Rue du Bac: history and sights
Served by: metro line 12.
Did you know?
Serves Le Bon Marché, the world's first department store, opened in 1852, whose concept revolutionised retail by offering goods at clearly marked fixed prices.
Anecdote
Le Bon Marché inspired Émile Zola's novel 'The Ladies' Paradise', which depicts the rise of Parisian department stores.
Around Rue du Bac
- Debauve et Gallais, 250 m away — A chocolate shop founded in 1800 by Louis XVI's former royal chemist, its listed Empire-style interior famous for the pistoles de Marie-Antoinette.
- La Petite Chaise, 180 m away — The oldest restaurant in Paris, opened in 1680 as a wine tavern, once frequented by George Sand and Toulouse-Lautrec.
- Fontaine des Quatre Saisons, 30 m away — A long 1745 wall fountain by Edme Bouchardon, an allegory of Paris surrounded by the four seasons, a masterpiece of French classicism.
- Musée Maillol, 40 m away — A museum devoted to sculptor Aristide Maillol, also hosting temporary modern art exhibitions.
- Le Bon Marché, 400 m away — The world's first department store, opened in 1852, still one of the most elegant in Paris.
- Église Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, 240 m away — A 17th-century classical church in the heart of the Bac district, known for its calm and architectural sobriety.