Le Bateau Ivre Wall

Fans of poetry or French literature, add Rue Férou to your list of places to visit in Paris! Steps from the Jardin du Luxembourg, this narrow street is easy to miss, but I promise it’s more than worth a look.

An otherwise unremarkable rue leading from the Saint-Sulpice Church up to the Luxembourg Gardens, the long wall running along this street is emblazoned with the full text (all 100 lines) of Le Bateau Ivre, a poem by Arthur Rimbaud.

It’s said that the prodigious poet recited the poem for the first time at a nearby restaurant when he was just 17 years old.

The mural was inspired by the “Poems on Walls” project started in the Netherlands in 1992. The Paris mural poem was painted by Dutch artist Jan Willem Bruins and unveiled on June 14, 2012, as part of the annual Marché de la Poésie.

If you’d like to keep the literary visit going, stop by the site of Gertrude Stein’s famous Paris salon — it’s only a few blocks away!

Wondering where to pick up some poetry while in the city? Browse the shelves at one of these 5 Best Bookshops in Paris.