Historical Location: At the intersection of the rue de la Chanverrerie (Chanvrerie) and the rue Mondétour
Modern Location: At the intersection of the rue Rambuteau and the rue Mondétour
Metro stop: Les Halles
(NB: Châtelet-Les Halles is huge. I believe it holds the record for the world’s largest underground train station. The rue Rambuteau is right at its northernmost edge, so to avoid emerging half a mile from your destination, find the platform for the Line 4 stop Les Halles (not Châtelet!) and leave from one of the exits on the northeast side–i.e. in the direction of the trains leaving for Porte de Clignancourt.)
Notes: The climax of the novel takes place in the redoubt of the ill-fated barricade in the rue de la Chanvrerie. Hugo describes its precise location amidst the tangle of streets between the Halles and the rue Saint-Denis, but reconstructions in the mid-19th century obliterated the original maze of slums and alleys: the rue de la Chanvrerie was not so much renamed as swallowed up by the rue Rambuteau. Nevertheless, many of the original streets survive–even if Corinthe has been replaced by a lingerie shop. (As of 2010, the lingerie shop has been replaced by a vintage clothing store.)
Gallery
Street sign for the rue Mondétour.
Street sign for the rue des Prêcheurs, one block south of the barricade.
View down the rue Rambuteau, towards Les Halles. The scaffolding is about where the barricade would have been.
Street signs for the intersection of the rue Mondétour and the rue Rambuteau (which absorbed the rue de la Chanverrerie).
Street sign for the rue du Cygne, one more block north.
Street sign for the rue de la Grande Truanderie, one block north of the barricade.
What horizon might be seen from the site of a barricade. (View up the rue Rambuteau from what would have been the redoubt.)
Our little alley, all grown up! View of the rue Mondétour from the rue Rambuteau. Note Body One Lingerie on the right, which is where Corinthe would have been.
Standing in the rue Mondétour and looking at the rue de la Grande Truanderie. Somewhere a little to the right of this spot is where Eponine died.
The rue du Cygne.
Looking down the rue Saint-Denis from way up at its intersection with the rue du Cygne. Down there where the street starts to curve is the rue Rambuteau.
Another view of the church at the intersection of the rue Saint-Denis and the rue du Cygne.
Intersection of the rue Saint-Denis and the rue Rambuteau.
A better view of the Body One lingerie shop…
…and the double street sign, new and old, on the wall.
Rue de la Grande Truanderie
Rue de la Grande Truanderie
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