rue St Denis is not just for you know what

It's great for shopping too. Covered passages can be found peppered through the 1st, 2nd and 9th districts but if you’re not on the look-out you can easily miss these beautiful shopping walkways. The character of each varies, Passage du Grand-Cerf next to the rather insalubrious (but gentrifying) rue Saint-Denis area, crossing with rue Dussoubs, is definitely worth more than a peek for the young design talent it hosts.

Inside is a mix of mini-boutiques, restaurants, ateliers (workshops) and furniture shops. Brazilian restaurant Ang’s at no. 2 is a great place for a sandwich and at the other end of the passage there is a furniture shop selling cute French door handles for 5 euros a pop.

Others to note are MX , a very hip designer who makes jewellery from pearls and As’Art African art gallery.

In May and October the area hosts les "Puces du Design" dedicated to furniture from the 60’s and 70’s.

But go in the afternoon because the shopkeepers seem to be rather sleepy and only open after lunch.

Seriously, I am watching the prostitution rate very carefully. Now that Montorgueill has up and come, the Sentier and rue St Denis' working girls are getting pushed into a concentrated area and after new laws outlawing street-walking it could be clocking off time for the Ladies of the Night. Actually, it's a law which is putting more women in danger as they turn to the internet to find clients and receive them in their homes or hotels. Without the carmaraderie of the rue if something goes wrong and the punter turns out to be dodgy, it's harder to get help from the others. I saw a great documentary where many prostitutes were interviewed and they were bemoaning the fact that they are being pushed into more clandestine quarters. Still, it won't hurt the property prices.