Just a stone's throw from Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, on the neighbouring island, are three important sites for Polish history. On rue Saint-Louis stands the Hôtel Lambert building, the quai d'Orléans is home to the Polish Historical and Literary Society, and on the quai de Béthune, after the tragic death of Pierre Curie, Marie Skłodowska-Curie and her daughters Ève and Irène took up residence. Although Skłodowska-Curie initially eased her pain in the seclusion of the Burgundy town of Sceaux following the tragic death of her husband, who was killed by a horse-drawn carriage on rue Dauphine in Paris in 1906, she returned to the French capital with her daughters in 1912.

A flat overlooking the Seine

The return to Paris was dictated by practical considerations - Skłodowska-Curie wanted to reduce her commuting time and also to hide in the anonymity of the great metropolis from the publicity that erupted after her affair with her married co-worker Paul Langevin was revealed. The Curies' new home became a spacious flat on the third floor of a townhouse at quai de Béthune 36 overlooking the Seine. It was here that Irène, the next Nobel laureate in the family after her parents, and Ève, later a writer, pianist and journalist, spent their youthful years. The flat also became a meeting place for many prominent figures, including Albert Einstein, a close family friend.

Plaque commemorating Marie Skłodowska-Curie's place of residence on the quai de Béthune

Today, a plaque on the façade of the building commemorates the Polish tenant, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, who lived there between 1912 and 1934. The small rectangular stone plaque bears the inscription in French: "MARIE CURIE / 1867-1934 / a habité cet immeuble / DE 1912 à 1934" ("Marie Curie / 1867-1934 / lived in this building / between 1912 and 1934"). Interestingly, just below this plaque is another, commemorating a later resident at this address - the 1968 Nobel Peace Prize winner René Cassin (1887-1976).