Wednesday, January 19

La Rue De Paris

Just any old storefront on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré - pictured. This one happens to be across the street from Sarkozy's office. Difficult not to love this city.


The rue is one of the world's most fashionable thanks to the presence of virtually every major global fashion house from Lanvin to Cartier to Hermes. Like nearby Avenue Montaigne, the street is dedicated, throughout its length, to haute-couture and other exclusive establishments. The rue Saint-Honoré ( of which the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré is an extension) began as a road extending west from the northern edge of the Louvre property. Saint Honoré is the popular French saint, Honorius of Amiens. At the other end is Madeleine. 55 is the Élysée Palace evidenced by the abudance of gendarmes. Other notables:

No. 22: The flagship boutique of Lanvin
No. 24: The historic flagship boutique of Hermès, a Parisian luxury-goods company
No. 29: The registered office of Lancôme, a prestige cosmetic brand established in 1935
No. 31: An annex of the Embassy of Japan
No. 33: Hôtel Perrinet et de Jars, the headquarters of the Cercle de l'Union interalliée
No. 35: The embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No. 41: The Hôtel de Pontalba, originally designed by Louis Visconti, now the residence of theUnited States Ambassador to France
No. 56: The offices of the Paris edition of Vogue magazine in the Publications Condé Nast Building
No. 71: Former address of Galerie J. Le Chapelin, 1950s (now closed)
No. 96: The Ministry of the Interior (on the Place Beauvau.)
No. 101: The prestigious flagship shop and tea room of Dalloyau, a Parisian luxury gastronomic brandname
No. 112: Hôtel Le Bristol, a luxury hotel
No. 135: The residence of the Canadian Ambassador to France
The perfume manufacturer, Jean-François Houbigant, set up his shop, "À la Corbeille de Fleurs" ("at the sign of the basket of flowers"), on this street in 1775