Avenue Montaigne () is a street in the 8th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Origin of the name

Avenue Montaigne was originally called the Allée des Veuves (widows' alley) because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century. The present name comes from Michel de Montaigne, a writer of the

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...

. In the 19th century, the street earned some renown for its sparkling and colourful Bal Mabille (Mabille Gardens) on Saturday nights.

Fashion

Avenue Montaigne boasts numerous stores specialising in high fashion, such as

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...

, Dior, Chanel,

Fendi Fendi () is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods. ...

, Valentino, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent,

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...

, Chanel, Prada,

Chloe Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...

, Giorgio Armani,

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...

and

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmet ...

, as well as jewellers like Bulgari and other upscale establishments such as the prestigious

Plaza Athénée The Hotel Plaza Athénée is a Brunei-owned historic luxury hotel in Paris, France. It is located at 25 Avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, near the Champs-Élysées and the Palais de Tokyo. The hotel is part of the Dorchester ...

hotel. By the 1980s, the avenue Montaigne was considered to be ''la grande dame'' of French streets for high fashion and accessories, and is now considered more important than

rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bl ...

. Several established clothing designers set up here, particularly the LVMH (Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton) group. LVMH brought investment and international attention to the street, and its stable of top designers and firms, such as Céline, Louis Vuitton,

Inès de la Fressange Ines or INES may refer to: People * Ines (name), a feminine given name, also written as Inés or Inês * Saint Ines or Agnes (), Roman virgin–martyr * Eda-Ines Etti (stage name: ''Ines''; born 1981), Estonian singer Places * Doña Ines, a vo ...

and formerly Christian Lacroix, own a substantial portfolio of the street's real estate. In 2009, the Comité Montaigne presided over by Jean-Claude Cathalan launched a website with an interactive map.

Other uses

*The

Canadian Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Canada. Canada has an extensive diplomatic network maintained by Global Affairs Canada. Overview As a Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth country, Canada's diplomatic missions in the capitals of other C ...

was previously located at 35, Avenue Montaigne. *Actress

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

maintained an apartment at 12, Avenue Montaigne for many years; she died there in 1992. *During her last years,

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary ( fa, ثریا اسفندیاری بختیاری, Sorayâ Esfandiâri-Baxtiâri; 22 June 1932 – 26 October 2001) was Queen of the Imperial State of Iran as the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom she mar ...

lived at 46, Avenue Montaigne.

Monument

At 15, Avenue Montaigne stands the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

History

Paris 1855

The pavilion for the arts display of the

Exposition Universelle (1855) The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des B ...

was on Avenue Montaigne.

Paris 1913

In 1913, Avenue Montaigne got both the Theatre des Champs Elysees and the Plazza Athenee hotel which created its fame.

Jewellery robberies

On 4 December 2008 the

Harry Winston Harry Winston (March 1, 1896December 8, 1978) was an American jeweler. He donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 after owning it for a decade. He also traded the Portuguese Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1963 in exchan ...

boutique at No 29 was robbed of more than

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

80 million (about US$100 million) worth of "diamond rings, necklaces and luxury watches" by a "gang of three or four" armed men just before closing. At least two of the thieves were men wearing "wigs and women's clothes." It had also been robbed in October 2007, when a similar heist netted the robbers about €20 million.

References

{{Reflist Montaigne Shopping districts and streets in France World's fair sites in Paris