Cool Stuff in Paris. By Manning Leonard Krull.

Dead rats at Julien Aurouze and Co.

8, Rue des Halles, 75001 Paris (Map)
Métro: Châtelet - Les Halles | Website

Julien Aurouze and Co. is a pest control shop with an eye-grabbing front window festooned with dead rats and other assorted critters. Now that's what I call advertising!

Julien Aurouze and Co.

The shop has been open since 1872, and the big slogan above the display of dead rats advertises "destruction of harmful animals." (Fun for language nerds: obviously the English word nuisance is related to nuisible.) The shop was featured briefly in the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille in a scene where the protagonist rat, Remy, is shown the window by his father as a warning to stay away from humans (and if that doesn't work, I dare say nothing will). Anyhow, there's not a whole lot more to say about this place, but since it's right in the center of Paris you can easily stop by and have a quick look for yourself while you're in the neighborhood. It's delightfully out of place in this busy, relatively modern area, situated right between the Rue de Rivoli and the Forum des Halles.

Related junk from Cool Stuff in Paris:

See all Cool and Weird Stuff