Passage du Cheval-Blanc, Hidden passageway in 11th arrondissement, Paris, France.
Passage du Cheval-Blanc is a narrow walkway about 155 meters long and 3 meters wide that connects rue de la Roquette with rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. It passes through several courtyards that show a mix of building styles and architectural periods.
This passage was built in 1824 and 1825, replacing what was once a lumber storage yard called the 'chantier du Cheval-Blanc'. It gained official recognition as a private passage in 1857.
The passage contains several interconnected courtyards named after months, each showing different architectural styles and revealing where craftspeople once worked on various trades.
You can enter from two points: at 2 rue de la Roquette or through the Cité Parchappe at 21 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. The narrow space is easy to walk through and makes for a pleasant shortcut between the two main streets.
The Cour de Février preserves original timber-framed structures built for goldsmiths and an old water trough at its far end, remnants of the passage's craft heritage. Most visitors walk past these details without noticing how they reveal the working life of earlier times.
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