Broke in the City of Light? Pay a Visit to 'Auntie'

The Credit Municipal of Paris, known about town as "Auntie," is pretty glamorous for a pawnshop. Since 1777, the city-operated institution has served Rodin, Monet, Zola, Verlaine, and Victor Hugo, who mentioned it in Les Miserables. The newest development? Auntie now accepts wine. "People can now exchange liquidity—for liquidity," the shop's director tells the Los Angeles Times.

"Coming here is the last solution," said one women selling her jewelry to raise funds for a power bill. "Nobody else would give me money." (More Credit Municipal of Paris stories.)