Cour du Bel air

The Cour du Bel Air is marked by a tall, unassuming archway on the Rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine that leads into a series of interconnected, light-filled courtyards. This spot was once the heart of the Parisian furniture industry, where woodworkers and cabinetmakers filled the workshops with the scent of sawdust and mahogany. In eighteen forty-eight, the workers here took up arms, tearing up the paving stones to build barricades against the government. Now, artists and galleries occupy the former studios.