Boulevards of Paris - Haussmannian Boulevards

Haussmannian Boulevards

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 fore 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.