In the heart of the Latin Quarter, very close to the Hotel Raspail Monstparnasse, hides the oldest tree in Paris.

For more than 4 centuries, it observes the evolutions of the capital.

Between the Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre church opposite Notre Dame and the quai Montebello is the René-Viviani Square, which was created in 1928 and owes its name  to René Viviani, a lawyer, politician who founded in 1904, with Jean Jaurès, the  newspaper l’Humanité .

The square houses a Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia) planted by Jean Robin, botanist, arborist of King Henry IV and director of the Garden of Apothecaries, now called Jardin des Plantes. In 1601, the royal gardener planted in various parts of the capital the seeds of a variety coming from the Appalachians in North America offered by his friend the English naturalist, John Tradescant. Only that of the square Viviani has reached us. His longevity makes him the oldest tree in Paris.

This 15-meter-tall ancestor whose trunk reaches a circumference of nearly 4 m is in perfect health. Concealed under a large mass of ivy, a cement structure supports its trunk bending under the weight of its branches. The City of Paris’s gardeners carefully look after the health of this giant specimen particularly well suited to urban pollution. Its delicately scented flowers appear in early spring and moved into pods filled with seeds that are very similar to those of acacia.

Only a short walk away from Saint-Michel  and the Île de la Cité, square Viviani will allow you to admire the panorama of Notre-Dame de Paris. During your visit, take time to discover the Eastern Roman Catholic Church of Byzantine Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre built in 582, destroyed by the Normans in 886 and rebuilt in 1160. You will also find there the bronze fountain of Sculptor Georges Jeanclos, as well as remains of balustrades, capitals and wells of the XIIth century.

During a walk in the Latin Quarter close to our hotel, do not hesitate to visit this incredible witness of the passing time ….