THE SMALLEST STREET IN PARIS
Tiny street located in the district on a small hill that, until the century, was known as Mont Orgueilleux
It's a small street not worth visiting for the buildings that line it or for any particular activity, but because it's the smallest in Paris. Its name isn't due to any micro-climate, but rather to the 14 steep steps - or degrees of inclination - linking rue de Cléry to rue Beauregard, which make up the entire street. You won't find a single inhabitant of this tiny rue des Degrés, as the last door opening onto this passageway was walled up in the 17th century. So why such a steep staircase? Because the district is located on a small hill that, until the 15th century, was known as Mont Orgueilleux (we'll leave you to make the connection with rue Montorgueil, just a few steps away). Yet there's nothing very proud about this elevation, which was located behind the Charles V enclosure that ran alongside rue de Cléry and rue d'Aboukir. Even less so when you consider that the Parisians themselves created this elevation by dumping their rubble and refuse on it... Times have changed, and today this district is one of the capital's most coveted. Once you've climbed the steps, you'll see a sign installed by the City of Paris reminding you that on this spot, on the morning of January 21, 1793, Baron de Batz and a few men tried to save King Louis XVI from his fate, but failed to change the course of history..
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