For returning to Montmartre Parisians are obliged to the director of a movie called “Ameli” – Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It has shown “not tourist” Montmartre in this movie and has inhaled new spirit of magic in the district La Butte. This district has ceased to interest the Parisian builders in the 19th century and was considered absolutely unpromising for development because of too steep slopes and descents. Partly therefore it is still one of the cheapest in the city. It is easily possible to rent an apartment for some days to plunge into the world of romanticism.

In 1975 Jean-Pierre Jeunet rented apartment on this hill. Being a 20 year old young man full of hopes and embarrassed financially, he has moved here to save on payment. Probably, in gratitude to Montmartre for his success, he has pictured these places with love and has shown Paris from other, unfamiliar side.

The excursion on “Ameli’s Paris” begins at a metro station Lamarck-Gaulaincourt which is called Abessess in the movie. All scenes connected to the underground were shot here. Having turned from the underground to the right along the street Rue Lamarck, we turn off on a paved small street going upwards Rue des Saules and we go to a crossroad with Rue Saint Vincent. It is the movie’s index point; the story about the childhood of Ameli begins exactly with this crossroad.

Popularity of Audrey Tautou has come after this role. Despite that the film scenario has been written specially for other actress, at latest moment Jean-Pierre Jeunet has invited Audrey Tautou to a meeting after he has seen her bottomless eyes on one of advertising posters, and without tests has confirmed her for the role. The actress has been enamored in her heroine, though in her real life she is a full contrast to Ameli. During the first two days Audrey has read the scenario for 12 times.

“The house of Ameli” is located on Rue des Trois Freres №56. Here is “Attics of Kollinon” where Ameli does her purchases. In reality the store is called «At Ali» (Chez Ali) and except for absence of bags with grain, in which Ameli started hands, looks just as in the movie.

From this corner, having passed along the street Abessess, we turn on the left on Rue Lepic. This is the route Ameli took to see a blind old man off, telling him what was happening around. In the apartment building №15 on Rue Lepic is that bar «Two mills» (2 Moulins) in which the heroine worked as a waitress. In reality it seems much smaller and waiters here are men. However, the interior did not vary since 1950.

The cinema, to which Ameli goes to watch spectators’ faces, is very old; it has been constructed in 1928. It is situated in the house № 10 along the Rue Tholozc. Here in district there is a sex shop, to which Ameli comes in search for Nino Quincampoix. It is located in boulevard de Clichy, opposite to cabaret “Moulin Rouge”.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet really shows Montmartre with deep trembling for the days of his youth. Even the surname of the heroine – Poulain – is the name of a chocolate the director once bought in the shop “At Ali”. Now it is difficult to imagine someone else in the role of Ameli instead of Audrey Tautou though the boots of the heroine were awfully great to the actress. Audrey thanks the director for this role: “I have read this scenario about a girl – a small fairy making good to people … I liked the role tremendously!”

In this article we suggest to have a more detailed look on such a significant phenomenon for inhabitants of the French capital, as the Parisian catacombs to which a lot of local residents’ attention is paid in the folklore.

The word “the catacomb” itself is capable to make an impressionable person tremble; especially if it is accompanied by a colorful story here such a person can allow his or her imagination run high.

So, if your visit to France contains an excursion across Paris make sure underground Paris is part of it; these catacombs and tunnels are plenty in this city. According to the Parisians many underground ways have been dug long time ago by numerous smugglers with the purpose to deliver every possible goods to the city without fee, so to say, “duty free”. Having wandered on these underground lanes and streets, you will understand that visiting vaults of Paris is not less fascinating, than excursions to Louvre or Tour Eiffel.

Speaking about underground corridors – their extent under Paris makes some hundreds of kilometers; they create some kind of an underground labyrinth with set of entries and exits. These tunnels are settled under a considerable part of the left bank of the Seine, as much space under the right bank is also occupied by them. In many places the depth of the tunnels reaches over twenty meters.

So, tunnels of Paris … it’s high time to put a question: What is the main cause of their occurrence? It is banal enough. Paris – already in the Middle Ages – was a rather big city which constantly grew at the expense of increase in local residents’ well-being and immigrants arriving. To erect new private and public objects builders needed stone, and there was nothing easier, than to dig it from the underground. This is the way how many Parisian catacombs and tunnels appeared.

Already in the eighteenth century there was a special department established by the municipal government which was engaged in registering and protecting of the underground tunnels. Thanks to its efforts each underground street has been plotted on the map of the city under unique names already in those days.

When in the nineteenth century Paris got an underground, the tourists’ interest to the underground city had considerably increased, and the authorities had to limit the number of the tunnels opened for visiting. The Parisian authorities nowadays allow visiting exclusively famous catacombs which are under the Place Denfert-Rochereau particularly, and some other places. However, with the best will you can always find many institutions located underground in Paris, it can be various bars, showrooms, original museums.

Someone can tell, of course, that there are actually no Parisian legends in this article. We have made it on purpose. After all according to an old Russian proverb “it is better to see once, than to hear hundred times”, we urgently recommend you to visit Paris and hear Parisian legends from the mouth of its remarkable inhabitants. And, by the way don’t forget to visit the well-known tunnels of Paris.