Rue Montorgueil

Rue Montorgueil Review

Rue Montorgueil was once the gritty oyster hub of Les Halles. Now lined with food shops and cafés, the cobbled street whose name translates to Mount Pride is the heart of one of the city's trendiest neighborhoods. History runs deep here. Monet captured the scene in 1878 when Montorgueil was ablaze with tricolor flags during the World's Fair (see it in the Musée d'Orsay). Honoré de Balzac and his 19th-century band of scribes frequented Au Rocher de Cancale at No. 78, whose famously crumbling facade was painstakingly restored with gilt panache in 2012. Other addresses have been around for centuries: Stohrer at No. 58 has been baking elaborate tartes since 1730; and L'Escargot Montorgueil at No. 38, a favorite of Charlie Chaplin, is still graced by a giant golden snail. Relative newcomers include the luxury Nuxe spa at Nos. 32 and 34. Browse the boutiques on Rue Montmartre, which runs parallel, or shop for cookware at Julia Child's old haunt, E. Dehillerin, still in business at 18-20 Rue Coquillière. Rue Tiquetonne is rife with bistros, and previously-sleepy Rue Saint-Sauveur became a destination when the Experimental (No. 37) cocktail lounge moved in. Even Rue St-Denis, once a scruffy red-light district, is now a hipster fave with bar-restaurants like Le Pas Sage at the entrance of the lovely covered arcade, Passage du Grand Cerf.