Place Alphonse-Allais, Pedestrian square in Belleville, Paris, France
Place Alphonse-Allais is a small pedestrian square in the Belleville neighborhood of Paris's 20th arrondissement. It is lined with apartment buildings and local shops, and its paths are framed by rose bushes and evergreen shrubs, with benches placed around trees throughout the space.
The square was created as part of an urban development project and received its current name in 1990. It was named after Alphonse Allais, a French journalist, writer, and humorist who lived from 1854 to 1905.
The square is named after a 19th-century French humorist and writer, which gives the place an unexpectedly playful identity within an otherwise ordinary neighborhood. Today, locals from Belleville use it as a spot to sit on one of the new benches and watch people go by.
The square sits in Belleville and is easy to reach on foot or by public transport, with several stops nearby. A visit in spring is worth planning, as the rose bushes planted throughout the space are in full bloom at that time.
During a recent replanting, more than 300 rose bushes were installed in the square, all sourced from the city of Paris's own horticultural center, which produces plants for parks across the city. The team also chose Sarcococca shrubs, which release a faint sweet scent in winter when almost nothing else is flowering.
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