Is it just a thoroughfare? No. Voie EP/20 in Paris is more than just a street. It is located in the 20th arrondissement. This arrondissement was cobbled together from land and villages outside the city limits.
Voie EP/20 is a part of Paris. The wine village of Belleville and the neighboring hamlet of Ménilmontant were brought into the new Paris boundaries. The land stretched from there down to the border of the also new 12th Arrondissement. Living costs have always been cheaper here than in central Paris. The area has attracted immigrants, refugees, and poorer people coming in from rural France.
Voie EP/20 itself is not very long. It measures approximately 30 meters. It is a small piece of the Parisian landscape. Yet it connects to the larger story of the city.
The 20th arrondissement is the easternmost district of Paris. It is a sprawling patchwork sort of place. The district is an administrative entity rather than a natural geographic one. The 20th was cobbled together in 1860. It came from land and villages that were outside the city limits.
Belleville is a vibrant neighborhood with a history. It started as a village on a hill outside of Paris. It was beyond the city walls. These walls were known as taxation walls. Wine was cheaper. Belleville became known as a wine village. It was a place where wine was bought, sold, and consumed.
Belleville thrived with bars and bistros. There were also less savory establishments. The influx of settlers in the 19th century made it a hotbed of discontent and uprising. It supported rebellions in 1848 and the Paris Commune in 1871.
Today Belleville is usually described as vibrant and diverse. It is also bustling. There is a lot going on in the commercial center of the district. This is along Rue de Belleville from Rue des Pyrénées to Rue de Tourtille. Belleville is the place to go for ethnic cuisines. Vietnamese is now a major contender.
Parc de Belleville runs down the hill from Rue de Belleville to Rue des Couronnes. It has 11 acres of green space with flowers and trees. There are walkways and fountains. It is the highest park in Paris. It has the longest waterfall in Paris. It also has the longest children’s slide.
Like other parks in Paris it was once the site of a gypsum or limestone mine. Parc de Belleville wasn’t created until 1988. Other large parks were created in the mid-19th century. Today it is a haven of peaceful relaxation. It is away from the hubbub of central Paris.
Belleville affords one of the best views of the rest of Paris. From the top of the park you can gaze across the rooftops of Paris. You can appreciate how the Eiffel Tower dominates the city skyline.
Edith Piaf is a Parisian icon. She is also the name of a place in the 20th Arrondissement. A bronze statue of the singer resides there. Legend has it she was born under a streetlamp in Belleville. This was outside the door of 72 Rue de Belleville. There is now a plaque to commemorate the event.
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the most visited attraction in the 20th Arrondissement. Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison appeared together there. They are both buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.
There is a unique nearly secret garden in the 20th Arrondissement. Most visitors have never heard of it. It is the Jardin Naturel Pierre-Emmanuel. It is located at the end of the narrow dead-end Rue de la Réunion.
What is unusual about this Paris garden is that it is all natural. The garden has simply been allowed to evolve. There are no plantings or mowings. There is a pond where water plants grow.
Four arrondissements meet at the same point in eastern Paris. These are the 10th, 11th, 19th and 20th. It happens at the Belleville Metro station. Boulevard de Belleville and Rue de Belleville come together. So too do boulevard de la Villette and Rue du Faubourg du Temple.
The arrondissement town hall of the 20th Arrondissement is located on Place Gambetta.
Voie EP/20 may be small but it is part of a large and diverse area. It connects to the history of Paris. It also connects to the present day.