Blog | HPRG A huge secret garden in the heart of Paris… We visit the former Convent of the Celestines – Hotels Paris Rive Gauche Blog
. logo

A huge secret garden in the heart of Paris… We visit the former Convent of the Celestines

A Parisian experience

As we’ve been exploring Paris for many, many years, you might think that we’ve practically seen everything by now. However, this is not true, and in fact the great thing about Paris is that there is always something new (or old) to discover, a hidden secret, a park, a building to visit… and there are often some great surprises along the way.

During the recent Open House weekend we were able to visit a truly astonishing place for the first time – the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris, formerly the Convent of the Celestines, which has a huge garden measuring 4.000m², a chapel, the remains of a Gallo-Romain oven, and a few other curiosities (like the François Truffaut Square!)…

Here’s our visit with quite a few photos!

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
photos: JasonW

Behind its imposing doors (usually closed to the public) the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris is a collections of rather dignifies buildings, a chapel, a 4.200m² garden, an urban vegetable patch and even a Gallo-Romain oven!

Specially open for the Open House weekend, we started our visit of the Institute in the courtyard, from which you can access all the visitable areas.

It’s a lovely green space with a couple of venerable trees, a statue of Charles-Michel de l’Épée (founder of the Institute, which has been at its current site since 1794 😳) and views of the stately Haussmanian buildings just outside the high walls…

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

Next, we headed for the Sicard hall (which used to be the swimming pool, until it was covered in 1999!) which currently houses an exhibition celebrating 100 years of the Deaflympics, the next edition of which will be happening in Tokyo in 2025.

We’re ashamed to say we hadn’t heard of the event before…

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

Following the signs for the chapel got us a little lost, but we eventually found a room which, as the Institute freely admits, was wrecked at the end of the 20th century and split into several rooms. Although now reopened, there is still a polystyrene ceiling about the marble altar, and many of the details have been damaged. A decent restoration is badly needed.

For the window here, you can see the urban vegetable patch on a nearby flat roof belonging to the Institute. Unfortunately, it was not open for visits that day, but you should be able to book workshops soon…

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

After going down a floor here and up a floor in another building, we arrived at the ‘historic library’, a smallish space where a poster explains how to ‘sing’ the French national anthem in sign language (and a white tank top)!

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

Going back downstairs takes us to the director’s office, with some superb wooden furniture and a door to their part of the garden…

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

So here we are at last – the incredible garden. It’s huge, with roses, a fountain, neat lawns, rabbits in cages and views of nearby buildings that you could only enjoy from here.

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

But more lovely surprises awaited us.

During the construction of a building here in 1989, workers came across the remains of a Gallo-Romain oven that is now visible through a glass floor. Apparently, there is almost certainly a whole village to be unearthed here, but this will have to wait for another day.

And as we left this building, we came across a sign saying that we were on place François Truffaut! Kinds of a weird place to pay homage to such a great filmmaker, as it is not open to the general public for most of the year…

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

And after walking up another sweet staircase, we arrived at the last room to see, the Abbé de l’Épée room measuring 200m² and used for debates and talks. A large painting on the stage shows a demonstration of teaching deaf and hard of hearing youth, probably from the 18th century. A sweet way to end our visit.

We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris
We visit the National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris

IF you can’t get to Paris to visit the Institute, a virtual online visit is available here, and it’s even possible to request a special visit for groups, which are available in English, French or French sign language.

However, it’s not easy to organise – you have to send an e-mail here, and they’ll get back to you with a price. Good luck with that (we think you would be better off waiting for the next Open House weekend on 20th & 21st September 2025).

The National Institute for Deaf Youth of Paris is here

Website / Facebook

What3Words ///normal.qualified.response