Quartier de la Butte-aux-Cailles

This guide to the Butte-aux-Cailles quarter in Paris opens on November 21, 1783, when Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes lifted off from the Chateau de la Muette in a silk balloon, drifting over crowds who had never watched a person fly. It then jumps to May 1871, when General Wroblewski planted artillery on this same hill during the Paris Commune's last week, holding off repeated assaults in a single night. Wander the narrow streets and look for the murals tucked into doorways as you listen.