| Rue Saint-Denis (Paris) | |
| Map Type: | France Paris |
| Map Size: | 265 |
| Coordinates: | 48.8642°N 2.35°W |
| Arrondissement: | 1st, 2nd |
| Quarter: | Quartier Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, Halles, Quartier Bonne-Nouvelle |
| Terminus A: | Avenue Victoria |
| Terminus B: | Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle |
| Length: | 1334m (4,377feet) |
| Width: | 1630m (5,350feet) |
| Completion Date: | 1st century |
| Inauguration Label: | Denomination |
Rue Saint-Denis is one of the oldest streets in Paris. Its route was first laid out in the 1st century by the Romans, and then extended to the north in the Middle Ages. From the Middle Ages to the present day, the street has been notorious as a place of prostitution. Its name derives from it being the historic route to Saint-Denis.
The street extends as far as the 1st arrondissement and Rue de Rivoli to the south and as far as the 2nd arrondissement and the Boulevard Saint-Denis to the north. It runs parallel to the boulevard de Sébastopol.
The ancient Roman route (Flanders road) leading to Saint-Denis, Pontoise and Rouen competed with the route de Senlis (rue Saint-Martin) but gained an advantage over it with the demolition of the Grand Pont (see Pont au Change) and the development of the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, becoming the triumphal way for royal entries into the capital.
Flanked by houses from 1134 onward, the street has borne the alternative names of Sellerie de Paris and Sellerie de la Grande Rue (13th century), grand'rue de Paris, grande rue or rue des Saints Innocents, and grant chaussée de Monsieur / Monseigneur Saint-Denis (14th century). During the French Revolution, it was known as the rue de Franciade.
The street was one of the centres of the June Rebellion of 1832, immortalised in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables, and which is referred to in the book as the "Epic of the Rue Saint-Denis".[1] The street contains clothes shops, bars and restaurants, the church of Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles, a bank, and the Chambre des notaires building.
For many decades, Rue Saint-Denis, and it surrounding neighborhood, were famous for the prostitution trade that took place there.[2] Sex shops also were situated between rue Réaumur and boulevard Saint-Denis.