Sylvia Plath was in Paris five times in one calendar year. More specifically, she visited Paris five times from December 1955 to August 1956, that's within nine months.
Her first stay was from 20 December to 31 December 1955.
She touched her feet in Paris again upon her return from Nice and the south of France on 8-9 January 1956.
Plath was in Paris for another long stretch from 24 March to 6 April 1956, leaving on the 6th to go from Paris through Strasbourg and then into Kehl, Germany, and onward to Munich, with Gordon Lameyer.
Then she spent the first portion of her honeymoon in Paris with her husband (and mother) from 22 June to 5 July.
On her way back from Spain to England, she and Hughes stopped once more in Paris on 23 August until the 28th, this time without Plath's mother, though they were joined by Warren Plath.
Recently I was in Europe and had the opportunity to layover briefly in Paris, so I maximized the opportunity to do something I had never done before which was to visit the Plathian sites in the French capital. Having access to Plath's letters, journals, passport, and pocket diaries was helpful in compiling a list of the dozen or so places that I wanted to see---there were many more places to consider but time was a major factor---while also taking in the festive pre-Christmas lights and general atmosphere. Photographs appear after the text about them.
South of the river on the "Left Bank":
Plath seems to have spent most of her time here. She got around quite a bit, though, crisscrossing the Seine, regularly. She saw a lot of plays, some movies, etc.
Hotel de la Harpe, then at 6 Rue de la Harpe, 75005 Paris. Sylvia Plath stayed here in December 1955 after the infamous locked-out-of-her-room incident with Jane Baltzell at, possibly, the Hotel des Deux Continents. However, it is unclear where she stayed the first days in Paris.
Hôtel de Béarn: then at 38 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris. Plath stayed here in March-April 1956. This address is no longer a hotel but the building to the left of it is. I thought about asking to look out a top floor room, somehow, but did not have enough time to stop for very long. It is just a block or so away from the divine Musée d'Orsay which I had a reservation to explore and which I enjoyed thoroughly.
Sassoon's house: 4 Rue Duvivier 75007 Paris. Unclear which floor and room(s) and window(s) were his, but this is the building Plath visited most notably on 25 March 1956 to find Sassoon out of the city for an indeterminate amount of time, and where Plath wrote a letter whilst crying to him and heard on the radio, the song the 1954 song "Smile" by Nat King Cole.
Hotel des Deux Continents: 25 Rue Jacob, 75006 Paris (visited 20 Dec 1955 with Sassoon; Summer 1956). Unfortunately, this location was covered by scaffolding but I did go into it and looked around. It is a very nice hotel.
Rue de Buci, 75006 Paris. Plath did something super important here, so you better sit down. Like now: She bought fruit. Is is a new low for me in the search for the minutiae of Sylvia Plath?
Musée de Cluny: 28 rue Du Sommerard, 75005 Paris. Plath noted in her pocket calendar that on Sunday, 26 August 1956, she visited the Musée de Cluny with her husband and brother and that their they took "snapshots".
The photograph of Plath and her brother was taken more in the middle of the entryway with the windows and towers in the background. Hughes must have been on squatting down quite a bit for the angle he achieved. The photograph of Plath and Hughes was taken underneath the right side of the arched entrance.
Café des Beaux Arts: 7 Quai Malaquais, 75006 Paris. Plath noted having a "fresh & fine" dinner here on 23 August 1956.
Île de la Cité
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Plath was photographed in front of the great cathedral, most likely on 5 April 1956 as she indicated in her calendar that she visited the site with Gordon Lamayer, the photo-taker (aka the photographer). The next day they left for Munich. Due to the 2019 fire and reconstruction, one cannot get as close as she got at this moment. The traffic around the area is vastly different now. The photograph of her walking with the façade in the distance was taken from the intersection of Quai du Marché Neuf - Maurice Grimaud and Rue de la Cité. The day I visited there was some unfortunate road works going on, so I did the best I could recreating the shot, even wearing light blue weather and green trousers to try to match Plath's turtleneck and skirt. Men and trench coats...Well, that's a recipe for misinterpretation... And, naturally, I need no headband.
Sainte Chappelle. Plath was amazed by the stained glass windows and so was I. This was an amazing place to visit.
Flower Market. Not the truly right season for flowers, but Plath herself visited on 23 December 1955 so it felt kind of right. See Plath's 29 December 1955 letter to Wober.
North of the River ("Right Bank"):
Plath ate quite a bit at PamPam, but it is unclear which location. There was one at 73 Champs-Elysées and another at 5 Place de l'Opéra. It was likely the latter as that was close to the American Express office. In fact, though I did not photograph it, one can see the American Express building from the location.
American Express, 11 Rue Scribe, 75009 Paris. Plath came here many times to collect the mail that was forwarded from elsewhere or sent directly. There are twenty or more mentions in her pocket calendar (though some may refer to the Rome location). The building in Paris is directly opposite the Opera House. The entrance/address is around the corner to the right of the face of the building.
This is what it looked like back in the 1950s (NYPL Digital Collection).
Comédie Caumartin, 25 rue Caumartin, Paris. Located near the American Express, this theater is still there. Plath saw Emlyn Williams' Le Monsieur qui attend here on 28 December 1955.
Place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris. This was not so chaotic the time I walked through the area and I was saddened not to see a stampede of cars. The part of it closest to the Jardin des Tuileries was blocked off for pedestrians. In fact, the roads leading into and around the Bastille were far more interesting. Anyway, Plath walked through here quite a bit on her way to and from the American Express, about a 15 minute walk away, on Rue Scribe.
See this brief YouTube video. In her 27 March 1956 journal entry, Plath writes about the experience which led to the lines in "Stopped Dead": "crossing the Place, blazing with lights and arush with deadly streams of cars... (Journals 559).
I wanted to see the Comédie Champs Eltysées, still located at 15 Avenue Montaigne, and while I was close to it just did not make it. Street view will have to suffice.
Sketches:
Plath sketched quite a bit in Paris in the spring and summer of 1956. Several of them are in Drawings (2013), some are lost.
View of Chimney-Pots, Gables and Artist’s Skylights from Room 26 of Hôtel de Béarn on Left Bank, Paris (circa 28 March 1956). The location is no longer a hotel; but the building next to it is. If I ever return to Paris I plan to stay there and request the highest room possible, even if it is a walk-up. If someone else gets there before me, I salute you. Plath wrote in a letter to her mother on 28 March 1956 that she drew the view "daily" (Letters Volume 1, page 1155; Drawings 27).
Tabac Opposite Palais de Justice (29 March 1956). There are benches near the current split-entrance to the Sainte Chappelle and the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité. From them, you get a good view matching Plath's perspective for her drawing the Tabac and Photomaton. If this is the approximate or precise location, then Plath drew 5 Boulevard du Palais. If so, funnily enough the store that was the Photomaton is now a Tabac, and the space that was the Tabac is presently a brasserie called L'Annexe. (Drawings 28)
Citronnade Stand in Tuileries, (27 March 1956). There are several stands in the Jardin de Tuileries selling refreshments. They have all likely been rebuilt from the time of Plath's visits but I like to imagine they are in the approximate space. Plath mentions this sketch in her 26-28 March 1956 letter to her mother. (Drawings 29)
Colourful Kiosque near Louvre (circa 27-28 March 1956). I found one kiosk on the river near the Louvre. Plath's drawing has the text "SUZE" wrapping around it. Per an online source, Suze, "is a French brand of bitters flavored with the roots of the plant gentian, normally drunk as an apéritif." The bottom of the drawing has the word "qui boit VABÉ". Vabé is or was a natural sweet wine produced by Suze. (Drawings 31)
Plath recorded several posters for entertainment that were pasted to this kiosque. The top is for the performance of Amants Puerils. This was by Fernand Crommelynck and it was performed at the Théâtre Fémina. There is a poster for Monnaie du Pape as well. This probably Louis Velle's play, A La Monnaie Du Pape (At the Pope 's Currency), performed at the Théâtre Gramont in 1956.
One of the lost sketches is of the Pont Neuf from the green park at the western tip of the Île de la Cité. Plath wrote about this in her 26-28 March 1956 letter to her mother; the date of the sketch was Sunday 25 March.
Plath also visited Basilique du Sacré-Cœur in Monmartre as well as the nearby vibrant Place du Tertre where she had a silhouette of her made on 30 March 1956. Where is that!?!?. The silhouette schtick is still is active to this day. When Plath walked through it on Friday, 30 March 1956, she wrote in her journal the square was "chock full of tourists and bad bad artists in various stances doing charcoal portraits or muddy paintings of the domes of Sacre Coeur" (Journals 561).
See more on Plath's travel in these blog posts:
Sylvia Plath's Passport and Travel Documents and Sylvia Plath's Passport, Part Two.
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