Gavin H.
The cafes and boulangerie nearby are wonderful, and this quiet little place is a treat if you want a bit of calm in the middle of the city. It’s a one-story wooden garden house, an amazing thing to find in Paris, just by Picpus Metro Station. #60 Bd de Picpus is across the intersection from the station, next to the fruit stand. A plain grey door leads through several more doors to a half-lite door and a daunting brown one, which Pierre opened with a smile. From there you step down a jasmine-scented pebble path to a tiny lawn, backed by bamboo and shaded by a large maple. The house has a quirky, funky triangular red-stained plexiglass meso-space, and the guest room is in a separate building. It brought to mind experimental homes in the redwoods on the Humboldt coast, with clear inspiration from Mies Van der Rohe, M.C. Escher, and the Bay Area funk artists. If Jerry Garcia is a friend of a friend of yours, you’ll love this peaceful spot. A Robert Arneson or Roy deForest piece would fit right in. To get there from the airport, take the train to Paris, then Metro line 6 toward Nation and get off at Picpus. Go up the stairs.
