Paris and northern France :: :: University of Virginia Library

One of the more recent and magnificent improvements of the
present reign was the construction of the already mentioned (p. 37)
Boulevard de Strasbourg and Boulevard de Sébastopol,
intersecting the old Boulevards between the Porte St. Denis and
the Porte St. Martin, and traversing the greater portion of the city
from N. to S. The former name is applied to the direct line of
communication between the Strasbourg railway station and the
old Boulevards. Thence to the Seine the street is termed Boulevard
de Sébastopol; its prolongation, traversing the great southern quarter
of the city, and extending to the external Boulevard, has recently
been named Boulevard St. Michel. Like the old Boulevards, they are
furnished with broad asphalt pavements, rows of trees etc., and
traverse the most animated quarters of the city. The Boulevard
de Sébastopol especially, which is of more recent origin than the
other portion, presents an uninterrupted succession of handsome
edifices with numerous shops and cafés.

The Boulevard de Strasbourg, nearly ½ M. in length,
presents little worthy of note. At its commencement it is intersected
by the new Boulevard de Magenta. The Boulevard de
Sébastopol, commencing at the old Boulevards, leads to the
(3 min.) Square des Arts et Métiers, to the l., in which is situated the
new Théâtre de la Gaîté; in the rear, Rue St. Martin 292, rises
the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (comp. p. 102). About 8 min.
walk farther is seen, to the r., the church of St. Leu, with its
adjoining parsonage-house, built in the same style as the church,

A short distance fartehr the new and unfinished Rue Turbigo intersects
the Boulevard. Beyond it, through the second street to the
right, may be perceived the lofty iron arches of the Halles Centrales
(p. 18); 5 min. farther the Rue de Rivoli (p. 94) is crossed. To the
W. in the Rue de Rivoli, rises the solitary *Tour St. Jacques de la
Boucherie, a handsome square Gothic tower, 164 ft. in height,
erected in 1508—22, now the sole remnant of a church which was
taken down in 1789 and sold as national property. The view from
the summit (adm. 10 c.) is incontestibly the finest in Paris, as the
tower occupies a very central position; in the immediate vicinity
flows the Seine with its numerous bridges, at the spectator's feet
lie the new buildings of the Rue de Rivoli and Boulevard de
Sébastopol, the Hôtel de Ville etc. The purchase and restoration
of the tower have cost the city nearly a million francs (40,000 L.) —
In the hall on the ground-floor is a statue of the philosopher Pascal.

Beyond the Tour St. Jacques a glimpse is obtained to the l.
of the Hôtel de Ville (p. 92). — The Place du Châtelet, situated
on the Seine and intersected by the Boulevard de Sébastopol, is
next reached.

The Monument which stands here was erected by Napoleon I.
in 1807 in commemoration of his victories. Beneath are four
figures representing Fidelity, Vigilance, Law and Power; a brazen
palm in the centre is inscribed with names of battles; at the
summit a statue of Victory, with raised hands, as if in the act
of conferring wreaths of laurel. The whole is a work of Bosio.
The monument originally stood farther from the Seine, but was
removed entire to its present position on the construction of the
Boulevard de Sébastopol.

To the r. and l. of the Place du Châtelet are situated the
Théâtre Lyrique and the Théâtre du Châtelet respectively (comp.
pp. 28, 29).

The Pont au Change, of equal breatdh with the Boulevard
itself, here crosses an arm of the Seine to the Cité island, on
which is situated (to the r.) the Palais de Justice (p. 94). Opposite
to it stands the newly erected Tribunal de Commerce,
which will supersede the chamber at present employed for the
purpose at the Bourse. This handsome building with its dome
lies exactly in the line of the Boulevard de Sébastopol, and forms
a most appropriate termination to this portion of the street.
Quitting the island by the Pont St. Michel, the stranger reaches
the quay of that name with the Fontaine St. Michel, a vast and
imposing structure, but in somewhat questionable taste. In the
centre is represented St. Michel's victory over Satan, modelled
by Duret, emblematical of Louis Napoleon's victory over the revolution;
at the top, female figures personifying the four cardinal
virtues of a monarch. The inscription is as follows: "Fondé sous

le règne de Napoléon III., Empereur des Français, ce monument
a été élevé par la ville de Paris en 1860."

The reddish stone, resembling marble, which is seen in this and
many other recent structures is quarried in the Vosges mountains.

Here the Boulevard St. Michel commences and is soon intersected
by the new Boulevard St. Germain (which is to be prolonged
to the Corps Législatif); at the corner of the latter, to
the l., is situated the Musée de Cluny (p. 135); then the broad
Rue des Ecoles (in the vicinity, to the l., the Collège de France,
founded by Francis I. in 1529 and greatly extended of late
years), beyond which the Sorbonne (p. 137) is reached, and opposite
to it the Lycée St. Louis. Farther on. to the r., is the long
front of the Jardin du Luxembourg (the S. portion of which is
destined to be converted into new streets), and the Ecole des
Mines; nearly opposite to the latter the Deaf and Dumb Institute
(p. 161). To the l., near the commencement of the garden of
the Luxembourg, the Panthéon (p. 138) may be seen through the
Rue Soufflot. Farther on, to the l., through the Rue du Val
de Gràce, is seen the military Hôpital du Val de Grâce, which
at a distance somewhat resembles the Pantheon. In the Carrefour
de l'Observatoire is situated the Statue of Ney, mentioned p. 134.