“A shortcut for a Duke?” you might ask, eyebrows raised. Indeed, the Avenue de la Duchesse du Maine, stretching out before us, owes its existence to a royal’s desire for a quicker commute! It was not a Duchess, but a Duke, who instigated this avenue. Auguste de Bourbon, the Duke of Maine, needed a faster way to travel from his Parisian residence on Rue de Varenne to his wife’s beloved Château de Sceaux. And thus, in the 18th century, he commissioned a path to be carved through the then-rural landscape, a path which evolved into the Avenue de la Duchesse du Maine. While few grand monuments grace the avenue today, its story echoes with whispers of its past. Imagine the Duke’s carriage rolling along this very route, leaving the city behind on the way to the salons and intrigues of Château de Sceaux. His journey, a mere commute for a Duke, has become a part of the very fabric of Paris.
Église Notre-Dame de l’Air
Beneath what appears to be a simple stone and wood structure lies a history interwoven with faith aviation and community.