Guided tour – Brothels Tour: Prostitution past and present

Your experience

This tour will take us inside one of Paris’s most scandalous temples from the time of Napoleon III, where legendary socialites and men of influence used to rub shoulders, where everything is ‘luxury, calm and pleasure’.

We’ll also stop off at some superb venues from the time of Henry IV, not forgetting the Parisian press, before moving on to a more crowded, fast-paced and cruel world, where these women were referred to as ‘bed-warmers, omnibuses, white-sausage boilers…’.

We’ll revisit the history of prostitution from antiquity to the present day, from ‘Pornobos’ to ‘unofficial venues’; we’ll explore the different types of establishments and the lives of these women… and we’ll examine today’s laws.

Our walk will take us past erotic venues such as “Les Belles Poules”, whilst others opened in 2018 and caused a scandal in Paris by offering plastic dolls for hire at 80 euros a session.

This subject will be treated with seriousness, but humour will also have its place

Useful information for your visit  

Languages available: French only

Meet in front of 18 Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle, Bonne Nouvelle metro station (lines 8 or 9).

Duration of the tour: 2 hours

Tour guide: Lora Romano; contact in case of delay or any issues: 06 63 08 71 01