Allée des Saintes

“A gold credit card wouldn’t go amiss here,” a woman’s voice giggled nearby. Allée des Saintes. Such a quaint name, a far cry from the glittering Avenue Montaigne it later became. Imagine Paris in the 17th century. Allée des Saintes was a humble path where vegetables grew. Fast forward to 1770. The Marquis de Marigny lines the path with elms. It becomes a gathering spot for widows, earning the nickname “Allée des Veuves,” Widows’ Alley. It wasn’t about fashion then, but whispered secrets and discreet encounters. In September 1792, stolen French crown jewels were buried at the foot of one of those very elms. One of the thieves, facing the guillotine, revealed the hiding place. 1850 arrives, and the street is renamed Avenue Montaigne, after the Renaissance writer. The Palais des Beaux-Arts is built for the 1855 Universal Exhibition. Elegant houses begin to appear. The Bal Mabille opens, a vibrant outdoor dance venue. It was here, not Montmartre, that the can-can was supposedly born. The fashionable elite and curious foreigners flocked to watch Célèste Mogador dance. Then, in 1946, Christian Dior arrives. He chooses number 30, a former residence of Napoleon’s illegitimate son, to launch his fashion house. The “New Look” is born in 1947, revolutionizing fashion and putting Avenue Montaigne on the map. Today, Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and countless others line the avenue. From a humble vegetable path to a global center of haute couture, Avenue Montaigne, the former Allée des Saintes, has truly transformed.