Left: Edouard Manet, The Balcony, 1869, Musee d'Orsay.

Right: rue Vauvillier, in the Les Halles district. Les Halles is visible on the right. This was the major produce market until the 1960s, when it was moved to the outskirts of the city. Charles Marville is the photographer, and the book, Le Nouveau Paris is edited by Philippe Mellot.

Boucicaut, founder of the magasin Bon Marche, invents the idea of the January 'White Sale,' to help maintain sales in January, a traditionally slow selling season. (AF)

Cafe de Flore opens. This is on Blvd. St. Germain in the 6th arrondissement. It became a famous meeting place for Existentialists in the 20th century. It is still a good spot for a cafe sit, with lots of foot traffic and a nice square right there beside it. It is no more expensive than other places in the neighborhood. (AF)

Founding of the Bourse du Travail de Paris - a job market, opens this year.

More broadly:

Celluloid is invented, as is color photography, and in the land of great butter, so is margarine. (CHF)

The Empress Eugenie opens the Suez Canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps is the major architect of the canal. (AF)

Flaubert publishes L'education sentimental, Jules Verne publishes "20,000 Leagues under the sea. (AF)

The first hydroelectric plant opens in the Alps. Aristide Beryes gets the credit. (CHF)

Monet paints La Seine a Bougival, Courbet paints Les Trois Baigneuses, Offenbach presents Les Brigands.