Rue de la Huchette – Huchette Street
This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit Paris, Sorbonne University, Pantheon and Luxembourg Gardens
This little pedestrian street leading to Saint-Michel Square is as quaint as it gets! It has long been one of the most beautiful streets on the Left Bank, and was named Huchette after the store that stood at number 1 back in 1284, “La Huchette d’Or.” Back in the day, the street was famous for its inns; Napoleon was said to have stayed at Le Cadran Bleu in 1795. Today, it’s jam-packed with restaurants, all vying for your attention. Check out the street to your right. It’s one of the narrowest in all of Paris, and its eccentric name comes from a legend that’s just as unusual! Introducing the Rue du Chat qui Pêche, aka the “Street of the Fishing Cat.” It has known many names through the years, but in the end it all came down to this one. The story goes that a certain Dom Perlet practiced alchemy here, always in the company of his black cat. This clever little creature had a knack for fishing, luring fish to the surface and snatching them from the Seine with its paw. Convinced it was witchcraft, three students killed the cat and threw it in the river in a fit of fear and superstition. With the cat gone, the students were relieved to see that the alchemist had gone too! To their surprise, Dom Perlet returned from a trip to find his cat fishing on the banks of the Seine as usual. Perhaps cats do have nine lives after all! You’ll also come across the famous Théâtre de la Huchette, which has been staging “The Bald Soprano” and “The Lesson” non-stop since 1957!
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