Boulevards, Streets, and Squares

The line of the Boulevards from the Madeleine to the Bastille, nearly 3 miles, is one of the busiest and most fashionable in the world; here are the Porte St Denis, the Porte St Martin, most of the large cafes, the Opera-House, and the various theatres distinguished as Le Vaudeville, Les Noubeautes, L’Opera Comique, Les Varietes, Le Le Gymnase, La Porte St Martin, La Renaissance, L’Ambigu, Les Folies Dramatiques, Dejaset, Beaumarchais, and Le Cirque. Traffic passes east and west from the Bastille to the Place de la Concorde by Rue St Antonine and Rue de Rivoli. North and south the line of the Boulevard de Strasbourg and the Boulevard de Sebastopol stretches from the station of the eastern Railway (Gare de l’Est) to the Seine, and is continued by the Boulevard du Palais in the Cite and the bOulevard St. Michel, on the left side of the river, as far as the observatory. The total length is not less than 2 _ miles. On the right side of the river may also be mentioned the Rue Royale; the Malesherbes and Haussmann boulevards, which cross the most elegant quarters of the town; the Avenue de l’Oopera, which unites the Place du Palais Royal with the Place de l’Opera, and terminates at the main entrance of the Opera; the Rue de la Paix, Rue Auber, and Rue 4 Septembre, which also terminate in the Place de l’Opera, and are remarkable for their magnificent shops; Rue Lafayette, one of the longest thoroughfares of Paris, traversing the town from the Opera to the end of La Villete; the Boulevard Magenta, from Mohtmartre to the Place de la Republique; Rue de Turbigo, from this place to the Halles Centrales. The oldest streets known as Richelieu, Vivienne, De la Chaussee d’Antin, St Honore, Montmartre, St Denis, St Martin, are full of shops and offices. The Place de l’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile is the center of twelve avenues stretching out from it like the spokes of a wheel, but not all as yet lined with buildings. On the left side of the river the main thoroughfare is the Boulevard St Germain, from Pont Sully to the Pont de la Concorde, which passes in front of the school of medicine, the Place St Germain des Pres, and the war office. The Rue de Rennes, which extends from St Germain des Pres to the Month Parnasse Railway station, is to be prolonged as far as the Seine.

The finest of the public squares in Paris are Place de la Concorde; Place de l’Etoile; Place Vendome, with the column and statue of Napoleon I.; Place du Carrousel, with a small triumphal arch commemorative of the campaign of 1806, which formed the entrance to the palace of the Tuileries, now demolished; Place des Vicoires, with the equestrian statue of Louis XIV; Place des Vosges, formerly Place Royale, with that of Louis XIII.; Place de la Bastille, with the column commenorative of the Revolution of July 1830; Place de la Republique, with the Republic statue; Place de l’Hotel de Ville; Place du Chatelet, with a column commemorative of the Italian campaign of 1796; those which take their names from the Bourse, the Palais Royal, and the Opera; Place de Rivoli, with the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc; Place Moncey, adorned with a monument in memory of the defence of Paris in 1814, as Place Dendert, at the opposite extremity of the town, is adorned with a colossal lion symbolizing the defnece of 1871. South of the Seine are the Place St Michel, adorned with a monumental fountain, and one of the great centers of traffic in Paris; Place du Pantheon; Place St Sulpice; Place Vauban, behind the dome of the Invalides, and Place du Palais Bourbon, in front of the chamber of deputies. Besides those already mentioned there are monumental fountains in the Places de la Concorde, de la Republique, and du Chatelet, the Avenue de l’Opera, and the Place Louvois opposite the national library; and attention must also be called to the Fountain of the Innocents near the markets, which was originally adorned with sculptures by Jean Goujon; the Moliere Fountain, in the Rue Richelieu; the Gaillon Fountain; and on the left side of the river the Fountain of Rue de Grenelle.





Read the rest of this article:
Paris - Table of Contents