A Secret Passage in Bastille Square: Cour Damoye

(Last Update: 04.06.2025) As we all know, Paris is an endless treasure. You can never say "it's over", it is possible to encounter a new beauty every time that will surprise, excite and of course make you happy. Our discovery point in this article is such a place: Cour Damoye (Currency Damua or Kuğğ Damua).

Moreover, in one of the most crowded areas of Paris, in front of a door that thousands of people pass by every day, in hidden nooks, this is an extremely calm, peaceful and beautiful passage. Here A Week in Paris It has a special value for me because it is also mentioned in my book...

Yes, in Paris, where five roads intersect, life flows very fast, and thousands of people pass by every day. Bastille SquareWe are in; I previously gave detailed information about that region on the blog. Here, on one side of the crowd and turmoil of this square, with your back Bastille OperaYou will see the famous column in the middle of the square. Colonne de JuilletWhen you buy, you will see the section with cafes and restaurants on the right.

When you walk this way Le Paradis de Fruit Falstaff CaféThere is a door between . You're lucky if this door is open, because don't let this look like the entrance of any apartment building and mislead you; You are at the entrance of Cour Damoye.

Although Cour Damoye seems like a passage, it is actually a narrow street, but since it is not open to passage at all hours of the day, that is, there are doors on both sides, we need to think of it as a passage in the atmosphere of a courtyard, not a street. Since it is not implicit like a passage, just like Odeon'On Cour du Commerce Saint AndréIt's similar to , but it's not a food-and-drink-oriented passage like there, it's a quieter place.

There are plenty of such privatized streets in Paris, that is, roads that were once streets but have now been converted into streets that can only be used by residents. You can't get into most of them anyway. There is a security system at the gates, and as you guessed, such streets turn the luxury apartments on both sides of that road into a kind of housing estate. It has always surprised me to encounter such scenes in a social and egalitarian state like France.

Just think, some of the streets leading to Bagdat Street in Istanbul, Cinnah Street in Ankara or, I don't know, Cyprus Martyrs in Izmir, are closed on both ends with fancy iron gates, and only the residences and workplaces that live on that street can be accessed. Owners can enter. Although the new housing estate culture in our country is changing social life with such a protective structure, thankfully - as far as I know - taking over a street that is in everyone's use in this way is out of the question - for now.

Fortunately, Cour Damoye is the one I mentioned. Champs Elysées It is different from the luxury streets on its sides. “ZIt's as if the aten was a street and was privatized by its residents.” rather than “It was already a private passage and was opened to visitors for touristic purposes.It looks like 🙂

The moment you enter the door, the environment suddenly changes; Bastille SquareThere is no trace left of the crowd and turmoil of , around Paris calm sepenek You feel like you've arrived in a neighborhood; Even if the apartments were a little lower-storeyed, you could feel like it was a cute historical town.

1790Cour Damoye, which became an area of ​​attraction in 1996 when arts and crafts workshops settled here, is now a gateway where interesting workshops continue to function. Even though it is in such a central place, I have never seen it so crowded because no one seems to be aware of this place. I think Cour Damoye, which was glossed over with two or three lines in Time Out Paris and even on Wikipedia when I first published this article, is a special place. Even if it's not worth seeing, especially coming from a far away place, I think Bastille It seems like you should definitely pass through it and get into this beautiful atmosphere while traveling around it.

The shop that caught my attention the most in Cour Damoye was “Old Poster Repair Workshop” was. Imagine living in a world where you have such anxiety. You have an old poster and your problem is to have someone repair it and there are people in the world who opened a shop in Cour Damoye thinking there would be a demand for such a job... This is really Something means; As I always try to explain, this is what Paris actually means...

About 150-200 meters When you go to the end of this short street/passage Bastillein one of the back streets of Rue DavalYou are going to . If you wish, you can turn back from here and get involved in the chaos of the square, or if you wish, you can turn left and continue straight to the right from the street you reach, along a green line. Saint Martin CanalYou can take a long walk up to , or turn right and get lost in the section where there are many cafes, bars and restaurants.

To Cour Damoye M1, M5 ve M8 with subways It is possible to reach. Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, you need to get off at Bastille station. For things to do in the region and nearby areas: Bastille Square – Place de la Bastille I suggest you take a look at my post.

Pleasant trips, pleasant discoveries.

Address: Cour Damoye, Bastille, 75011 Paris

Other Passages in Paris:

• Vivienne Passage – Galerie Vivienne
• Colbert Passage – Galerie Colbert
• Passage Choiseul
• Passage Jouffroy
• Passage des Panoramas – Passage of Panoramas
• Passage Verdeau
• Passage of the Princes – Passage des Princes
• Grand Cerf Passage – Passage du Grand Cerf
• Cairo Passage – Passage du Caire
• Vero Dodat Passage – Galerie Véro-Dodat
• Cour du Commerce Saint-André