It was named “rue des degrès” (degrees) because it consists only of a staircase, this atypical street is the smallest in Paris.

A witness of the French revolution

At 18 ft long and 10ft wide, rue des Degrés is the smallest street in Paris, but that’s not its only particularity. Indeed, it simply consists of a staircase of 14 steps! Breakthrough in 1634 following the demolition of the Charles V enclosure, it was a witness to the French Revolution, as its commemorative plaque likes to recall. morning of January 21, 1793 ”. No house has access to rue des Degrés, since the gabled walls that border it have no doors or even windows (they have been walled up). Two high blind facades therefore surround a small staircase of fourteen steps, which gave its name to the street in the 1650s. Today adorned with its most beautiful colors and works of street art.