Rue de la Huchette, Paris
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The rue de la Huchette is one of Paris' oldest Rive Gauche streets. Running eastward just below the Seine river from the place Saint-Michel, it is today an animated main artery of a district of restaurants and souvenir shops tailored to the tastes of tourism. Several guidebooks describe the street as being Bacteria Alley, and as a place to be avoided.
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[edit] History
The rue de la Huchette existed as early as 1200 as the rue de Laas, a road running adjacent to a walled vineyard property known then as the clos du Laas. The property was sold and divided for urban development in the early 13th century, grew many noble properties in the centuries following, but from the 17th century the rue de la Huchette was known mostly for its taverns and rotisseries ("meat-cookers").
[edit] Origin of the name
From around 1284 the name of a house on belonging to the Notre-Dame chapter, À la Huchette d'Or, took the place of the former rue de Laas appellation.
[edit] Buildings of note
[edit] Odd numbers
- 13 - Building whose ground floor was an office where, from 1684, apothicaires, or druggists, could find a boy nurse/assistant/coursier.
- 17 - Building's corner with the rue Xavier Privas engraved with street name and former arrondissement.
- 21 - Building dating from the Louis XV period.
[edit] Even numbers
- 4 - Building dating from 1729; its former sign "A la Hure d'Or" ("of the Golden Head") is still visible in its façade.
- 10 - Former "furnished apartment" house where Napoleon Bonaparte was said to have stayed between 1794-1795.
- 14 - Site of a shop of a 15th century needlemaker. Although the building dates from a later time, the "Y" signaling the shopowner's trade is still visible in a marble oval above the ground-floor façade. Also visible engraved into the stone at the building's corner with the Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche is the street's name and former arrondissement number.
- 16 - Building dating from the Louis XVI period.
[edit] Other Attractions
The street is known for its collection of Greek restaurants. The maitre d's of these establishments often shatter cheap plates on the street in front of their doors to attract attention and entice tourists inside.
