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Apartment · Plaine Monceau · 17e arrondissement

177 bis rue de Courcelles

The buildingDemolished
Getting inOutside only
What's there nowA later apartment house

The building is gone. The apartment house Colette knew at 177 bis no longer stands; a later building occupies the address, so it is best treated as a historical one — the rue de Courcelles itself is what remains to walk.

The larger apartment of the Claudine years, where Colette kept a gymnasium and her marriage to Willy came apart.

Address
177 bis rue de Courcelles, 75017 Paris
Years
1902–1906
Artistic reconstructionThe same Haussmann-era building rendered in colour, an imagined reconstruction

A colour impression of the lost building, not a photograph of a surviving one.

Artistic reconstruction

The place, briefly

In 1902, on the strength of the Claudine books, Colette and her husband Willy moved to a larger apartment at 177 bis rue de Courcelles. Colette turned an upstairs room into a gymnasium and trained there, part of the physical discipline that would carry her into a stage career.

This was the home most closely tied to the peak of the Claudine phenomenon and to the end of the marriage. Colette left in 1906, as she and Willy separated and she began performing in earnest. The building no longer stands; a later one occupies the address in the 17th arrondissement, so the site is best walked as a historical address rather than a surviving residence.

Key facts

Address
177 bis rue de Courcelles, 17th arrondissement
Who lived here
Colette and her husband Willy
When
1902–1906
Why it matters
The Claudine peak and the collapse of the marriage; Colette kept a gym here
Today
Demolished; a later building occupies the address. The street is worth walking.

In images

An impression of the apartment building that stood at 177 bis in Colette's day. The building is gone; this is a reconstruction, not a photograph.Artistic reconstruction
A colour impression of the lost building, not a photograph of a surviving one.Artistic reconstruction
What stands at the address today: a modern apartment block between its older neighbours. The building Colette knew is gone.Editorial illustration

Timeline

  1. 1902

    Colette and Willy move to the larger apartment at 177 bis; she installs a gymnasium.

  2. 1906

    Colette leaves as the marriage ends and her stage career begins.

On the map

Writers who knew this place

Illustrated portrait of Colette

Colette

French · The French novelist who wrote the Claudine books under Willy’s name, earned her independence on the music-hall stage, and made women’s private lives a serious literary subject.

Lived here · 1902–1906

The larger apartment of the Claudine peak, where Colette kept a gymnasium; she left in 1906 as the marriage to Willy ended.

— Société des amis de Colette — Lieux de vie; Société des amis de Colette — Chronology

Within walking distance

Colour photorealistic view of 10 rue Gustave-Dore beneath a bright blue sky

Apartment · Plaine Monceau (17th)

10 rue Gustave-Doré

One of Claude Debussy's documented Paris addresses, in the quiet Plaine Monceau district of the 17th arrondissement.

Visit the place
The 93 rue de Courcelles frontage in colour, its stone façade and street-level shops near Parc Monceau

Apartment · Plaine Monceau

93 rue de Courcelles

The sixth-floor former studio near Parc Monceau where Colette and Willy lived while the Claudine novels appeared under his name.

Visit the place
Colour photorealistic view of the approximate rue Guyot studio site beneath a bright blue sky

Apartment · Plaine Monceau (17th)

81 rue Guyot (now rue Médéric)

The studio Édouard Manet worked in through the 1860s, where Émile Zola sat for his portrait. The street has since been renamed rue Médéric and renumbered, so the modern address is a conversion rather than a certainty.

Visit the place
Colour photorealistic view of 58 rue Cardinet beneath a bright blue sky

Apartment · Plaine Monceau (17th)

58 rue Cardinet

A documented Claude Debussy address in the 17th arrondissement, occupied before his move in 1905 to the avenue du Bois de Boulogne.

Visit the place
References

References

The sources below include histories, archival materials, scholarly research, and official records that informed this page. They document 177 bis rue de Courcelles, the people connected to it, and its place in Paris.

  1. 1Société des amis de Colette — Lieux de vie

    Website
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 177 bis rue de Courcelles page.

    View source

  2. 2Société des amis de Colette — Chronology

    Website
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 177 bis rue de Courcelles page.

    View source

  1. 3OpenStreetMap

    Map data
    Used for

    Map data used to verify addresses, geographic coordinates, and the placement associated with 177 bis rue de Courcelles.

    View source

  2. 4Sur les pas des écrivains : Colette

    Website
    Terres d'écrivains
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 177 bis rue de Courcelles page.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

These references provide the documented foundation for this page's history and context. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.

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