Paris 17th district - Ternes

Les Ternes: one of the villages initially present in the future 17th arrondissement, it had a chateau at what is now the junction between rue Bayen and rue Pierre Demours. In 1755, the hamlet comprised 18 houses in addition to the chateau. The road from Paris to St Germain en Laye crossed it and logically later took the name of Avenue des Ternes. The village was attached to Villiers la Garenne, and then, after the Revolution, to Neuilly. The air here was reputed to be exceptionally pure... In 1830, its 8000 inhabitants demanded autonomy for the commune, which was refused. It was not until 1860 when the commune counted 16,000 inhabitants that it was attached to the capital.

Straddling the 8th and 17th arrondissements of Paris, the Ternes district is often described by Parisians as chic, historic and welcoming. It developed essentially from 1860 on. Freestone facades are omnipresent and numerous buildings feature remarkable domes.

Today it is all in one a bourgeois, lively commercial and residential neighbourhood.

The nerve center of the 17th arrondissement, Avenue des Ternes is a shopper’s paradise with outlets of many of the leading brands. Restaurants and little bistros titillate the taste buds of the most demanding customers; among them the Ballon des Ternes which takes its customers back to the Belle Epoque, the Maison Pou, (an award-winning caterer) or the Dada (for a chic and casual after work). Many open-air and covered markets animate the neighborhood, among them the Flower Market on Place des Ternes.

St Ferdinand des Ternes Church replaced between 1842 and 1847 a modest old chapel.

Place des Ternes witnessed the return of the King from Varennes in June 1791

Opened in 1867 with the name avenue Prince-Jerome, this avenue today bears the name of the Maréchal de France and War Minister Adolphe Niel. It runs from Place du Maréchal Juin to the Avenue des Ternes. Renowned French composer Gabriel Fauré resided at 93 avenue Niel. The villa Niel was created in 1896.

At the corner of Avenue des Ternes stands the building that was once the former Magasins Réunis and is now the Fnac.

Mentioned in 1730, this bore the name of rue des Ternes until 1868 when it took the name of physician Pierre Demours, who owned some of the street’s plots. The chateau des Ternes was located at the level of numbers 17 and 19, and here a building with a vaulted passage draws the attention of passersby. This is actually the last remaining vestige of the Chateau, which did not survive the urban development of the 19th century. It is today listed.

Halfway between Saint-Ferdinand Church and Avenue de la Grande Armée, this junction features a statue of Leon Serpollet, who constructed the first steam powered automobile and founded "Serpollet frères et Cie". Built on the plain of the same name it was named Ferdinandville until 1867.