Around Faustine’s desk on the Rive Gauche: when the dream becomes reality

Our office manager, Faustine Cressot, introduces a new series about the neighborhood around our office on rue de Verneuil with her view of Paris, her adopted home.

I am French but Paris is my second home too. I come from a small village in the French countryside, near the Swiss border. Nothing compares to the moment I first turned the key and opened the door into my own Parisian apartment. I have explored the city for the last four years from my home in the 3^rd arrondissement (district), the historic Marais neighborhood. It is now full of foreign restaurants, trendy boutiques rubbing shoulders with mansions, and museums. The Marais also boasts some of the oldest surviving medieval architecture in Paris.

What a change to start work in our new boutique on the 17^th-century rue de Verneuil in the 7^th arrondissement. Over the centuries the street has been home to a varied cast of characters, from Alexis de Tocqueville to Serge Gainsbourg. The Culture Ministry’s Centre National du Livre is now based there, promoting authors, editors, libraries, etc.

In the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés’ famed Carré des Antiquaires, the neighborhood is teeming with antique furniture, art and book shops. But what makes this narrow street particularly charming are the specialty shops, from the elaborate creations at the chocolate shop Cacaotier to Paris’ most renowned cheese shop, Androuet, established in 1909, to the artisans who create porcelain flowers and vegetables at Le Cabinet de Porcelaine. The Baillot bookbinding shop preserves this increasingly rare craft.

Having fallen in love with Paris and especially its architecture, a career in real estate was the obvious choice for me, helping others make their dream a reality. From my desk on rue de Verneuil I will give you regular glimpses of my Paris.