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 l'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.

Rue Monsieur le Prince offers a great variety of small shops which are rather different. This one is a speciality shop for lovers of Bandes Dessinés - books, models, toys, puzzles, clocks, watches, clothes etc. - all with the theme of your favourite cartoon character.

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 avec 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 d'une Pharmacie.

The famous French philospher Auguste Comte lived at number 10. This is the memorial plaque on his house.

Le philosophe Auguste Comte habitait le premier étage du numéro 10. Voici le plaque qui le commémore.

The street even houses "haute couture" or designer fashion. This is 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 - c'est un magasin pour ceux qui ont un peu d'argent. Le couturier travaille dedans.

A crêperie (pancake shop) serves "take away" as well as "eat in." There are many choices on the menus, both savoury and sweet.

Voici la crêperie. On peut emporter les crêpes ou les manger sur place. Il y beaucoup de choix pour les gourmands et ceux qui préfèrent les gourmandises.

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. It is 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 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.

Une vieille porte, fermée à clé.

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 l'épicerie, on offre des fruits et des legumes multicolorés. On peut y acheter aussi le vin et le fromage.

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 ses prix raisonnables.

Ce n'est pas facile de trouver une table ici 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.

A "Relieur" is a person who specialises in binding books. This shop was founded nearly 200 years ago.
Un relieur est un artisan qui relie les livres. C'est un magasin très vieux, car on l'a fondé il y a presque deux cents ans.

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

Un bon exemple de la nature cosmopolitaine de la rue. On voit le 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.