The Cité internationale universitaire of Paris, a garden of architecture

An arcaded portico, evoking the Renaissance and its return to Classicism, marks the entrance to the Cité universitaire internationale. Its founders, who laid the first stone in 1922, wanted these halls of residence to work towards maintaining peace in the world and bringing people together in the aftermath of the First World War.

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The Maison internationale, or International House, was built in 1935 by architect Jean Frédéric Larson, and is an eclectic blend of the style of Louis XIII and the Château de Fontainebleau. Between courtyard and garden, the Maison internationale adopts a classical architectural vocabulary: a monumental complex with symmetrical entrance lodges, a ceremonial courtyard, staircases, a main building in stone with a central body and two wings. This building, a result of the generosity of patron John D. Rockfeller Jr, houses many infrastructures including a restaurant and theatre of great renown.

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The rear façade of the Maison internationale gives onto a magnificent garden, a paradise for joggers, students or otherwise.

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Inaugurated in 1967, thanks to a donation from the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Résidence André de Gouvéia (Maison du Portugal or Portuguese House) bears the name of a 17th century Portuguese humanist. It has just been completely restored by Vincent Parreira and will be the subject of a guided tour by the architect himself on Sunday 16th September at 2.30pm. The official opening is scheduled for November. Here you can see the gold-coloured metal projecting part, which takes up a traditional azulejos (ceramic tilework) motif, reflecting that of the mosaic on the ground.

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The new lobby is modern and light. The Résidence André de Gouvéia will also house a theatre and exhibition hall.

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At the Résidence André de Gouvéia even the kitchen, with its glazed earthenware tiles, reminds you of Portugal.

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Built in 1950 thanks to a royal donation, the Maison du Cambodge, or Cambodian House, remained closed for 30 years, from 1973 to 2003. The fall of Phnom Penh at the hands of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge gave rise to destruction and violent clashes here, which led - along with the collapse of the country - to its closure. Completely restored, the building offers 173 rooms.

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Designed by Alfred Audoul, this somewhat austere building is typical of the 1950s. It discreetly evokes the Temple of Angkor and traditional Cambodian architecture, thanks to the bas-relief that adorns the pediment of the door, the grooved horizontal bands that encircle the building, and the monumental human figures with monkey heads that sit on the flight of steps. It will be the subject of a guided tour on Sunday 16th September at 5pm, which will put the spotlight on the 9 rehearsal studios installed in the basement, open 7 days a week to professional and amateur musicians alike.

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The U-shaped Maison du Cambodge (Cambodian House) encloses an inner courtyard converted into a garden and overlooking the Paris ring road. A Zen atmosphere does, nevertheless, radiate from this patio.

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No, this is not a photo from the latest Harry Potter film. This complex of gabled houses with mullioned and bay windows, worthy of a Cambridge campus, is the Deutsche de la Meurthe Foundation, the jewel of the Cité universitaire and its historic starting point. It was indeed oil industrialist Louis Émile de la Deutsche who financed the Cité's first set of student lodgings, inaugurated in 1925.

A magnificent garden occupies the centre of the residence. It was originally intended for the physical well-being of the students, in a concern for health typical of the early 20th century. Today, it has a Wi-Fi connection to the Internet. It is named after the poet Léopold Sédar Senghor, who was also the Cité's first black student.

The Argentine Foundation is one of the Cité universitaire's oldest, since it was inaugurated in 1928. Its regional character is discreetly expressed by the canopy of the entrance porch with its columns and the semicircular arcade of the ground floor.

Enveloped in greenery, the Maison des étudiants suédois, or Swedish Students' House, resembles an 18th century hunting lodge. It is not far from the Danish and Norwegian Houses.

It is impossible to mistake the Fondation hellénistique (Greek Foundation), built in 1932 by architect Nicolas Zahos. The entrance porch is a reduced replica of the Ionic colonnade of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis in Athens. This is one of the finest examples of historicist architecture in the Cité universitaire.

Inaugurated in 1933, the Maisondes Provinces de France, or House of the Provinces of France, is impressively huge - it boasts 320 rooms. It was originally intended to house students from Alsace who had once again become French citizens after the war. Alternate lines of windows are topped by the coats of arms of the 36 old provinces of France.

The Cité internationale universitaire of Paris, a garden of architecture

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