Rue Sainte-Claire

The Rue Sainte-Claire features arcades that date back to the seventeenth century. These stone vaulted passages were built to protect merchants and their goods from the frequent mountain rain. In seventeen ninety-three, the street saw a local uprising when residents, caught in the fervor of the French Revolution, pulled down the ornate iron gates and destroyed the aristocratic coats of arms displayed above the doorways. The shops remain nestled deep within these original stone arches, just as they functioned three hundred years ago.