Rue Rollin

The Rue Rollin is a short, almost perfectly straight street in the Saint-Victor quarter of Paris's 5th arrondissement. It connects the Rue Monge with the Rue du Cardinal-Lemoine and is paved throughout, with a central gutter and stone bollards giving it its distinctive look. At the end of the street, a steep double staircase of 34 steps leads down to the Rue Monge. This area is marked by the small Place Benjamin-Fondane, which commemorates the poet and philosopher who lived here. The lane is a dead end closed off by the stairs, and it offers a quiet contrast to the surrounding city traffic.

Historically, the street has carried numerous names over the centuries before it was named in 1867 after the writer and university rector Charles Rollin, who lived here for fifty years. The lane is best known for the famous figures who lived or died here. Blaise Pascal lived at No. 2, where he also died, while René Descartes resided at No. 14 in his final years. The poet Bernardin de Saint-Pierre and the painter Eric Schmid are also associated with the street. A memorial plaque honors Benjamin Fondane, who was arrested and deported by the Nazis in 1944.

For visitors, the Rue Rollin is a place of quiet and historical remembrance. Besides the memorial plaques and the homes of its famous residents, you will find architectural details such as a distinctive wall fountain at the foot of the stairs and a house with a corner turret at No. 23. The proximity to the Place Monge metro station makes the lane easy to reach, while its well-preserved state, with its old cobblestones, offers a glimpse of historic Paris.