Even before learning its name, this tiny street in the Quartier Latin piques curiosity: it runs a mere thirty meters, about 1.8 meters wide, tucked in the 5e arrondissement of Paris, between the Quai Saint-Michel and Rue de la Huchette. Then, as you fix your eyes on its sign, your questions multiply. The Street of the Cat Who Fishes — what an intriguingly odd name... but what could it refer to?
To find out, a plunge into the Old Paris is in order. It’s worth noting that this name isn’t new: a manuscript from 1636 already mentions the “rue du Chat qui pesche.” Before the Saint-Michel quay was redesigned in the 19th century, Rue du Chat qui Pêche opened much more directly onto the Seine.
That already provides the first clue, to which is added the tale of a vanished sign. It was a hallmark of old Paris: streets often took their name from a visual landmark, a trade, a business, a cabaret, or a sign hung on a façade. In this vein, the street would have taken the name of a business called the "Chat qui Pêche", which may itself have drawn inspiration from its proximity to the famous Parisian river... and more besides.
And yes, there’s also a legend behind this mysterious name: popular lore holds that a certain Dom Perlet, sometimes described as a canon and other times as an alchemist, owned an extraordinarily clever black cat, capable of catching fish in the Seine with a single paw. It’s thus a slice of Parisian folklore that this street keeps alive every time it greets passersby!
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Location
Catfish Street
Rue du Chat Qui Pêche
75005 Paris 5
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