What stories do these walls whisper on Rue de Montalembert? This street resides in Paris’s 7th arrondissement. It is in the Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin quarter.
Rue de Montalembert is not long. It stretches a mere 100 meters. The street begins at 2, rue Sèbastien-Bottin. It ends at 31-41, rue du Bac. You can reach it via line 12 at the Rue du Bac station.
This street owes its name to Charles de Montalembert. He was a French writer, historian, and politician born in 1810 and died in 1870. Rue de Montalembert came into existence by decree in 1913. It was officially named in 1924. The street was intended to be part of a larger project from 1868. This uncompleted project aimed to connect Les Invalides to the Pont du Carrousel.
In 2017, the intersection of Rue de Montalembert and Rue du Bac gained a name. It became Place Gabriel-García-Márquez.
Look at number 1 Rue de Montalembert. Notice the building designed by Roger Bouvard in 1913. His signature is on the facade.
Then see number 2. It features the facade of the Hôtel de Livry. This building dates back to the 17th century. It is also known as Hôtel Cambacérès. Find it at the back of the courtyard at 21, rue de l’Université. The Hôtel de Livry earned historical recognition in 1938. During the 1940s, a division of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance occupied it.
Across the street at number 3, another building catches the eye. Architect A. Champy designed it in 1926. His signature also adorns the facade. Here stands the Hôtel Montalembert.
Numbers 5-7 house the Hôtel Pont Royal. Finally, at number 9, a building constructed in 1954 by architect Louis Thomas stands.
The swish Hotel Pont Royal occupies much of this short street. It was opened in 1913 off the Rue de Bac leading to the Pont Royal. The street was named in 1924, after Charles de Montalembert. He was a theoretician of liberal Catholicism.
In October 1944, Lucie Aubrac stayed at the Hotel Pont Royal with her children. She was a delegate to the National Consultative Assembly. Later she moved to the Rue Marbeuf in January. Her husband Raymond was abruptly fired. He lost his job as Commissioner of Marseilles because of his left leanings.
From the 1930s, the basement bar at the Hotel Pont-Royal served a purpose. Gaston Gallimard used it as a discrete meeting place. He met with intellectuals and writers. Ernest Hemingway, André Malraux, André Gide, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus were among them. So were Françoise Sagan, Jean-Paul Sartre and many more in the 1930s and 1950s. Gaston Gallimard was the head of the Gallimard publishing house.
In 1928, Gallimard purchased 5, Rue Sébastien-Bottin. It was effectively adjacent and at the time known as 43 Rue de Beaune. It became his new headquarters.
This is Rue de Montalembert a place of history and stories. A place where literary giants once gathered.