Le Village Saint-Paul

You are approaching a place that looks like a quiet, hidden neighborhood tucked away from the busy streets of Paris. This is Village Saint-Paul, a series of interconnected courtyards and pedestrian passages that occupy the site of a long-vanished royal palace. In the fourteenth century, King Charles the Fifth built his residence here, known as the Hotel Saint-Paul. The site was not just a palace but a sprawling estate complete with orchards and gardens, and it famously housed the first royal menagerie in Paris where the king kept live lions.