Regard Saint-Martin

The Regard Saint-Martin stands as a humble stone building on the rue des Cascades, yet it holds a vital place in the history of Paris's infrastructure. It is a manhole built centuries ago to grant access to the subterranean aqueducts that once supplied fresh water to the city. Its name comes from the French verb regarder, meaning to look, because it served as an inspection point where officials checked the flow and quality of the water running beneath the earth.