Place Marcel-Aymé, Small square in Montmartre district, Paris, France.
Place Marcel-Aymé is a paved square at the crossing of rue Girardon and rue Norvins on the Montmartre butte, created in 1986. Its centrepiece is Jean Marais's bronze of 1967, inaugurated here in 1989, showing the Passe-muraille character frozen as he emerges from a stone wall. A Histoire de Paris panel summarises Marcel Aymé's short story.
The square was created in 1986 at the junction of rue Girardon and rue Norvins, named after Marcel Aymé, the novelist and playwright who lived on rue Norvins. The building at no. 2, constructed in 1912 by architect Charles Adda, housed the R-26 artistic salon from 1930 and carries plaques for Aymé and composer Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht. Jean Marais's bronze of the Passe-muraille was inaugurated here in 1989, 22 years after the writer's death.
The square honors a French writer whose works explored imagination and the surreal in everyday life. The sculpture here has become a meeting point where locals and visitors pause to appreciate its playful reference to one of his most famous stories.
Place Marcel-Aymé sits at the junction of rue Girardon and rue Norvins; metro line 12 stops at Lamarck - Caulaincourt, a short climb uphill. The paving is flat stone slabs with flush tree grates and bollards, so watch your footing near the planters. Approach from rue Norvins to see the wall sculpture head-on.
The sculpture does more than decorate the space; it represents a specific story where a character discovers he can pass through solid walls. Many visitors overlook the informational panel that reveals this connection, missing the deeper meaning behind the artwork.
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