Rue de l’Abreuvoir – Watering Trough Street
Ce point d’intérêt est disponible en audio dans le circuit: Visit Paris, The Bohemian Quarter
You’re walking down the charming rue de l’Abreuvoir, the Watering Trough Street, one of Montmartre’s most photographed streets. Its bucolic feel and the iconic pink house make it a must-see for any visitor. This street has been around since 1325, under the name of Rue du Buc, meaning “little road that takes you straight to your destination”! It led in fact to a watering trough, a source of drinking water for the locals and their animals. For a long time, rue de l’Abreuvoir was the main route leading to the water source. Even though some of the quaint old houses are gone, the street still retains its old-world charm, with its gentle curve following the old dirt track. The Pink House you see here adds a nice touch of color to the picture. It was immortalized by painter Maurice Utrillo, famous for his paintings of the Montmartre Hill. The Pink House’s story begins in the 1850s, when Laure Germaine Gargallo married the Catalan painter Ramon Pichot, who was quite famous at the time. Mind you, he was Dali’s mentor. Now, about the color… The couple made frequent trips to Spain. It was there, amid the colorful Spanish buildings, that Laure got the idea to paint their little Montmartre house pink. She then turned it into a restaurant, welcoming all their artist friends. Picasso, Cézanne and Apollinaire all spent a lot of time there. When Laure died, Béatrice Miolano, a Montmartre resident of Northern Italian origin, took over the little French restaurant. It continued to attract famous artists, like Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Albert Camus, Alain Delon and Dalida… Over time, the place lost some of its original charm and character, until recently, when Beatrice Miolano’s granddaughter decided to take over the restaurant and restore it to its former glory.
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