Cultural excursion

Edith Piaf in Belleville

Discover the Belleville of Edith Piaf

Edith Piaf, remembered and respected as one of the greatest singers that France has ever had. Her life has had different sides: an enormous popularity as an artist in contrast with a sad personal life. Her most famous chansons are: La vie en rose, Non, je ne regrette rien and Milord.

We start our tour down the Rue de Belleville in the 20th district of Paris. When we arrive at number 72 we find the birthplace of the French singer Édith Giovanna Gassion, known as Edith Piaf. On the steps at the front door, she has spent her childhood and it's probably over there where she heard her first music.

We'll walk through the small streets in the neighborhood of Belleville to get to know it better. We walk along different places that remind us of the many musicians who lived there or who are inspired by the erea, like the Place Maurice Chevalier and the famous Rue de Ménilmontant.

When we arrive in the Parc de Belleville, we have a magnificent view of the city with the Eiffel Tower. Edith must have seen it so very often in her youth without knowing that one day she would be the first artist who gave a performance on the tower!

We continue our tour near the Eglise de Ménilmontant to the old apartment of Edith that is now decorated as a museum. Over there, we learn the life story of La Môme Piaf, how she grew up in the streets of Paris and the café Chez Louisette, to the hugely popular chansonnière who performed in the Paris Olympia theatre. The museum is filled with personal belongings of the singer and offers many memories of the life of Edith Piaf.

After this impressive visit we'll go towards the famous Parisian cemetery Père La Chaise. Except the grave of Edith Piaf, many other French and international celebrities are buried there, including Gilbert Becaud, Frédéric Chopin, Maria Callas, Yves Montand and Jim Morrison. Unfortunately, the cemetery is too large to see all the graves but we will, of course, visit the most famous of the French chanson.

Afterwards we take the Rue de Bagnolet in the direction of the Place Edith Piaf where we finish our tour. On 11 October 2003, during the 40th anniversary of the death of the singer, the square was inaugurated by the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë. Also the statue of the singer was revealed on this day. This statue is created by the artist Lisbeth Delisle and stands only a few meters away from the Tenon Hospital where Edith was born on 19 december 1915.