Your guide, Guillaume, invites you to delve into Paris’s troubled past and discover an unusual, taboo side of the capital: the history of madness through the ages.
You will meet at the gates of a little-known place with a heavy past: the Salpêtrière hospital. Originally a simple gunpowder arsenal, it was transformed by Louis XIV into a hospice for poor and disabled women, then for women deemed mad, witches, libertines, vagrants, and even criminals. It was not until the Revolution that the so-called insane women were freed from their chains. Madwomen were no longer locked away; instead, attempts were made to cure them. Then came the 19th century, the age of psychiatry and experimentation (for better and for worse...) by Professor Charcot, Sigmund Freud, and others. This was the golden age of hypnotism and hysteria in France. Your walk will take you to the last remaining sites that bear witness to this history of madness: the chapel, gardens, former lodgings, the Force buildings, as well as old cells and remnants of the “cages for madwomen”... A surprising and fascinating visit that is sure to leave a lasting impression!
Price: €21/person
Source: paris.fr — photo: slp