How it was: the "Belle Époque" Parisian brothels that have become hotels today

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Staying today in any of the Parisian hotels, one cannot be 100% sure that a real brothel was not located here at the beginning of the last century. True, the administration of hotels, as a rule, is not ashamed of this fact, but on the contrary, it tries to preserve the interiors of such establishments and the spirit of the era. In our review, a story about the most famous brothel houses that have become hotels today.

In an alley not far from the Louvre, at Rou Chabane 12 in Paris, there is an unremarkable building, which was one of the most famous hot spots during the so-called Belle Époque (the last decades of the 19th century - 1914). Today, at this address, there is an ordinary residential building, across the street from which there is an art gallery, where you can see what happened inside a brothel that was located here 100 years ago.

The art gallery Au Bonheur du Jour is run by a fifty-year-old former cabaret dancer, Nicole Canet, who calls herself an "archaeologist of eroticism."

Her unusual intimate gallery is dedicated to Le Chaban, one of the most luxurious brothels in Paris. This institution even had a personal number for the Prince of Wales (the future King of England Edward VII, son of Queen Victoria).

Edward VII, who was a frequent visitor to the establishment, was known at Le Chaban as "Bertie". His favorite pastime was swimming with the inhabitants of the brothel in a giant copper bath filled with champagne, and Cupid de Trois in a luxurious armchair specially built for him, which he called "the seat of love." Salvador Dali bought this copper bathtub, decorated with a bust of a half-woman, half-swan, for 112,000 francs, a few years after the brothel closed in 1946.

The interiors of "Le Chabane" could rival palaces in luxury, and there was everything here to satisfy the most daring carnal desires. That is why this institution was a kind of Parisian landmark. "Le Chabanet" has even been included in the list of the best places to visit in Paris by famous travel agencies.

Nicole Canet is fortunate enough to rent a gallery space right across from the former brothel. For interior decoration, she used old erotic photos that she bought at a flea market. As a result, she managed to create the atmosphere that reigned in "Le Chaban" during its heyday.

Canet was able to find an antique wooden box fitted with magnifying lenses that visitors used to view photographs of women they were going to spend time with. A separate section of the exhibition is devoted to the interior of the entertainment establishment, where even themed numbers in the Disney style were encountered. Even famous artists were involved in the decoration of the interiors of "Le Chabane". For example, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who also often visited the brothel, painted 16 paintings for this institution.

After the First World War in 1924, a brothel "One-Two-Two" was opened on Rue-de-Provence, which became the main competitor of "Le Chabane". He was not so elite, and became popular among a wide variety of segments of the population. There were even special free nights for wounded soldiers on Thursdays. Each of the 22 rooms has been individually decorated. For example, in the room "Pirate room" the bed was made in the form of a swinging boat. On either side of her stood water sprays that sprayed clients and courtesans during their pleasures. Another Orient Express room was designed in the form of a compartment of the famous train.

At the famous brothel "One-Two-Two" there was an equally famous restaurant "Le Boeuf à la Ficelle", where Cary Grant and Edith Piaf often dined. The waitresses in the restaurant only wore aprons and high-heeled shoes.

Also in the gallery Au Bonheur du Jour is an exhibition dedicated to the male prostitution of 1860 - 1960, about which much less is known. It is known that the writer Marcel Proust was a frequent visitor to brothels, special brothels and even financed the construction of two specialized Parisian brothels for gay people.

At one of these establishments, called Hotel Marigny, he struck a deal with a manager. Proust was allowed to spy on the "cream of society" through a small window. These scenes later appeared in his works.

Madame Canet did not stop at the museum. She wrote a book that contains unique illustrations, archival documents, photographs and secrets of the underground industry. For example, during the "Belle Epoque" it was necessary to pay attention to the number plates above the door. If these plaques were larger, brighter, and more elaborate than the standard blue and white Parisian home plaques, it could be said with a 100 percent guarantee that it was a pleasure house.

The Rotary Hotel is advertised today as a small and peaceful hotel located just minutes from the Moulin Rouge. But at the turn of the 20th century, it was also home to a brothel. It was not converted into a hotel until 1940, when brothels were outlawed, but Rotary still has ornate staircases, puppet architecture and boudoir beds.

The administration of the fashionable hotel "Amur" today does not hide the fact that there were times when love was sold here by the hour. Now rooms in "Amur" are decorated with erotic art objects and photographs from old magazines.

Prison and brothel are places that not everyone gets to visit. German photographer Jürgen Chill gives all curious people the opportunity to see with at least one eye, in what conditions do moths work and prisoners serve time … And it does it in a very original way.