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Paris History of our Streets

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Revealing insightful historical details and locations of Paris with a cheeky modern twist. See websit

17/10/2026

16 October 1793 and 2026
The Conciergerie 75001

Today marks 233 years since Queen Marie Antoinette climbed these same stairs to her mortality..

Whether you are Team Vive la Reine or Team Let Them Eat Guillotine, you can’t deny the historical impact of her life and death.

How moving is it that this scene (painted by Georges Cain in 1885) is nearly the exact same more than two hundred years later?

🎨 “MARIE-ANTOINETTE SORTANT DE LA CONCIERGERIE” Georges Cain, 1885

14/10/2026

Amelia Earhart in Paris
June 1932

Nearly 90 years before anyone was pointing satellites at mysterious objects in the Pacific, one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century was making headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. And yes, she paid Paris a visit.

In May 1932, Amelia Earhart set off from Newfoundland hoping to fly solo across the Atlantic to Paris. Nearly 15 hours later, battling storms and engine trouble, she landed in Northern Ireland instead. When a farmer asked whether she had come far, she reportedly replied: “Just from America!”

She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, and Paris welcomed her as an international celebrity the following month. Crowds swarmed her car after she arrived at Gare Saint Lazare with her husband, publisher George Palmer Putnam. Her visit included official recognition and celebrations of her achievement.

Earhart wasn’t just a daredevil in a flying suit. She was a pioneer who challenged the idea that aviation — or adventure — was a man’s world. She didn’t need to be fearless; she needed the courage to go anyway.

In July 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific while attempting to fly around the world with navigator Fred Noonan. Now, renewed investigations into a mysterious underwater object have reignited hopes of finding her missing aircraft; a subject I’ve always followed with interest.

Paris may have been the destination she never reached on that historic flight, but her place in history is unquestionable.

12/10/2026

Fire at Marché des Enfants Rouges Paris 75003

A devastating fire that began in the early morning hours today seems to have wiped the oldest covered market in Paris. While everything is under control and no one seems to have been harmed, there is no word on the extent of damages - but from the pictures I’d say it looks bleak.

Named after the red capes worn by the orphans who lived here in the 16th century, (red was the colour of Christian charity) the orphanage was closed in 1772 and gradually turned into a market.

It’s been a few months since I had the best sandwich in Paris here from Alain Roussel but here’s hoping whatever damage was done can be repaired and this beloved little neighbourhood tucked into the Marais can find it’s feet again.

No cause of fire has been determined.

26/09/2026

Rue Saint-Séverin Paris 75005

Look closely at this old street inscription and you’ll notice something odd: “SAINT” is missing.

That wasn’t a spelling mistake. During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries set about removing religious references from Paris’s streets and public spaces. In 1793, the word saint — along with sainte — was literally scraped off street names.

And here, the evidence is still sitting in the stone.

The street was — and remains — rue Saint-Séverin, named for the nearby medieval church of Saint-Séverin. But for a revolutionary moment, apparently even the poor saint had to be cancelled.

The inscription at 24–26 rue Saint-Séverin still shows the scars of that little bit of 18th-century political editing.

Imagine being the poor Parisian whose job it was:

“Right, what are we doing today?”

“Removing every Saint from the streets.”

“Do we have a list?”

“No. Just start scraping.”

“Should we just removed the whole inscription and start over? Make it more visually appealing and aligned ?

“Nah just get rid of it”

One of those tiny details hiding in plain sight that makes walking around the oldest parts of Paris so much more fun.

19/09/2026

Paris, 1974 → New York, 1974
The man who walked between the towers

Before the World Trade Center became a symbol of tragedy, it was the stage for one of the most audacious acts of aerial nonsense in history.

On August 7, 1974, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit stepped onto a wire strung between the Twin Towers and walked across it—eight times—about 1,350 feet above the ground.

No safety net. No harness. Just a balancing pole, an extraordinary amount of nerve, and what can only be described as a spectacular disregard for office building regulations. 🇫🇷

Petit spent 45 minutes dancing, kneeling, and strolling between the towers while people watched from the streets below. When police finally arrested him, he reportedly asked whether he could return to the wire. Priorities.

25 years after September 11, we remember the lives lost and the immeasurable impact of the attacks. We can also remember the towers as places where people worked, dreamed, gathered, and—once upon a time—watched a Frenchman casually take a stroll through the sky.

A moment of history, suspended between two buildings. ❤️

There’s a really great movie about this whole adventure starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt called The Walk , check it out !

13/09/2026

Woman Posing in a Paris Street
Late 19th century
Rue Edmond Valentin 75007

I came across this vintage photo YEARS ago on Pinterest and always had the intention of finding the location and taking a comparison photo. (Minus the impossibly thin waist, yikes!)

It finally happened yesterday. I took my daughter on a geocache hunt in the Eiffel Tower area and armed with an hour of digging behind metal street signs and prying open old film canisters I was able to convince her to join my own historical hunt.

It only took us about 45 minutes to find the exact spot , which hasn’t changed much in 125 years or so.
The identity of this woman and the picture taker remains a mystery, it’s likely from a private collection.

Her direct eye contact and facial expression seems to be saying something, what could it be ?
1. “I have two moods: composed and absolutely fu***ng furious.”
2. “I came to Paris for the architecture. I stayed for the scandals.”
3. “A beautiful day in Paris to make some extremely questionable decisions.”
4. “The moment this corset hits the floor I’m letting a juicy one RIIIIIIPPPPPP!”

07/09/2026

It’s 07 September and nothing sends me flying out of summer vacation hibernation in fight mode like a little absurd misogyny.

Apparently the Eiffel Tower has been having some trouble deciding which century we’re living in.

During a private visit Saturday by an Indian Hindu delegation, representatives reportedly requested that female staff not be present because of religious restrictions around interactions with women. And, astonishingly, Eiffel Tower management actually agreed to accommodate the request, with female employees reportedly moved away and hidden from their usual positions.

The result? Staff went on strike today, closing the Eiffel Tower.

The management company behind the ET has since apologised and said these conditions should never have been accepted. YA THINK ?

This isn’t about disrespecting someone’s religion. People are free to practise their beliefs. But no visitor should get to decide that a woman is incapable of doing her job simply because she is a woman.

The irony is delicious.

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, a monument celebrating French engineering, modernity and progress.

137 years later:
“Ladies, could you please hide? The visitors don’t want to see you.” 🤦‍♀️

Shame on the Eiffel Tower management for failing to stand behind its female employees.

Anyway, that’s enough retirement for me. IM BACK and I got a whole lotta history to share !

14/06/2026

The 1911 Catastrophy of the Archevêché Bridge

Buses having been circulating in Paris for over a hundred years and are the preferred method of transportation for Parisians who prefer to avoid the crowds and unpleasant odors from the metro.

If you manage to nab a seat, the bus can be quite enjoyable, especially on lines such as 89 (latin quarter), 86 (left bank/bastille), and 69 (Eiffel tower, Louvre) where for a 2 euro ticket you can have your own Paris tour.
However, like any method of transport, accidents do happen, and in this case, don’t necessarily involve a collision on the street.
The deadliest Paris bus accident happened on the Archevêché Bridge September 27, 1911 when at about 5pm, the driver of the Line 205 bus (which ran from Jardin des Plantes to Square des Batignolles) lost control after swerving to avoid the same bus coming from the other direction, who had been stopped in the middle of the bridge to avoid running over a jay walking pedestrian.
Crashing through the metal barrier on the bridge, the bus plummeted into the Seine below, hitting the water with a force so hard witnesses described it as a cannon exploding.
Carrying 27 people, the bus quickly began to sink to the horror of crowds gathering above. One passenger, Abbot Antoine Richard- was traveling in the first class part of the bus with two children. They were able to escape by a window and after passing the young Max et Marguerite off to a nearby boat, he went back to save four others until his limited eye sight prevented him from finding passengers still trapped in the water.
Another hero was Eugène Mèneveux, who was working nearby when the accident happened. A champion swimmer, he rushed to the scene and saved a few people as well.
The bus was pulled out of the water the following day. In total, there were 14 deaths including the driver (4 bodies were never recovered, likely swept away) and 9 wounded.

Black and White Photos : BNF

04/06/2026

Marie Antoinette’s Corset
Palais Galleria “Fashion in the 18th Century”

“No pain, no gain” wasn’t invented by fitness coaches—it was perfected by 18th-century fashion.

On display at Palais Galliera is a corset attributed to Marie Antoinette, the woman who made France’s court the equivalent of a luxury fashion runway.

This beautiful (faded) blue silk corset dates from the 1780s and offers a glimpse into royal life before elastic waistbands, sports bras, and the revolutionary concept of comfort.

Remarkably, it survived more than 200 years and was discovered hidden inside the account book of one of the Queen’s fashion merchants. Historians opened a ledger and essentially found the 18th-century equivalent of a forgotten designer item in storage.

Standing in front of it, visitors inevitably ask the same questions:

• How was it put on?
• How was it taken off?
• How was breathing negotiated?
• Are the armpits smelly?

Yet despite the obvious challenges, Marie Antoinette became one of history’s most influential fashion icons. Trends come and go, but apparently corsets—and conversations about them—are forever.

24/05/2026

Who would have thought something so meaningless could unite so many people ? I don’t get it, but I don’t mind it either!

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