General Plan and Description

Paris lies on predominantly flat land on the banks of the Seine River. It covers an area of about 40 square miles (104 km2) and is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. Paris grew within a series of fortified walls, which gave the city a roughly circular shape. A high-speed expressway encircles the city where the last and outermost wall once stood. Within Paris are two large parks, Boulogne in the west and Vincennes in the east.

The Seine River divides the city into two roughly equal parts—the Right Bank (Rive Droite) to the north and the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) to the south. The Île de la Cité and the Île St. Louis are islands in the Seine. The Île de la Cité is the site of the first Paris settlement, founded more than 2,000 years ago. It is linked to the banks by several bridges and connected by a pedestrian bridge to the Île St. Louis. This island is mainly residential and has many 17th-century buildings.

The Right Bank was for centuries an area of royal palaces and mansions of the aristocracy; many of these structures now house public institutions. The remainder of the northern section is comparatively modern, having undergone considerable renovation since the 1950's. The Right Bank is the center of commerce and the fashion industry and has many of the city's most elegant theaters, hotels, restaurants, and shops.

The western Left Bank, along the Seine, is the location of the Eiffel Tower and a number of other noted landmarks. It is also an important government area, containing the Bourbon Palace, which houses the National Assembly, and many government ministries and foreign embassies. Much of the eastern Left Bank is dominated by educational institutions. The remaining area is mostly residential.

Numerous bridges cross the Seine. The Pont Neuf (New Bridge), contrary to its name, is the oldest, dating from 1607. The Pont des Arts, connecting the Left and Right Banks in the vicinity of the Louvre, is for pedestrians only and offers a good view of the Île de la Cité. The bridges, in general, provide excellent views along the river.

Along the banks of the Seine are embankments called quais. The quais of the Île de la Cité and Île St. Louis, as well as those of the central part of the city, provide broad treeshaded walkways. They are favorite promenades for Parisians. Some quais along other parts of the river have docking facilities for river craft.

A number of the main streets run either parallel or perpendicular to the Seine; however, the pattern is quite irregular. Boulevards, many of which run in short arcs, often connect to form long semicircular routes. Many boulevards are broad, shady, and extremely picturesque. A number of streets meet at odd angles or in open squares. Some intersections resemble the hub of a wheel, with the streets as spokes. The most famous of these intersections is the Place Charles de Gaulle, location of the Are de Triomphe. Short streets run in a haphazard fashion and many times are quite narrow.

Much of the present appearance of the city, particularly the Right Bank, is the work of Baron G. E. Haussmann, planner and administrator of a massive public works project under Napoleon III. In the period from 1853 until 1870, Haussmann razed and rebuilt some of the older and more crowded sections of the city and initiated the system of broad, tree-lined boulevards and open squares.