The houses stood cheek by jowl along the narrow street.
cheek by jowl
idiomIn very close physical proximity, crowded together.
Origin
disputed originFrom cheek + by + jowl (“cheek; jaw”) (or possibly jowl (“fold of fatty flesh under the chin, around the cheeks, or lower jaw; cheek”) or jowl (“(obsolete) head”)), suggesting people so close to each other that the cheek of one person is next to the jowl of another.
In the old part of the city, shops and cafés sit cheek by jowl, making it hard to tell where one ends and another begins.
Cheek by jowl with the grand cathedral, humble market stalls sold their wares, creating a striking contrast between sacred and mundane.