A street in Paris. Set in the Quartier Latin, off Boulevard Saint Michel, this street looks like many others. However, like the Quartier Latin, this street is full of history, is multicultural and hides many interesting surprises.
Une rue de Paris, dans le Quartier Latin, près du Boulevard Saint Michel qui n'a pas un air très intéressant. Mais cette rue est historique, cosmopolite et offre beaucoup de surprises insolites.

Street signs in France are blue. In Paris, they tell you which district (arrondissement) the street is in. Once a street for the rich, this street now caters for people with a range of wealth.
Monsieur le Prince was a real person called Le Prince de Condé. This street was called after him, because he bought a large house in it in 1612.

In fact, this street is even older than that. It once formed part of the ditch and ramparts of the walled city of Paris. A street sign on the wall gives this information.
Cette rue était l'ancien chemin qui longeait les remparts et le fossé de l'enceinte de Paris.

The Quartier Latin is famous for its bookshops and shops selling "fine books" (old and rare books). These shops are called "Les Bouqinistes". This one deals in prints, too.

Le Quartier Latin est connu pour ses Libraries et ses Bouqinisites. Cette petite Bouquiniste achète et vend les livres et les gravures.

Movies are popular and the cinema squeezed into the street has three "salles". People in Paris like to ride bicycles since they are quicker than any other form of transport (and cost nothing too!).
Voici le ciné aux trois salles. Un client est venu en vélo - un moyen de transport très populaire à cause de sa vitesse (et en plus ça ne coûte rien!)

Street sweepers are employed by the City Council and wear this distinctive green uniform. They work hard to keep the footpaths clean. Quite challenging when many Parisians use the footpaths to exercise their dogs! In the background, can you spot the sign for the Pharmacy?
Un balayeur en uniforme vert. Il a une tâche assez frustante à cause des chiens parisiens! Au fond, on voit le symbole vert d'une Pharmacie.

The Salon de Coiffure (Hairdresser's) is one of the wide range of shops in Rue Monsieur le Prince.

La Rue offre toute une gamme de magasins, dont un Salon de Coiffure

The famous French philospher Auguste Comte lived at number 10. This is the memorial plaque on his house.
Le philosophe Auguste Comte habitait au premier étage du numéro 10. Voici le plaque qui le commémore.

In the street, there are big gates which open on to pleasant courtyards of seventeenth century houses. These would be very expensive to buy. The courtyards are paved. There are no garages. In the past, this was the entry for horses and a carriage. There would have been stabling facilities on the ground floor. Of course, nowadays, these have been converted into small studios / units for people to live in.

A shop for those who have money to spend on designer clothes. The fashion designer works in his shop sewing gowns.

Un magasin de haute couture. Le couturier travaille dedans.

A crêperie (pancake shop) is next to a Japanese Restaurant. They serve "take away" as well as "eat in."

La crêperie se trouve à côté d'un resto japonais. On peut emporter les crêpes ou les manger sur place.

The pancake has been tossed, and butter and sugar are now added. You can buy savoury as well as sweet pancakes.

On prépare une crêpe beurre sucre - miam, miam! On offre des crêpes salées et sucrées.

Look carefully at this unusual door. It spans two storeys. Its top level (on the first floor) has a window with a little balcony. The sculptures surrounding it probably date from the 19th century.

Une porte d'entrée peu commun - en haut, on voit une petite fenêtre avec son balcon tout petit. Les sculptures datent du dix-neuvième siècle.

An old, nailed door leading to an internal courtyard with old houses. Some of the walls of the cellars use parts of the old Walls of Paris.

Une porte cloutée. Des vestiges des remparts se trouvent dans les caves de certaines maisons.

Next door, the corner store and dairy offers colourful fruit and vegetables for sale. This shop would sell wine (it is called a "cave") and cheese too.

A côté, à la suoperette, on offre des fruits et des legumes multicolorés. On peut y acheter aussi le vin et le fromage.

There are several hotels in the street. This one has two stars. Parking is a problem, since there appears to be no garage. On street parking is timed, and a parking spot is very difficult to find.

Il y a quelques hôtels dans la rue, celui ci est de deux étoiles - mais où peut-on garer la voiture?

The street has a big choice of restaurants, both French and International. This Japanese Restaurant seemed to be popular and offered a good range of traditional dishes.

Il y a beaucoup de restos dans cette rue qui offrent la cuisine française et internationale. Celui-ci est un resto japonais. On offre un bon choix de plats traditionnels.

The Quartier Latin is home to thousands of students and visiting tourists. Many need facilities to do their washing.

Des milliers d'étudiants vivent dans le Quartier Latin et en plus, il y beacoup de touristes qui visitent, alors ils ont besoin de faire leur lessive dans la Laverie!

This Bistrot specialises in a quick lunch with simple dishes.

Un Bistrot qui spécialise dans un repas rapide.

Another old doorway, closed, so that access to its courtyard is impossible without a key. The little shop next door has a round window in its second storey.

Une vieille porte, fermée à clé...mais regardez à droite, le petit magasin qui a une fenetre ronde au deuxième étage.

Pascal - the "Father" of the Computer and programming - lived in this house.

Ici, habitait Pascal, le "père" de l'informatique.

Polidor is one of the oldest restaurants in Paris and prides itself on offering top quality food at reasonable prices. It can be very difficult to find a table here at lunch time since it is very popular with students, office workers and tourists. Its interior (below) has not changed much over the last seventy or eighty years.

Le Polidor est l'un des plus vieux restaurants de Paris. Ce Resto est très fier de la qualité de son menu et de ses prix raisonnables. Ce n'est pas facile d'y trouver une table à midi, car c'est un resto qui est très populaire chez les étudiants, les employés du quartier et les touristes. L'intérieur n'a pas beaucoup changé depuis les années vingt.

What a surprise! An English style Pub selling English brands of beer!

Quelle surprise! Un Pub anglais où on peut acheter de la bière anglaise!

A "Relieur" is a person who specialises in binding books. This shop was founded nearly 200 years ago.

Un relieur est un artisan. C'est un magasin très vieux, car on l'a fondé il y a presque deux cents ans.

Le Petit Prince is a classic children's book in France. It was written by the famous aviator, Antoine St. Exupéry. This restaurant features models , pictures and displays relating to the book and its author. It has a good menu too!

Un restaurant qui commémmore St. Exupéry et son oeuvre, Le Petit Prince. On y mange bien, aussi!

Three places which show the diverse mixture to be found in the street - next to the haridresser's is another Japanese Restaurant, then a Hotel.

Un bon exemple de la nature cosmipolitaine de la rue. On voit un salon de coiffure, un resto japonais et un hôtel.

Un Bureau de Tabac sells more than cigarettes. It sells newspapers, postcards, stamps, books and is a place where people can pay their car registration and other government bills. Many bureaux de tabac are like this one and also have a bar to sell drinks, coffee and light snacks. The red "carrot" symbol above the shop is the special sign for a Bureau de Tabac.

Motorbikes and scooters are a great way to get around Paris as they can avoid being held up in traffic jams.