Impasses
These narrow mews were where servants had their tiny houses in the days of the prince-bishops. Prominent citizens lived along neighboring Rue Hors-Château. As late as the 1970s, it was believed that the best approach to urban redevelopment was to tear down these houses. Luckily, common sense prevailed. The Impasse de l’Ange and Impasse de la Couronne are two examples of the six such well-restored impasses in town. Duck under the årvô, the bridge over the alleyway, to discover lush gardens, finely restored Tudor homes, and a number of potales (wall chapels), devoted mostly to the Virgin or to St. Roch, who was venerated as the protector against disease epidemics.
