“A hidden staircase in the middle of a passage? Now that’s something you don’t see every day!” Place Sainte-Foy, tucked away in the heart of Paris, is more than meets the eye. This quaint square, with its charmingly unassuming character, holds within its bounds a secret echo of the city’s storied past. The Place Sainte-Foy takes its name from the adjacent Rue Sainte-Foy, a street christened after a shop sign depicting Saint Foy. But the real intrigue lies in a peculiar feature of the passage: a sudden, short staircase that seems to appear out of nowhere. This architectural quirk is no accident. It’s a vestige of the grand Walls of Charles V, a formidable fortification that once encircled Paris. The staircase marks the difference in elevation between the old wall’s inner walkway and the filled-in moat that once lay beyond. As you ascend those stairs, you’re stepping back in time, traversing the layers of history that lie beneath the surface of modern Paris. The Walls of Charles V, largely dismantled by the 17th century, might be gone, but Place Sainte-Foy, in its quiet way, ensures their memory lives on.
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.