Rue Crémieux: How to Visit Places in Paris Respectfully

Rue Crémieux in Paris has received a ton of attention in recent years. Here’s how to see it without infringing on the local’s daily lives and reasons why you should visit the street.

It’s human nature to see a picture of a quaint, vividly colorful, row of English cottage homes on a cobble-stoned street in Paris and think to yourself, “Wow, I really want to go see this unique street in person.” After all, streets like these are not very common in a city like Paris, where apartments reign and colorful individual houses are not the norm. When I found out that it was around the corner from my stay in Marais at Pavillon de la Reine, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World, I thought why not take a stroll down Rue Crémieux.

Rue Crémieux has as of lately began to make its rounds on Instagram, which made visiting the street feel like an internal battle of tug of war. Do I want to add on to the Instagram problem that the locals are facing or just go check out the street in my own respectful way? I chose the latter. After all, I am a skeptic and don’t believe what I read until I see things for myself. It was 6PM on a Friday afternoon in May. The street was completely empty, it was just me and Pat. You could here the people living in the colorful houses prepping for dinner, watching TV, or playing with their siblings. This Instagram problem didn’t seem as bad as they had described and the street was just as beautiful as pictures had depicted.

But after doing some research, I came to realize that the problem is existent, just not at 6PM or early mornings on a weekday. The residents see a flood of models, influencers, rappers, movie crews, and sometimes tourists take over their street primarily during the weekend and at night, when people are drunk, loud, and reckless. It’s for this reason that the residents of Rue Crémieux want to build a gate on either side of the street that closes it off to the public during the most lively times of day. And I don’t blame them.

A local stepped outside to throw away some trash. She smiled at me and said, “Bonjour.” It seemed like my presence wasn’t bothering her. The residents don’t mind if you are there respectfully as long as you don’t sit on their doorstep, pretend to knock on their doors, or talk loudly and interfere on their day to day activities. They built this community and designed it as such as a means of preserving an important street in Paris for other people to see. It’s meant to be seen, but the key word here is to do it in a respectful way.

Amidst two Rues with Parisian architecture and apartments lay Rue Crémieux, a small row of colorful houses each a different pastel color. A few years back one owner painted his house and the others followed along like a domino effect, creating what you see today. What makes these houses even more unique though are the details painted onto each and how well-manicured and maintained they are. It’s clear the locals care deeply about their homes.

The street is lined with terracotta pots filled with plants, making it feel like your strolling down the countryside. Pay attention to the painted details on each house. A painted cat chasing birds and a fake circular window on the pink/purple house at number 28, fake ivy drawn on the green house at number 21, a row of little black ducks and more. There’s details on every property.

Wonder, or in this case wanderlust, is the most human of all emotions. We are drawn to things that are beautiful in nature from le Cinque Terre in Italy, to Santorini in Greece, to places like Rue Crémieux in Paris. But we all need to remember to be respectful and approach these places with a more empathetic eye, because if we don’t we will either risk being shut out of these places, gated, or just completely ruin their beauty.

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