Damiette Street

A visit to the Saint-Maclou neighborhood is a must when visiting Rouen. Every local will tell you so. And while you’re there, don’t miss the charming Rue Damiette, with its half-timbered houses. This picturesque street is the heart of the city’s historic district and it has seen its share of changes over the centuries. What is now a peaceful, pleasant street used to be a lively spot filled with bustling cafes. And let’s just say, most people coming here weren’t exactly the cream of society. So what changed? How did we go from one extreme to the other? Well, the answer to that would be sociological change. In the 1970s, the street, which had just been pedestrianized, offered much cheaper accommodation options than other districts in the center. A godsend for individuals, but even more so for local merchants and craftsmen. From then on, more and more antique dealers came to set up shop in the area, which soon came to center around Damiette Street. Truth be told, the number of antique furniture and art dealers has dropped over the past thirty years. It’s becoming harder and harder to find them. Even so, there are exceptions; Rouen remains a hub for such dealers. Famous among many French and foreign collectors, Damiette Street still holds many secrets, the biggest one being the origin of its name. Of all the theories put out there, there’s one suggesting it’s named after a former resident, and another linking it to the capture of the city of Damiette in Egypt by King Louis IX back in 1249. There’s also one claiming it derives from the Latin word “meta,” meaning border, hinting at the existence of a border of some sort in this part of town. Whatever the truth, one thing is certain: Damiette Street is a charmer! Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro even immortalized it in one of his paintings back in 1884.