Montmartre, within the fortifications is four hundred feet high; the city is encircled at a distance of from two to five miles by an outer range of heights, including Villejuif, Meudon, St. Cloud, and Mont-Valerien (six hundred and fifty feet), some of which are crowned by the detached forts which now form the main defenses of the city. At the fifty-six gates in the walls of Paris are paid the octroi dues.
Streets and Boulevards.—The houses of Paris are almost all built of white calcareous stone, and their general height is from five to six stories, arranged in separate tenements. Many of the modern street buildings have mansard roofs, and are highly enriched in the renaissance manner. In the older parts of the city the streets are narrow and irregular, but in the newer districts the avenues are straight, wide, and well-paved.
The central point of the city is Place Royal, along which passes the great thoroughfare of the city from southeast to northwest. Beginning at the Place de la Nation, at the southeast margin of the city, this grand avenue, from Place de la Nation to Place de la Bastille, is called Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine; from Place Bastille to near Hotel de Ville it is called Rue St. Antoine; from Hotel de Ville, past the Louvre, to Place de la Concorde, Rue de Rivoli; from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs Elysees; and beyond the Arch, Ave. de la Grande Armée.
The Center of Parisian Life.—That which is specifically called The Boulevard extends in an irregular arc on the north side of the Seine, from the Place de la Bastille in the east to the Place de la Madeleine in the west and it includes the Boulevards du Temple, St. Martin, St. Denis, des Italiens, Capuchins, and Madeleine, and its length is nearly three miles. Here may be noted also the triumphal arches of the Porte St. Denis and the Porte St. Martin, the former of which is seventy-two feet in height.
On the south side of the Seine the boulevards are neither so numerous nor so extensive, the best-known being the Boulevard St. Germain, which extends from the Pont Sully to the Pont de la Concorde.
After the boulevards among the best streets are the great new streets formed in the time of Napoleon III. are the Rue de Rivoli, two miles in length, the Rue de la Paix, the Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, the Rue Royale and twelve fine avenues radiating from the Place de l’Etoile.
Squares and Parks.—The most notable public squares or places are the Place de la Concorde, one of the largest and most elegant squares in Europe, adorned by an Egyptian obelisk, fountains, and statues; Place de l’Etoile, in which is situated the Arc de Triomphe, a splendid structure one hundred and fifty-two feet in height; the Place Vendôme with column to Napoleon I.; Place des Victoires, with equestrian statue of Louis XIV.; Place de la Bastille, with the Column of July; Place de la République, with colossal statue of the Republic.
