Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris

Cité Universitaire is really a unique and fabulous residential campus, probably the only one of its kind in the world! At any given time, it houses over 12, 000 university students from 140  different nationalities in an immense lovely landscaped park  in southern Paris.

What started in 1920 as a beautiful, conscientious and noble idea to bring students from all over the world together in hopes of fostering world peace,  it remains today committed to this utopian concept.   Peace has not reigned for very long in any part of this planet, but I like to think that Cité Universitaire continues to do its part in establishing multicultural friendships and understanding amongst the youth of the world.

If that weren’t enough,  it additionally offers an absolutely fascinating outlay of architecturally diverse houses.  The majority of these are named for specific countries, and some for persons of honor or specific groups of students, such as agronomy or agriculture.  Some of these were designed by world famous architects, with Le Corbusier being the most known.

The whole idea started with  the French minister of public instruction, André Honnorat, and was financially made possible with the philanthropic donations of Emile Deutsch de la Meurthe, a benevolent Alsatian industrialist.  The very first building opened in 1925 and was named after him, which I find one of the prettiest.

Before the eve of World War II, there were already 19 international houses built, including the Maison des États Unis( United States), which was funded by John D Rockefeller Junior.  The beautiful international student center, seen in the top photo, was also funded by Mr Rockefeller.

There you will find a restaurant that is also open to the public.  Students only pay 3.50 euros, but  you can have a  3 course meal, the least expensive  available in Paris for only 6 to 7 euros for a first course, main dish and dessert!

Last sunday I saw families with kids eating on the lovely back terrace with its terrific view of the park.  I have not yet tried their menus, which I hear tend to be more “gastronomical” than your average student cantine.

Because of the political climate  before and after  World War II, the German house was not built till 1956 and has been renamed after a German writer and poet Heinrich Heine.  Somewhat in the same vein,   was the Italian house which wasn’t  built till 1958.

The last house constructed on this campus was in 1969 for the country of Iran, but because of political alienation, it was deserted and is no longer inhabited by students.   Most recently there have been two new houses constructed to a new out reach, albeit smaller campus of Cité in the 19 arrondissement of Paris.

I must emphasise that the University of Paris does not have any classes there,  as Cité is just for the housing and cultural integration of international students.  Students, for the school year, regardless of their nationality, have to be either graduate students,  post doctoral researchers and or artists who are here in Paris as part of their work.

Accommodations are from simple dorm rooms to studios and a few larger apartments.  All floors in each house have communal kitchens for food preparation for those renting just dorm rooms. Prices of rooms run from 400 euros  to 800 euros a month for apartments.

If their home country has a residence at Cité, students apply directly, if not, they will be placed in any of the 40 houses, who have extra rooms.  Therefore, you will find some students of all nationalities in each of the country’s houses.

There are throughout the year over 1000 cultural events, such as concerts, art exhibits, dances, conferences and plays produced by various countries that fortunately are open to the public as well, some free or paying.

One of these is the Saint Lucia procession that is held around Christmas, and is extremely popular. I wrote about it in this blog last december.   Next week they are offering a tour of the gardens and in August, visits to the interior of some of the major houses, which I hope to attend.

Cité faces  one the largest and most beautiful parks in Paris, Parc Montsouris, so I  often enjoy walking around Cité too,  not only for the beauty, but the quietness!

With the exception of a few volleyball games, and a medieval sword lesson, it was quiet walking around the houses yesterday, hearing only  melodic strains of classical piano music being played from an open window.

I saw a fair amount of tourists coming and going,  pulling colourful valises looking to find their bargain rooms offered during the summer months.  They weren’t all young, with some middle agers and even older seen entering the houses.

In the summer, Cité allows

undergraduate students, or older folks who have a university connection to have dorm rooms or apartments, with rooms around 25 to 35 euros and  with a minimum stay of three days.  Families are welcomed too, as I witnessed a young couple with a baby going inside the intricately decorated Armenian house.

Cité is still growing these days! In March of this year, the Republic of Korea signed to build their house on the main Cité campus.   From my observations, there is room for even more housing and it will be built in the back where the  Cambodian and German houses are located.

The park like setting prides itself in maintaining a biodiversity of vegetation, some of which are rare specimens, brought from participating countries,  A massive blue cedar seems to have spread its drooping branches in an almost star-shaped sculpture that each caress  the earth.

The individual houses are all rather unique, some with very classical European architecture to the more modern inspired.  The Suisse house, designed by Le Corbusier and built in 1930, sports some of his furniture and is a showcase of his avant-garde  ideas from the 1920″s.

Le Corbusier also played a part in the design of the Brasil House, with its colourful facade.  The Portuguese contribution has a shiny golden wall in front and was one of the later built buildings.

The  houses of Holland, Denmark and Norway reflect the clean lines and no frills Nordic temperament, but the Swedish house is adorably more folkloric and very pretty with its blue shutters.

The Greek house, built in 1932, has a strong Grecian look, and  is magnificent inside and out.  I found the Mexico, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Armenian and South Asia houses  to be more outwardly reflective of their cultural identity.

The Belgium/Luxembourg house, along with several of the French houses are exquisite  and all portray renditions of  country châteaux found throughout Europe.  The main student center is likewise very beautiful and is said to be a replica of the Fontainebleau château.

You certainly don’t have to be a student to enjoy the charms of Cité as it makes for a fun and interesting visit, trying to guess which house belongs to which country, before seeing the name.

One that I would have never guessed, was the Maison de Inde(India) built in 1967, which somehow reminded me more of a hospital, than student housing.  To its merit, it did seem though to have rooms with very small balconies in back.

The Maison de Maroc is replete with a mosaic tiled courtyard tucked inside.

The very pretty , Foundation Bierman Lapôtre, which is the Belgium/Luxembourg house has cute turrets and is my favourite along with the Greek house.  Even tiny Monaco has a rather large building, which was built solely with private donations.

The most luxurious, at least initially, was the Foundation Rosa Abreu de Grancher(Cuba), seen with its facade of medallions.  Unheard of in its time(1937) was that each student room had its own private bathroom with a bathtub!  The colonial Spanish furniture was said to have been inspired by the cathedral of Havana.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Maison de Cambodge(Cambodia), built in 1957 was closed in 1973 due the civil war for almost 30 years, only reopening in 2001.

The Maison du Mexique has a lovely Aztec fresco on the side of its building.

The Spanish house was inspired by the Monterrey Palace of the duke of Alba, and in 1968 was closed by General Franco and did not open again till 1987.   The entrance is framed with pretty flowers as seen in the photo.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this rather armchair tour of Cité that might not be on the top of your tourist list, but for those of you who have been to Paris  before, or who have an interest in architectural designs, it is a hidden gem! Vive cultural diversity and peace!

PS: If any of you have ever lived at Cité for any amount of time, I would love to hear about your experiences! Hugs