The Prostitutes’ Mirror

In Paris in the late 1800′s, prostitutes would test the diamonds given to them for glass by discreetly scratching them on a mirror before accompanying their wealthy clients upstairs. The traces of these evenings are still on display at the restaurant Lapérouse, a tasteful restaurant at Le Quai des Grands-Augustins.

The area around the Paris Opera was known as the ‘clitoris of Europe’, for the number of famous brothels in the area, and its architectural similarity to the female body part. For collaboration with the Nazis they were all closed at the end of WWII, bringing perhaps Paris’ most popular attractions to an end. Part of the slide show Paris for Perverts, which seems like a decent way to visit this city once again.