 6th and 15th arrondissements. It dates back to the 15th century and was once a Roman Road.

We stayed here for two weeks in June for my surgery and follow-up. It felt odd to be in Paris and have business to attend to rather than sightseeing; c’est la vie. But we did wander in the neighborhood and enjoyed some of the sites, and some good meals too.

The 16th arrondissement is located on the right bank of the River Seine and is the westernmost of the neighborhoods. It was incorporated into Paris in 1859 and is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods. Here you’ll find Place du Trocadéro, Musée Marmottan-Monet, sporting venues and stadiums.

Most interesting to us during our visit was Musée Marmottan-Monet. The museum is housed in an 18th century hunting lodge that was owned by the Marmottan family. Paul Marmottan was an art collector and historian. Upon his death, he donated the home and his collections to Académie des Beaux-Arts, which turned it into a museum that opened to the public in 1934.

Claude Monet’s son, Michel, donated over 300 of his father’s paintings to the museum upon his death in 1966. It was at that time that the name was changed to Musée Marmottan-Monet.

In addition to the Monet collection, you’ll find works by Pissarro, Caillebotte and an interesting collection of Trompe-l’œil pieces.

The intention of these three-dimensional and highly realistic objects is to trick the observer into thinking they’re real. Like this one; my immediate reaction was why is this woman hiding in the corner; is she okay??

The museum has the largest collection of Monet’s paintings in the world. It is open Tuesdays – Sundays from 10am – 6pm; admission prices range from 9 – 15€.

Place du Trocadéro was built for the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris and is a complex of museums, monuments, gardens and offers stunning views of La tour Eiffel. It was a miserably rainy day when we were there so we didn’t get to enjoy the gardens, but I got a few nice shots of the buildings, statues and La tour Eiffel.

Place du Trocadéro is a popular place to visit and it was quite busy even on the rainy day we were there. I would advise getting an early start if you’re interested in visiting.

This wraps up the 15th and 16th arrondissements, only four more to go! What do you think? As always, I would love to hear from you, so leave a message if you’re so inclined.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia