Rue Guynemer, Paris 6th:
History & Real Estate
The most expensive street in Paris
facing the Luxembourg Gardens
There is no comparable address in Paris. Rue Guynemer runs along the entire length of the west side of the Luxembourg Gardens, offering its inhabitants a direct and permanent view of one of the most beautiful parks in the capital.
Regularly designated as the most expensive street in Paris, it concentrates everything that makes the exception of the 6th arrondissement: a high quality building, an incomparable view, a rare calm at this distance from the center, and a demand that structurally exceeds the supply.
Only 390 metres long and 20 metres wide, it connects the rue de Vaugirard to the north to the rue d'Assas to the south. Its physical particularity is unique in Paris: only the west side is built. The east side, entirely occupied by the garden, will never be built. It is this irreplaceable configuration that makes the rue Guynemer a special case in Parisian real estate.
A hero to give his name to the street
The street was formerly called Rue du Luxembourg, then briefly Rue Bonaparte, before taking its current name after the First World War in homage to Georges Guynemer, a French aviator who died in combat at the age of 22.
Georges Guynemer: the fragile hero who became a national legend
The story of Georges Guynemer is one of the most romantic of the Great War. Born on December 24, 1894 in Paris, the son of an officer at Saint-Cyr, he grew up in a well-to-do environment but suffered from delicate health throughout his childhood. A brilliant but turbulent student at the Lycée Stanislas — where he slapped his teacher one day and was expelled — he nevertheless dreamed of the École Polytechnique. The war would change everything.
When the conflict broke out in August 1914, Guynemer immediately went to a recruiting office. He refused. He was too sickly, too puny. He ran again. He refused again. It was through aviation, which was still marginal, that he ended up enlisting in November 1914 — as a simple assistant mechanic, for lack of anything better.
Licensed as a pilot in the spring of 1915, he was assigned to the Stork Squadron, the most famous French fighter unit. What military medicine had taken for weakness turned out to be an extraordinary energy: bold, methodical, obsessive, Guynemer accumulated victories. He named all his planes "Old Charles" in homage to one of his mechanics, and developed a short-range combat tactic, dangerous but frighteningly effective. He survived eight times after his aircraft was shot down.
At the age of 22, he had a total of 53 approved victories. Captain, officer of the Legion of Honour, face on the cover of the major illustrated newspapers — he was the first media star of French aviation, inventing the figure of the "ace of war" almost in spite of himself.
On September 11, 1917, he took off for a patrol mission over Langemark, Belgium. He did not return. His plane was destroyed by a bombing before his remains could be recovered. He had no grave. This disappearance without a trace completed the transformation of man into a myth.
The Chamber of Deputies voted unanimously to inscribe his name in the Pantheon. His motto — "To face" — became that of the Air Force. And throughout Paris, in all the major cities of France, streets, avenues, squares took his name.
The street before Guynemer: a creation of Louis XVIII
Before honoring an aviator, the street has an older history. It was created in 1778 when the Count of Provence — the future Louis XVIII — then owner of the Luxembourg Palace, sold the western third of the garden to finance the renovation of the building. This decision created the space that would become the street, first as an extension of the rue Bonaparte, then under the name of rue du Luxembourg.
A dramatic episode marked its modern history: on July 15, 1918, a shell from the Grosse Bertha — the German long-range gun — exploded at number 6. The street still bears the discreet scars of that time in some facades.
A street inhabited by the history of France
What distinguishes Rue Guynemer from a simple beautiful address is the extraordinary density of personalities who have lived there. By walking through its buildings number by number, we travel through a century of French intellectual, political and artistic history.
At number 4, a building built in 1893, owned by the Vatican, was requisitioned by the Nazis during the Occupation. At the Liberation, Germaine Tillion's Association of Deportees was housed there — until the Holy See asked for restitution. François Mitterrand, then Minister of Veterans Affairs, had the association moved. The Vatican recovered the building and then rented it to prestigious tenants: François and Danielle Mitterrand, Bernard Kouchner, Christine Ockrent.
At number 6, behind the façade rebuilt in 1972, hides the Institut Bossuet, a preparatory school founded in 1866 whose alumni form a dizzying list: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean d'Ormesson, Frédéric Beigbeder, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo — the "Untouchable" — and Paul Reynaud.
At number 34, Françoise Sagan lived for several years opposite Luxembourg. At number 36, Léon Blum moved in after his marriage in 1897 and lived there until 1908, a plaque commemorates him at number 38. Jacqueline de Romilly, a Hellenist of the Académie française, also lived there — it was from her that Robert and Élisabeth Badinter bought their apartment in 1972, a dwelling they still occupy decades later. At number 26, a plaque pays tribute to Marie-France Pisier, who lived there until her death in 2011.
The writer Michel Houellebecq even has one of his characters reside on rue Guynemer in La Carte et le Territoire (2010) — a sign that the address has a symbolic value that goes beyond real estate.
Architecture:
A street with many faces
The dominant post-Haussmannian building
The majority of the buildings on rue Guynemer were built between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, in the post-Haussmannian style characteristic of the 6th century: dressed stone, bow windows, elaborate ironwork, ornate cornices, monumental carriage doors. These Belle Époque buildings, freer in their ornamentation than the strict Haussmann, benefit from a direct and permanent view of the Luxembourg Gardens on the east side. The apartments are often through, with high ceilings and generally well-preserved family layouts.
Buildings from the 70s and 80s: the paradox of the terrace
Rue Guynemer has an architectural mix that is not always found in the most sought-after streets of the 6th: a few modern and functional buildings from the 1970s and 1980s are directly adjacent to post-Haussmannian or Art Deco facades. This cohabitation is sometimes surprising — a concrete building glued to a Belle Époque building — and the style of these recent constructions repels some buyers, who are used to looking for the charm of the old.
But these buildings have a rare and highly sought-after asset in the 6th: terraces. Large, sunny, often with a view of the Luxembourg Gardens, they are an extremely rare commodity in this arrondissement. For buyers who make it a priority — and there are many of them — these terraces more than compensate for the less premium standing of the building. A modern apartment with a terrace overlooking Luxembourg on rue Guynemer remains an exceptional address, and sells as such.
The Art Deco jewel of No. 14: the Roux-Spitz building
Among all the buildings on the street, No. 14 occupies an absolutely singular place in the history of Parisian architecture. Built between 1925 and 1928 by Michel Roux-Spitz, winner of the 1920 Prix de Rome and leader of the "École de Paris", it was the first building in what the architect called his "Série blanche" — a series of four Parisian buildings using the same architectural vocabulary.
Listed as a Historic Monument since 1986, the building is distinguished by its characteristic three-sided bow windows, its windows with horizontal openings and its polished Hauteville stone cladding — a resolutely modern language that breaks with Haussmannian ornamentation without falling into the radical abstraction of Le Corbusier. The ironwork of the entrance and the banister of the staircase are the work of Raymond Subes, one of the masters of Art Deco ironwork.
On the ground floor, the architect had planned a garage for six cars with a metal turntable — a completely unprecedented innovation for the time. Roux-Spitz himself had the apartment on the 5th floor and an office on the 8th, with a view of Luxembourg.
This building is now one of the centerpieces of Parisian Art Deco architecture.
No. 2: neo-Louis XIII and baroque
At the corner of Rue de Vaugirard, No. 2 is a six-storey building built in 1914 by the architect and painter Louis Périn, in a neo-Louis XIII and Baroque style — rare in Paris and particularly spectacular. Several of its apartments were requisitioned by the Germans during the Occupation; in 1943, the building was put up for sale at the Palais de Justice with a starting price of 2.5 million francs.
Selling or buying an apartment
on Guynemer Street
Rue Guynemer is the most selective real estate market in the 6th arrondissement, and one of the rarest in Paris. Its characteristics are unique and not reproducible: permanent view of the Luxembourg Gardens, exclusively old buildings of high quality, absolute calm on the garden side, and a length of only 390 meters for a handful of buildings.
Prices: the top of the Parisian market
Rue Guynemer is consistently one of the highest streets in Paris, and is regularly named the most expensive street in Paris. No property sells for less than €20,000/m², and renovated high-floor apartments with a direct view of Luxembourg commonly fetch €30,000 to €35,000/m² — sometimes more for exceptional configurations.
These price levels can be explained by the conjunction of several irreplaceable factors: the absolute scarcity of available properties (few transactions per year), the view of the garden which cannot be obstructed by any future construction, the architectural quality of the buildings, and a very active international demand — wealthy French clientele, American, European and Middle Eastern buyers looking for a Parisian address of absolute prestige.
For Sellers
Estimating an apartment on rue Guynemer requires an intimate knowledge of each building: floor, exposure, exact view of the garden, quality of the outbuildings, condition of the common areas, latest renovation, renovation potential. The difference between a second-floor apartment without an unobstructed view and a fifth-floor apartment with a bird's-eye view of Luxembourg can represent several thousand euros per square metre.
Materre & Mollica intervenes throughout the year on transactions on rue Guynemer and in the adjacent streets. Our approach for sellers: a reasoned valuation building by building, a careful enhancement of the property, and direct access to our network of buyers active at this address — including international buyers for whom rue Guynemer is a priority target.
For Buyers
Properties on Rue Guynemer are rarely sold through traditional channels. The best opportunities circulate in pre-marketing, in networks of specialized agencies. If you are looking to buy an apartment on this street, the first step is to position yourself with an agency with a real and long-standing presence in the neighborhood.
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FAQ — Frequently asked questions about Guynemer Street
Why is Rue Guynemer so expensive?
Rue Guynemer has three irreplaceable advantages: a direct and permanent view of the Luxembourg Gardens (the east side of the street was never built), a high-quality building mainly from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and extreme rarity — less than twenty buildings over 390 meters, very few transactions per year. It is this unique combination that justifies some of the highest prices in Paris.
What is the price per m² rue Guynemer in Paris 6th?
No apartment on rue Guynemer sells for less than €20,000/m². For properties on a high floor, completely renovated, with a direct view of the Luxembourg Gardens, prices commonly reach €30,000 to €35,000/m², or even more for exceptional configurations.
Why does Rue Guynemer bear this name?
The street pays tribute to Georges Guynemer (1894-1917), a French flying ace of the First World War, credited with 53 certified victories. He died at the age of 22 during a mission over Belgium, but his body was never found. The Chamber of Deputies voted to inscribe his name in the Pantheon. His motto — "Faire face" — became that of the French Air Force.
Who lived on rue Guynemer?
Among the personalities who lived on rue Guynemer: Léon Blum (n°36), Françoise Sagan (n°34), Robert and Élisabeth Badinter, Marie-France Pisier (n°26), Bernard Kouchner and Christine Ockrent (n°4), as well as the architect Michel Roux-Spitz who had an apartment and an office at n°14, the building he had designed himself.
What is the most surprising building on rue Guynemer?
No. 2, built in 1914 by the architect and painter Louis Périn, stands out in the streetscape with its neo-Louis XIII and Baroque style — rare in Paris and particularly spectacular at the corner of Rue de Vaugirard. Several of its apartments were requisitioned by the Germans during the Occupation. It is one of the most atypical and most noticed buildings in the 6th arrondissement.
Which real estate agency specialises in rue Guynemer?
Materre & Mollica, located at 68 rue de Vaugirard in Paris 6th, is an independent agency specializing in the Left Bank for more than fifteen years. It intervenes throughout the year on transactions on rue Guynemer and in the adjacent streets of the 6th arrondissement, with a precise knowledge of the market building by building.
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