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<\/p>\nParis\u2019s cheapest chambres de bonne face extinction as heat waves make tiny rooms unbearable<\/p>\n
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Secluded under the rooftops of Paris\u2019s renowned Haussmannian buildings \u2014 home to some of the city\u2019s wealthiest residents\u2014 are also hidden the most affordable apartments available: the notorious chambres de bonnes, or maids\u2019 rooms.<\/p>\n
Originally designed over two centuries ago to house the servants working in these exclusively bourgeois residences, they have become a budget-friendly hack for generations of students and young travelers willing to sacrifice space and comfort for a place in the heart of the city.<\/p>\n
However, due to the worsening heat waves hitting the country, these tiny rooms are quickly becoming intolerable to live in, as a result of a combination of heat-absorbing rooftops and poor ventilation.<\/p>\n
The architects of two centuries ago never imagined the buildings would have to regularly withstand 40 Celsius, or 100 Fahrenheit, summers. A 2024 study<\/a> by urban planning agency Paris Atelier of Urbanism (APUR) said top floor residences without proper solar protection can produce indoor temperatures up to 10 degrees Celsius higher than outside.<\/p>\n Video below: Oceans hit record temperatures amid climate change and El Ni\u00f1o<\/p>\n As these extreme temperatures occur more frequently, this traditional student experience, and last-resort housing option for many, could soon be facing extinction.<\/p>\n Anatoly Novikov, a 23-year-old Russian student at Institut Polytechnique de Paris, may represent one of the last generations to live in these ancient servants\u2019 quarters.<\/p>\n His humble abode measures just nine square meters (about 97 square feet) \u2014 about the size of a parking space \u2014 and is the minimum legal size<\/a> for accommodation in France. Although such conditions may be unimaginable for many, according to him, it\u2019s a worthy sacrifice for its coveted location.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of a childhood dream come true,\u201d he says. \u201cI was always living in the suburbs; I wanted to experience actually being in the city. I think it\u2019s just a very cool authentic student experience where, yes, the location is amazing, but everything else is terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n His neighbourhood, Notre-dame-des-Champs, is one of the most affluent in the city \u2014 the median property price of about 14,000<\/a> euros ($16,400) per square meter is a far cry from the 700 euros ($820) he pays per month.<\/p>\n He says friends have expressed shock and concern over his cramped living space, but in his view, suffering is part of the student experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess prison cells are bigger,\u201d he says. \u201cOther people wouldn\u2019t make it in here; I can. I\u2019m enjoying my survival. That\u2019s a challenge I accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n Bilal Gu\u00e9nanain, a 24-year-old student from Brittany living in a chambre de bonne close to the Champs Elys\u00e9es, is happy to sacrifice his standard of living to live out his Parisian dream.<\/p>\n \u201cLiving in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower to me, would be very sad,\u201d he says. \u201cI love living my \u2018Emily in Paris\u2019 era!\u201d<\/p>\n One of the trade-offs for paying just 550 euros ($632) for a studio in one of the most expensive areas of Paris, is the arduous six flights of stairs he has to climb every day: \u201cWe don\u2019t see this in \u2018Emily in Paris,\u2019\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n Paris has long attracted young travelers, struggling students and aspiring artists, from the era of the 19th-century Grand Tour, where exploring Europe became a rite of passage, to the Lost Generation of expatriate writers the 1920s.<\/p>\n They, too, often lived in circumstances similar to Novikov and Gu\u00e9nanain. Their time in the city shaped them, just as their experiences shaped the city\u2019s history, with countless works of art and fiction inspired by the trials and tribulations of these young city-dwellers.<\/p>\n The famed French writer Victor Hugo was one of many to live in a tiny rooftop lodging as a young student in 1821, only a couple of streets away from Novikov. His experience in his modest attic room is believed to have influenced his depiction of Marius\u2019s tragic abode in his most famous novel, \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite these tiny attic rooms having hosted countless travelers, those new to the city often remain unaware of their existence. This was the case for 23-year-old Emilie Reh, a freelance creative from New York who started her own \u201cGrand Tour\u201d of Europe in Paris this summer. She was unprepared for what was waiting for her when she booked her chambre de bonne on Airbnb<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t aware that there was a shared bathroom as well,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause the room was so small and it was pretty hot, I didn\u2019t spend any time in it.<\/p>\n Despite the initial shock of discovering the modest layout of her temporary home, and its separate communal toilet, she says the trade-off ultimately proved worthwhile, especially compared to the other hostels she stayed in during her travels around Europe. At 116 euros ($135) a night for a private studio in the popular Marais district during summer, the deal was too good.<\/p>\n Her TikTok review of the experience, titled \u201cWorld\u2019s smallest Paris Airbnb tour,\u201d<\/a> racked up thousands of views on her account.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a room to sleep in and it\u2019s safe,\u201d she says. \u201cEven though you\u2019re given such a small space, it is still such a charm to be in a great location and have the traditional Parisian building.\u201d<\/p>\n Satisfied with her experience, Reh did not realize that these rooms aren\u2019t typically temporary accommodation, but serve as full-time homes for many in the city. Despite being used to less-than-desirable living situations in New York, the news still came as a shock.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is a good concept for affordable housing, especially with students, but I think that would be a hard situation to live in constantly. Crazy to me that people live there full-time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Close to 55,000 people live<\/a> in chambres de bonne in the Paris region according to INSEE, France\u2019s national statistics bureau. As the era of live-in servants ended, these rooms were then repurposed for the financially disadvantaged. While these studios might be a memorable experience or quirky pub tale for generations of students and young explorers, they also represent an enduring reality for many Parisians.<\/p>\n A 2011 study<\/a> by APUR reveals that converted service rooms in Paris were occupied not just by students and young professionals, but also the unemployed and retirees, with 20% of occupants<\/a> being over the age of 60. Now climate change is creating a new threat of extinction, as these rooms pass from uncomfortable to too dangerous to inhabit.<\/p>\n However, Paris has also seen its student population go up by 30% in the last 20 years<\/a>, many of them international. With student living costs getting even more expensive, and these last affordable accommodation options becoming unsustainable due to the rising heat, this begs the question: Where will they go?<\/p>\n This summer France recorded an unprecedented number of heat-related deaths<\/a>. The Paris region had the most fatalities and people living on the top floors<\/a> in uninsulated buildings were particularly affected, the Parisian Climate Agency reports.<\/p>\n Dominique Naert, director of the masters program in energy-efficient renovation of historic buildings at the \u00c9cole Nationale des Ponts et Chauss\u00e9es, speculates that the rooms may in the future become illegal to rent out.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still many students in them, as well as people who have lived there for 25, 30, or 40 years often because they couldn\u2019t move due to financial constraints,\u201d he says. \u201cThey stayed put, and many are dealing with physical ailments or health issues that make them even more vulnerable, which brings up the issue of mortality rates.\u201d<\/p>\n Engineers, urban planning experts and policymakers are yet to find a solution. State-appointed industry body Architects of the Buildings of France, in charge of protecting these historic Parisian facades, is working on how to readapt these maid\u2019s rooms while preserving the renowned buildings that have become synonymous with the city.<\/p>\n For Naert, those living under the roofs represent are on the frontline of global warming\u2019s affects, but their problems will soon be faced by their downstairs neighbours if a solution isn\u2019t found.<\/p>\n Not just in Paris but in cities worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cIn any major capital or metropolis, you consistently see this legacy from the 19th and early 20th centuries, whether you go to Bordeaux, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, or New York, you have exactly the same problem,\u201d says Naert.<\/p>\n \u201cIn bourgeois apartment buildings, there were always maids or service staff; it was part of the bourgeois system that is true globally. Those living two or three floors down are also already being affected. I think the work we\u2019re doing will serve a purpose and will interest a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n