Visite guidée : Entrée Maison close, Prostitution passée et actuelle

This 75-minute tour will immerse you in the history of prostitution, in the Saint-Denis neighborhood which for 1200 years was a major hotbed of debauchery and exploitation in Paris.

The uniqueness of this walk is to revisit every world along with its protagonists, past and present: for ever since antiquity, there has indeed been a very distinct classification of these "places of pleasure": a brothel (maison close) is not a mere "bawdy house" or "lupanar". Likewise, legendary courtesans, "Cocottes", and "Insoumises" are not the common streetwalkers or "Gina the Whipper" condemned to 60 tricks a day for soldiers.

How did the daily life of these women unfold within these enclosed spaces, what was the reputation of the grand establishments, who was the madam, the recruiter, or the procurer, what were the preferences of the clients... anonymous or renowned.

This vast subject closely interested our authors, critics, and artists: Balzac, Flaubert, the Goncourt Brothers, Maupassant, Jean Lorrain, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso...

You will first enter one of the most envied and mischievous Parisian temples under Napoleon III, where mythical socialites and men of influence crossed paths, where everything was "luxury, calm, and voluptuousness". Only its hushed decor of silk, velvet, alcoves, and boudoirs reminds us of this past of fantasies and consumption, as the 1946 law led to the closure of all licensed brothels, forcing these women back onto the sidewalks.

We will not forget the Parisian press, before entering a more crude, expeditious, cruel world, where these women were nicknamed "rugs, omnibuses, white pudding boilers...".

You will locate today's laws.

Your walk will take you in front of classified erotic venues such as "Les Belles Poules", while others opened in 2018 causing a scandal in Paris over renting plastic dolls at 80 Euros a session.

This subject will be handled with gravity, though humor is welcome.

Please note: Warning: the tour may be canceled with fewer than 8 participants.