University of Virginia Library

1. The Old Boulevards.

Colonne de Juillet, Place Royale, Imprimerie Impériale, Porte St. Martin,
Porte St. Denis, Bourse, Vendôme Monument, Chapelle Expiatoire.

In the year 1670, during the reign of Louis XIV., the fortifications
(boulevards = bulwarks) which then surrounded Paris
were taken down and the ditches filled up[1] . This gave rise to
a street, the northern portion of which, on the right bank of the
Seine, displays a richness of architecture and an array of attractive
shop-windows, which are surpassed in no other city in the world.

There are a number of other boulevards in Paris many of
which have sprung up in consequence of the gigantic and still
incomplete street-improvements (Boulevard Hausmann, de Magenta,
du Prince Eugène, de l'Hôpital, des Gobelins, St. Jacques, d'Enfer,
du Montparnasse, des Invalides etc.), but "the Boulevards" is a
term usually applied exclusively to the line (3 M.) of broad
streets leading from the Bastille to the Madeleine and subdivided
as follows: Boulevard Beaumarchais (10 min. walk), Boulevard
des Filles du Calvaire (3 min.), Boulevard du Temple (8 min.),
Boulevard St. Martin (8 min.) Boulevard St. Denis (3 min.),
Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle (6 min.), Boulevard Poissonnière (6 min.),
Boulevard Montmartre (4 min.), Boulevard des Italiens (8 min.),
Boulevard des Capucines (6 min.), Boulevard de la Madeleine (4 min.).

With the bright and cheerful animation and admirable arrangement
of these Boulevards no line of streets in the English, or indeed
any other metropolis can vie.

The Boulevards were formerly paved, and the stones have at
different periods been employed in the construction of barricades.
Since 1850 they have been macadamized and furnished with an
asphalt pavement for foot-passengers. The trees, to which the
gas is highly prejudicial, are a source of constant trouble to the
city authorities. When dead they are replaced by full-grown

substitutes, transplanted at great expense from a more healthy
atmosphere. The small glass cabinets in which newspapers are
sold, and the establishments where Selters water and other
beverages are supplied to the thirsty wayfarer, known by the
German designation of "Trinkhalle", are all of comparatively
recent origin. The chairs (chaises et fauteuils), which may be
hired (10—20 c.) on the most animated portions of the boulevards,
belong to a company, and are often in great request.

In order to inspect the Boulevards in detail, the stranger is
strongly recommended to walk along the N. side from the Bastille
to the Madeleine and to return on the S. side. The quietest
and most favourable time is the forenoon. When the traffic reaches
its climax, between 2 and 5 p. m., the top of an omnibus is
perhaps the best point of observation. An evening walk through
the boulevards should also on no account be omitted; nothing
can then exceed the brilliancy and animation of the scene. — The
number of vehicles, from the elegant private equipage to the
ponderous waggon, which daily traverse the boulevards, is upwards
of 24,000.

The shops, as well as many of the cafés of the Boulevard
des Italiens and those adjoining it far surpass those of the Palais
Royal in brilliancy and magnificence. Cafés in the Boulevards,
see p. 15; reading-rooms, p. 17; theatres, p. 29; shops and
bazaars, p. 17.

A very frequent summer apparition on the Boulevards is the
vender of coco (liquorice water and lemon-juice), with his quiverlike
zinc vessels, shining mugs and tinkling bell.

The Place de la Bastille is selected as the most suitable
starting-point for the above-mentioned walk; as the stranger proceeds
from E. to W., the interest of the route gradually increases
and the traffic becomes more animated. From the Madeleine he
may then proceed by the Place de la Concorde and the Champs
Élysées to the Arc de l'Étoile, and return thence through the
Jardin des Tuileries, past the Palais Royal, the Hôtel de Ville
and the Caserne Napoléon, to the July Column. This circuit
comprises a large proportion of the most striking features in Paris.

The Place de la Bastille, or simply La Bastille as it is usually
termed, was formerly the site of La Bastille St. Antoine, a castle
consisting of five lofty towers connected by walls and surrounded
by a deep fosse. This building, which formed the extremity
of the ancient fortifications and commanded the Seine and the
populous suburb of St. Antoine, was spared in 1670 when
the boulevards were levelled (p. 33), and was subsequently
employed as a state-prison. On the 14th of July, 1789, it
was captured and destroyed by the revolutionists; the stones
were then chiefly employed in the construction of the Pont de
la Concorde.

The Boulevard Richard Lenoir, constructed above the covered
Canal St. Martin, which is connected with the Bassin du Canal
St. Martin on the S. side of the Place and thus with the Seine
also, was once destined by Napoleon I. to be the site of a
colossal elephant fountain, 72 ft. in height, to be erected in
commemoration of the revolution. (A model is preserved in the
Ecole des Beaux Arts, p. 151.) The steamboats pass beneath
this beautiful promenade, and their smoke is occasionally visible
as it issues from the air-holes concealed in the midst of the
small plantations.

After the revolution of 1830, however, the plan was abandoned;
the spot was employed as a burial-place for the "July champions",
and the present Colonne de Juillet erected over their remains.
The monument, which is of iron, 154 ft. in height, is surmounted
by a figure emblematical of Liberty, bearing a torch in one hand
and a broken chain in the other. In February 1818, the "February
champions" were here interred beside their comrades of 1830.
The summit of the monument commands a fine view, especially
of the cemetery Père Lachaise; the ascent is, however, less
recommended than that of the Tour St. Jacques (p. 46), and
should not be attempted by persons inclined to dizziness, on
account of the swaying motion which is sometimes felt, especially
in windy weather. Custodian's fee 20 c.

The strongest barricade of the insurgents in June, 1848,
which could not be captured without the aid of heavy artillery,
was in the neighbouring Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine diverging
to the r. (E.) On the 25th of June, the third day of the contest,
Archbishop Affre (p. 105) was here killed by an insurgent's
ball, whilst exhorting the people to peace.

Before commencing his walk along the animated Boulevards,
the stranger may, by way of contrast, visit the Place Royale, to
reach which he turns to the l. into the Rue St. Antoine and
takes the third street (Rue Royale) to the r. Passing under an
arch, he enters a large square planted with limes and chestnuts,
two sides of which are adorned with fountains. In the centre
stands the equestrian marble Statue of Louis XIII., executed by
Dupaty and Cortot, and erected in 1829 to replace the statue of
the same king erected by Richelieu in 1639, which had been
destroyed in 1792.

The square itself occupies the site of the court of the former
Palais des Tournelles, where in 1565 a tournament, which cost
Henry II. his life (p. 94), took place. Catherine de Medicis caused
the palace to be taken down and the houses (not completed till
the reign of Henry IV.), which now occupy its site, to be erected.
They are built uniformly of red brick with lofty roofs, and
have a series of arcades in front. Richelieu once occupied No. 21,
Victor Hugo No. 9 at the S.E. corner, and Mademoiselle Rachel

the house opposite until her death in 1858. The present inhabitants
of this gloomy, old-fashioned square, as well as of the adjoining
streets (Quartier du Marais), are chiefly retired officers
and persons of limited income. For a short time after the
revolution of 1792, and again in 1848, the square was named
Place des Vosges, in honour of the department of that name, which
had been the first to send contributions in support of the popular
cause.

To the N. W. of this, if the Rue Neuve Ste. Catherine be followed,
the Imprimerie Impériale, the extensive and interesting printing
establishment of the government, is reached. Admission on
Thursdays at 2 precisely, as the premises are shown once only
(1 fr.)

Returning to the Place de la Bastille and entering the Boulevards,
the stranger first traverses the Boulevard Beaumarchais.
The S. side consists of handsome and tastefully
built houses, completed since 1848, the N. side principally of
petty shops. This boulevard and that of the Filles du Calvaire
are chiefly frequented by the denizens of the Faubourg
St. Antoine with their blue blouses and printed cotton jackets.
In fine weather the decayed gentleman and retired officer of the
Quartier du Marais, recognisable by the ancient appearance of
their costume, occasionally emerge to sun themselves. No. 25 is
the Th?atre Beaumarchais, the great resort of the inhabitants of
the neighbouring Faubourg.

The Boulevard du Temple is sometimes termed the
Boulevard du Crime, owing, it is said, to the number
of melodramatic and other theatres which were formerly crowded
together on the N. side, the last of which, however, have very
recently been demolished to make way for the new Boulevard du
Prince Eugène (see below).

To the latter appellation the crime of Fieschi may possibly
have in some degree contributed. No 42 occupies the site of
the house, whence July 28th, 1835, he discharged his infernal
machine at Louis Philippe, which occasioned the death of Marshal
Mortier and several others.

Exactly opposite, on the S. side, is situated the Jardin Turc,
and near it the restaurant Bonvalet, both frequented by the respectable
denizens of the Quartier du Marais (see above). The
Cadran Bleu, exactly opposite to the Restaurant Bonvalet, was
formerly one of the most celebrated restaurants in Paris. On the
same side toy and fancy shops predominate.

The huge building on the r., which attracts the eye at the
commencement of the Boulevard St. Martin, is the Caserne du
Prince Eugène, capable of accommodating 8000 men. It is now
connected with Vincennes and its military establishments by the
Boulevard du Prince Eugène, inaugurated Dec. 7th, 1862,

by the emperor. This Boulevard runs in a S. E. direction from
the Boulevard du Temple to the Place du Trône, and intersects
the Place du Prince Eugène, where in 1865 a bronze Statue of
Eugène Beauharnais was erected. It stands on a pedestal of
green granite, bearing the inscription: "Au Prince Eugène Napoléon";
the sides are adorned with representations of the prince's
greatest battles, and at the back is recorded the passage from
his letter to the Emperor Alexander in 1814, in which he repudiates
that monarch's overtures and declares his determination of
remaining faithful to Napoleon. (In the vicinity, in front of
the Prison de la Roquette, is the Parisian place of execution).
Farther on, the Boulevard traverses the most populous portion
of the quarter inhabited by artizans. The triumphal arch, in commemoration
of the Russian and Italian campaigns, which it was
proposed to erect in front of the columns of the Place du Trône
and of which a model in wood was temporarily constructed,
will probably never be executed.

The new Boulevard de Magenta diverges to the N. and
the Boulevard St. Martin commences at the Château d'Eau, a
handsome fountain consisting of three stories, the lowest 90 ft.
in diameter. A flower-market is held here on Mondays and Thursdays
(p. 18). The Boulevard lies on a slight eminence, which in
the middle, between the houses, was levelled in 1845 for the
convenience of carriages. Here are situated the Théâtre des
Folies Dramatiques, the Théâtre de l'Ambigu Comique and the
Théâtre de la Porte St. Martin.

The Porte St. Martin is a triumphal arch, 54 ft. in height
and 54 ft. in breadth, erected by the city in 1674 in honour of
Louis XIV. The inscriptions and reliefs commemorate the victories
of that monarch; on the S. side are represented the capture
of Besançon and the defeat of the Triple Alliance (Germans,
Spaniards and Dutch), on the N. the taking of Limbourg and the
victory over the Germans. On the 31st of March, 1814, the
German and Russian armies entered Paris by the Barrière de
Pantin and the Rue du Faubourg St. Martin, and passed through
the Porte St. Martin and the Boulevards to the Place de la Concorde
(p. 78).

The broad, new street, which here diverges to the r. and l.
and intersects Paris from N. to S., is the Boulevard de Sébastopol
and the Boulevard de Strasbourg (comp. p. 45).

The Porte St. Denis, another triumphal arch erected by the
city in 1672, to commemorate the brilliant successes of Louis XIV.
in Holland and the district of the Lower Rhine, is 72 ft. in height
and of more symmetrical proportions than the Porte St. Martin.
The archway is 43 ft. in height and 25 ft. in width. The Latin
inscription on the S. side is to the following effect: To Louis
the Great, for having within 60 days crossed the Rhine, the Waal,

the Meuse and the Issel, conquered three provinces and captured
40 fortified cities. On the obelisk to the r. is the vanquished and
mournful Holland on a dead lion, to the l. the river-god of the
Rhine. Above the archway is represented Louis's passage of the
Rhine at Tollhuis below Emmerich, where the river had been
rendered unusually shallow by a long drought. The relief and
inscription at the back commemorate the fact that the same
monarch took Mæstricht in 13 days.

In July, 1830, both these gateways were the scene of the most
sanguinary conflicts; here, too, in June, 1848, the first engagement
between the insurgents and the military took place.

The visitor next reaches the Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle
(Théâtre du Gymnase, p. 28), the Boulevard Poissonnière
and the Boulevard Montmartre. The Théâtre
des Variétés is No. 7, on the S. side, see p. 28; No. 21 is a
magazine of aquariums, where a large and interesting aquarium
is exhibited (1 fr.).

The traffic now increases in animation and the shops in splendour.
In the Boulevard Poissonnière may be mentioned the
Bazar de Voyage, No. 14; Henri, the well-known perfumer, No. 20;
Barbedienne and Co., dealers in bronzes, Nr. 30; Bazar de l'Industrie,
on the S. side, No. 27; in the Rue Montmartre the "Ville
de Paris"; then the Passage des Panoramas, and on the N. side
the more recently constructed Passage Jouffroy, both containing
numerous attractive shops.

Cafés and restaurants, and on the S. side shops, are now the
most conspicuous buildings. "Au Prophète" on the S. side is a
vast and brilliantly lighted depôt for ready-made clothes.

The Rue du Faubourg Montmartre at its junction with the
Boulevards was on Feb. 24th, 1848, closed by a strong barricade
which several times baffled the attempts of the municipal guard
to take it.

Before entering the Boulevard des Italiens, the stranger should
turn into the Rue Vivienne, opposite to the Passage Jouffroy,
which leads him to the Place de la Bourse. The Exchange, or
Palais de la Bourse, is a handsome building in the Grecian style,
surrounded by a colonnade of 66 Corinthian pillars. At the corners
stand four statues emblematical of Commerce (by Dumont),
Commercial Equity (by Duret), Industry (by Pradier) and Agriculture
(by Seurre).

The hall of the Bourse, 116 ft. in length and 76 ft. in width,
is opened at 12 o'clock (free access from 12 to 5 o'cl.; sticks
and umbrellas must be given up at the entrance, 10 c.). Numerous
vehicles, especially private carriages, soon drive up, and
the money-seeking throng crowds into the building. The parquet,
at the end of the hall, is a railed-off space which the sworn
brokers (agents de change) alone are privileged to enter. They

congregate round the corbeille, another railed-off space in the
centre, and make their offers in loud tones. Other groups, especially
near the parquet, are occupied in taking notes, or concluding
sales or purchases, the prices being regulated by the
transactions which take place in the parquet. Occasionally an
offer is made to the brokers in the parquet, or instructions
handed over to them to effect sales.

The tumultuous scene is best surveyed from the gallery, to
which the S. side-entrance leads. The noise, the shouting, the
excited gestures of the speculators and the eager cupidity of
all produce a disagreeable impression on the mind of the spectator.
Amidst the din almost the only intelligible words are:
"Je donne, je prends, je vends!"

At 3 o'clock the stock-exchange terminates, the brokers assemble
and note the prices realized in the most recently concluded
transactions, and the exchange-list for the day is then issued and
at once printed. The hall remains open from 3 to 5 o'clock for
the transaction of other mercantile business. The upper apartments
are employed by the Tribunal de Commerce for its public
sessions, which are held daily, Saturdays excepted, at 10 o'clock.
The president and judges are merchants. The new Tribunal de
Commerce in the Boulevard de Sébastopol (p. 45), rapidly approaches
completion.

Opposite to the Bourse is the Théâtre de Vaudeville (p. 28).

The portions of the Rue Vivienne and the parallel Rue Richelieu,
which diverge from the Boulevard to the S., are among
the most animated business localities. The establishment "Aux
Villes de France" has an entrance in each of these streets. Rue
Richelieu, Place Louvois (Square Richelieu), Bibliothèque Impérial,
see p. 99.

Returning to the Boulevards, the stranger passes Frascati, the
once notorious gambling-house, a large building to the r. at the
end of the Rue Richelieu. The Boulevard des Italiens is
sometimes called Boulevard de Gand from the fact that, whilst
Louis XVIII. was during the hundred days (1815) awaiting the
issue of affairs at Ghent, his partisans were in the habit of assembling
here. It is the most animated and fashionable of all,
and consists almost exclusively of hotels, cafés and the choicest
shops. The upper stories of several of the best houses are let
to private clubs.

Before and after the exchange hours, petty stockbrokers frequently
assemble at the Passage de l'Opéra and exhibit the same
eager haste and excitement as in the hall of the Bourse. These
clusters, which often obstruct the pavement to the annoyance of
the foot-passengers, are generally dispersed by the police, which
is no sooner done than the offenders re-assemble in similar knots
a few paces farther off.

The Grand Opéra (p. 26) forms the N. termination of the
passage; the front is on the W. side of the Rue Lepelletier.

On the opposite (S.) side of the Boulevard stands the Café
du Grand Balcon and behind it the Opéra Comique.

The streets which diverge from the Boulevard to the N., the
Rue Laffitte, Rue Taitbout, and especially the Rue de la Chaussée
d'Antin are chiefly inhabited by wealthy bankers, moneyed men
and eminent savants, artists etc. At No. 17 Rue Laffitte, now
the property of Baron James Rothschild, Napoleon III. was born
Aug. 20th, 1808.

At the Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin the Boulevard des
Capucines commences. On an open space on the N. side, opposite
to the Rue de la Paix, the extensive new Opera-house is in
course of construction. It is intended to form the extremity of
a new Boulevard, leading to the Station de l'Ouest (Versailles-Rouen),
and which will be prolonged under the name of Rue de
l'Impératrice as far as the Rue de Rivoli. Adjacent to it is the
Grand Hôtel (p. 4). On the opposite side, at the corner in the
Rue de la Paix, Tahan, one of the best shops in Paris for
furniture and articles of carved wood; No. 37 is the depôt of
the Compagnie Lyonnaise; No. 41, au premier, Biétry's shawl
magazine.

The Rue de la Paix, which diverges to the S. from the Boulevard
des Capucines, is one of the handsomest streets in Paris
and also the residence of many of the wealthiest citizens. It
terminates in the octagonal Place Vendôme, in the centre of which
rises the Colonne Vendòme, a monument in imitation of Trajan's
column at Rome, 135 ft. in height and 12 ft. in diameter. It was
erected by Napoleon I. in 1810 to commemorate his victories over
the Russians and Austrians in 1805, as the inscription records.
A Latin inscription on a tablet above the door is to the following
effect: The Emperor Napoleon dedicated this monument, constructed
of captured cannons, in commemoration of the war terminated in
Germany within three months under his generalship, to the fame of
the great army. — The metal of 1200 cannons was employed in
the construction of the column.

The reliefs of the pedestal represent the uniforms and weapons
of the conquered armies, those which wind round the shaft exhibit
in chronological order a history of the war from the departure of
the troops from the camp of Boulogne to the battle of Austerlitz.
The figures are each 3 ft. in height; the entire series, if in a
straight line, would measure 840 ft. in length. They possess no
great artistic merit and owing to their height above the spectator
cannot easily be distinguished. A good model of the column may
be seen at the Hôtel des Monnaies (p. 148).

The original statue of Napoleon which occupied the summit
of the column was melted down in 1814, and the metal employed

in casting the equestrian statue of Henry IV. on the Pont Neuf
(p. 101). Subsequently, in 1831, Louis Philippe caused a new
statue to be cast of the metal of guns captured at Algiers and
to be placed on the summit. This was removed in December,
1863, to the Avenue de Neuilly and replaced by a statue of the
emperor in his imperial robes, similar to the original statue.

The column may be ascended by means of a dark staircase
(open from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m.). The custodian (fee 50 cent.)
provides the visitor with a lantern. The view from the summit
is, however, inferior to those from the Tour St. Jacques, Notre-Dame,
the Panthéon and the Arc de l'Etoile.

The Hôtel du Rhin, on the S. side of the square, was the
residence of Napoleon III. when acting as deputy of the national
assembly from September to December, 1848.

Returning to the Rue de la Paix and following the Rue Neuve
des Capucines, the first street to the l., the stranger will soon
reach the Boulevard de la Madeleine. The new buildings to the r.,
at the corner of the Boulevard des Capucines, occupy the site of
the Hôtel du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, which stood here
till 1853, and was in February, 1848, the residence of Guizot,
the prime minister at that time. On the night of February 23rd,
1848, a shot fired from a window of this edifice, as it is alleged,
by a mischance, was the precursor of the events which levelled
the "July throne".

The houses of the Boulevard de la Madeleine, the N. side
of which is termed Rue Basse du Rempart, are all of recent
origin, most of them having been erected in 1855—56. One of the
most tempting shop-windows is that of Gallois Gignoux, Nos. 21—23.

The W. termination of the Boulevards is formed by the church
of La Madeleine (p. 109).

A Flower-market, of considerable importance, is held here on
Tuesdays and Fridays. One of the principal cab-stands in the
city is on the N. and W. sides of the church.

The broad but short Rue Royale leads hence to the Place de
la Concorde (p. 78). In the last house to the l. are the offices
of the minister of marine affairs.

The Boulevard Malesherbes, ¾ M. in length, inaugurated
August 13th, 1861, and leading in a direct line to the Park of
Monceaux (p. 88), diverges from the Madeleine in a N. W. direction,
and forms a continuation of the old Boulevards. It is intersected
by the new Boulevard Hausmann. About the centre of the former
is situated the new Eglise des Augustins, a late Gothic structure,
with lower and upper church, not yet entirely completed.

The remains of the illustrious victims who were guillotined in
1793 (p. 79) were originally interred in the former churchyard
of the Madeleine, at the N. extremity of the Rue de la Madeleine.
In 1815 they were removed to the royal vault of St. Denis, and

on the spot where they had for 21 years reposed, the Chapelle
Expiatoire was erected by Louis XVIII., as the inscription over
the entrance records.

The chapel is built in the form of a cross, surmounted by a
dome. The interior contains two marble groups, to the l. that
of the queen, supported by a figure emblematical of Religion
(a likeness of Madame Elizabeth, the king's sister, executed
May 12th, 1794), a work of the sculptor Cortot; underneath is
the copy of a letter from the queen to Madame Elizabeth, dated
Oct. 16th, 1793, which runs as follows:

The group to the r. presents the king and an angel addressing
him: "Fils de St. Louis, montez au ciel!" Underneath is a copy
of the king's will, dated December 25th, 1792.

Above the portal, in the interior, is an allegorical representation
of the removal of the royal remains to St. Denis, a relief
by Lemaire.

The adjacent building is tenanted by two clergymen who perform
service here. Mass every morning at 9 o'clock, at other
times admission obtained by applying to the sacristan (fee 50 c.).