page_title: Boulevards of Paris
section_title: Haussmannian boulevards
hierarchical_section_title: Boulevards of Paris / Haussmannian boulevards
caption_attribution_description: Boulevard Haussmann in Paris, seen from the roof of Galeries Lafayette.
context_page_description: Boulevards of Paris are boulevards which form an important part of the urban landscape of Paris. The boulevards were constructed in several phases by central government initiative as infrastructure improvements, but are very much associated with strolling and leisurely enjoyment in the minds of Parisians.
  Parisian boulevards and avenues are usually tree-lined on one or both sides, which is rarely the case for smaller roads.
context_section_description: From 1784 to 1791, Ledoux built the Wall of the Farmers-General, with boulevards running along its exterior. This wall built to collect the octroi, a tax on goods entering the city which was hated by Parisians. It was demolished approximately between 1789 and 1860. Although it was almost completely razed by Haussman in 1860 as part of his transformation of Paris, some parts remain. The surviving boulevards were subject to urban planners' failed attempts in the 1950s to transform them into urban freeways.
  Haussmann's renovation of Paris brought the boulevard to the heart of Paris, whereas they had hitherto been limited to uninhabited or sparsely inhabited zones. Le boulevard, whose initial function was to go around the capital, became structural urban thoroughfares.
  The boulevards from Haussmann and before now define Paris, with uniform façades and overhanging balconies stretching along them. These are immediately recognisable, and are under the strict control of Paris' urban planners.
caption: Looking westwards down Boulevard Haussmann and Galeries Lafayette (right)
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