Galions Street, in the Notre-Dame area, then home to brothels, appears in various literary works from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Lucien Descaves (1861-1949) described it in a “fin de siècle” style, at a time when this street was called “Albanie Street”. A group of non-commissioned officers features in his novel Sous-Offs.

In L’Âge d’homme, Michel Leiris (1901-1990) confesses his affection for the shady world represented by this street.

In A Hard Winter by Raymond Queneau (1903-1976), this street is mentioned in a dialogue between Lehameau and Madeleine. The restaurant La Grosse Tonne appears in The Last Days by Queneau, as well as in The Prime of Life by Simon de Beauvoir (1908-1986).

In his painting The English Girl from ‘The Star’ in Le Havre, Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) probably refers to the same houses of pleasure.