La Samaritaine
Bonjour,
So sorry about the past couple of days. We’ve had glorious rain off and on which makes getting around much less enjoyable. No circulation, no photos. My vertigo seems to be getting worse so that also hampers my state of mind and desire to push forward. Hopefully, today will be better.
We will return to La Samaritaine to shop for a Jelly Cat for my granddaughter’s Christmas…a surprise as requested by her and sweetly something that reminds me of Paris which will remind her of me! Pretty neat! There is a lovely spot for lunch on top called Voyage and we’ll enjoy eating there again. Here’s some interesting history about the store.
“La Samaritaine was for the people. It was affordable, centrally-located, had everything the locals needed, and offered some of the best views over the city. It wasn’t chic nor necessarily fashionable, but accessible to everyone and anyone.
This wasn’t just by chance, but by design.
La Samaritaine was founded by Ernest Cognacq in 1870. The 1946 edition of the Michelin Green Guide Paris says the name comes from the 17th-century building on the Pont Neuf commissioned by King Henri IV to pump water from the Seine to the Louvre and the Tuileries, decorated with a bas-relief of the Samaritan woman giving water to Jesus. The pump was removed in 1813, but Cognacq, who sold fabrics from a stand on that very same spot on the Pont Neuf when he was starting out, used the name when he opened his first department store on the Rue du Pont Neuf. (Secrets of Paris newsletter).” Here are some early photos.
The only interesting photo I have to share is this one which we must have walked past dozens of times. It’s on the short connecting street between rue St. Paul and rue Beautrelis. It’s the entrance to a basketball court. What a nice surprise. It’s eyes wide open all the time when taking photos in Paris. Even then one sneaks by you!
Hopefully, tomorrow, I can get back on track. We are SO grateful for the rain, enough to really wash down the city, especially the dog poop!
Have a lovely day,
L & B
July 8, 2025 @ 11:57 am
Thanks, Linda. Hope the vertigo clears up.
July 8, 2025 @ 12:40 pm
Linda, here’s hoping your vertigo goes bye bye and the rain makes everything new and lovely again. Love the basket ball gateway. Thank you for sharing!
July 8, 2025 @ 1:06 pm
Use your time off to recoup. You’ve run all of us into the ground just following you.
Thanks
July 8, 2025 @ 3:25 pm
Linda
I can’t imagine how you are doing all this and dealing with vertigo too. Have you checked with a pharmacy there to see if they have something that could make it go away? At least there is no cancale in the near future for Paris. Do enjoy what you can. I enjoy your posts every day
July 8, 2025 @ 5:35 pm
I had to chuckle a bit at the dog poop. In Germany, there’s a law against leaving it behind, averaging around 35 Euros. That struck me about France. My SIL does it in France, but then, he’s German. But the first thought I had, looking at the old photograph and the horse-drawn carriage and the amount of horse poop which must have covered the streets everywhere back then. I’ve been on backpacks where the trail was open also to horses and it was a problem then. In fact, I’ve toured Vienna in a Fiacre. Off to see how the Viennese feel about it… 🙂
Earle
July 8, 2025 @ 5:36 pm
I miss the old La Samaritaine, before they closed and before the renovations. On my very very first trip to Paris when I was 25, we heard that there was a great view of Paris from the roof of La Samaritaine. We walked up the beautiful staircases until we found a smaller staircase that lead to a patio with an outdoor restaurant. Then you found another door which you entered into a spiral staircase that took you to the top. We had our laugh of the day at the English sign warning you to “let down your head” lest you hit it on the low door. The view was beautiful and our first areal view of Paris.
Since then I have been to the top of many buildings including Norte Dame, The Arc de Triomphe, La Defense, Montparnasse Tower and of course the Eiffel Tower, but none of them have ever matched the excitement on that first day, ascending all those stairs, “letting down our heads” and emerging to our first high up scenic view of Paris. We spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the department store (both buildings) and found it to be reasonable priced. Unfortunately that has changed. And I have yet to confirm whether the scenic look out is still there and if so, if it is available for the general public.
July 9, 2025 @ 10:14 am
I love Samaritan. I love all the Dept stores in Paris! When I was a student there, we would go especially to Samaritaine to see what was for sale, and then go to the Marché aux Puces to buy clothes. Life was different when my mother would come to visit. She could happily be counted on to buy me some clothes, full price OMG, in a store. I saved what ever extra money I could scrounge up to buy Courreges in used clothing stores, or the yearly sales at COURRÈGES where they would take pity on us poor student and sell the runway samples for very little. But a dept store? A dream! Of course it is all different now! I hope your vertigo is ebbing and you are feeling better..