American Friends of the Louvre: How to find the Philippe Auguste Wall in Paris

If you’re reading this page, you probably just watched my talk about my favourite architectural wonder of Paris: the Philippe Auguste Wall.

You got the full story in the talk, but here are some more pics, some practical information for finding the wall, and finally a little more information about me and my work.

Let’s start with the parts of the wall that are easiest to find.

The easy bits

The following are examples of the easiest-to-find vestiges. They’re in plain sight and unmissable. I’ve selected the four main vestiges.

The captions explain where and what they are, and you can click to enlarge them.

  • The Louvre fortress, which is open to the public on the lower floor of the Louvre museum
  • The big empty half tower on rue du Louvre
  • The mighty cross section on rue Clovis on the Left Bank
  • The longest stretch of the wall, running alongside the basketball courts on rue de Jardins Saint Paul.

The medium bits: The towers

These towers can be a little trickier to find. Sometimes you’ll need to go through a gate, into a museum, a car park, a restaurant… but they’re all accessible enough! Here are some of my favourite towers. There are more, but these are the best!

  • This is inside the carpark on Rue Mazarine
  • Inside the Un Dimanche a Paris restaurant
  • Inside the Jardin des Rosiers – Joseph-Migneret
  • The office in the Tour de Jean sans Peur at 20 Rue Étienne Marcel, 75002
  • In the courtyard of the Credit Municipale de Paris at 55 Rue des Francs Bourgeois

The hard bits

When it comes to the hard bits, you’ll have to go “Indiana Jones mode” if you want to see them. You’ll have to sneak into a courtyard behind a local, or perhaps just ask politely.

It would be insane of my to share all of my top secret discoveries, so here are a few to start you off. To find the full list, you’ll have to become a member and watch my video.

  • Looking into a courtyard on rue du Cardinal Lemoine
  • The fire station on rue Jacques-Henri Latigue
  • A closer look from rue Clovis
  • Inside another courtyard on rue du Cardinal Lemoine

How to find the wall yourself

  • Look for unusual angles
  • Buildings that don’t align flush with the others
  • Very easy to spot them from above. See how the one to the left doesn’t align with its neighbors or the road?
  • The wall ran top right to bottom left on this satellite image.
  • This is the section on Rue Clovis and Cardinal Lemoine
  • The wall on a modern map

That’s it! As for me, I’m Oliver Gee and I’m the host of the popular Paris podcast The Earful Tower. The podcast was recently lauded by the New York Times as a great way to travel by ear. Subscribe – it’s free! I’m originally from Australia and have lived in Paris since 2015.

If you want to watch the exciting video where I go into all the Left Bank courtyards, become a member here. And here is the direct link to the video once you’ve signed up.

Below is an image of me while making the video. It was taken by a resident who bought her home specifically to live by the wall.

Now, if you enjoyed this presentation, you will love my book, Paris On Air. You can find it on this page or the icons below.

And lastly, be sure to subscribe to my podcast in time for Monday’s new episode about the wall! Click Follow on Spotify below, or find it wherever you get podcasts. Here’s a taste of more episodes I’ve done.

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