The Seine, in passing through Paris. is spanned by 28 bridges. The most celebrated and ancient are the pont Notre-Dame, erected in 1500, and the pont Neuf, begun in 1578. completed IV. in 1604, and thoroughly renovated in 1852. This bridge, which crosses the Seine at the n. of the Ile-dela-Cite, is built on 12 arches, and abuts near the middle on a small peninsula, jutting out into the river, and planted with trees, which form a background to the statue of IV, on horseback, which stands in the central open space on the bridge. Among the other bridges, the handsomest are the Pont de In Concorde, 160 yards long., built in 1787-90; the pont du Carrousel, pont d'Austerlitz, and the pont d',.16.na, both of the time of the first empire; aad the pont des Invalides pont clo l'Almn, and pont de Solferino—all handsome structures, adorned with military and naval trophies, commemorative of events and victories connected with the second empire. These bridges all communicate directly with the spacious quays, planted with trees, which line both banks of the Seine, and which, together with the boulevards, give special characteristic beauty to the city. Although the most ancient quays—as those des Augustins and de la Megisserie—date from the 14th c., the greater part of these mag nificent embankments, measuring 12 m. in extent, is due to the first Napoleon and the late emperor. • Before speaking in detail of the streets, boulevards, and places or squares of Paris, it is proper to mention that the private houses as well as the public buildings are built of a light-colored kind of limestone, easily wrought and carved ornamentally. With this material they are reared in huge blocks, rising to a height of six or seven stories, each floor constituting a distinct dwelling; access to all the floors in a tenement being gained by a common stair, which is usually placed under the charge of a porter at the entrance. Very frequently the tenements surround an open quadrangle, to which there is a spacious entry, the gate of which is kept by a porter for the whole inhabitants of the several stairs. In these respects, therefore, Paris differs entirely from London; for instead of extending rows of small brick buildings of a temporary kind over vast spaces, the plan consists of piling durable houses on the top of each other, and confining the population to a paratively limited area. In the great new streets which were formed in the time of the late emperor, this general plan lies heti) adhered to, but with this difference, that instead of being narrow and crooked, they are wide and straight. Among the finest of them are the rue de Rivoli, 2 in. in length, the rue de la Paix, the rue St. Honore, and the rue Royale. The boulevards, which extend in a semicircular line on the right side of the Seine, between the nucleus of the city and its surrounding quarters, present the most striking feature of Paris life. In all the better parts of the city they are lined with trees, seats, and little• towers called Fespasiennes, covered with advertisements. taurants, cafes, shops. and various places of amusement succeed one another for miles, their character varying from the height of luxury and elegance in the western boulevard des Italiens, to the homely simplicity of the eastern boulevards Beaumarchais and St. Denis. Among the public squares or places, the most noteworthy is the place de la corde, which connects the gardens of the Tuileries with the Champs Elysees, and embraces a magnificent view of some of the finest buildings and gardens of Paris. In the center is the famous obelisk of Luxor, covered over its entire height of '73 ft. with glyphics. It was brought from Egypt to France, and in 1836 placed where it now stands. On the site of this obelisk stood the revolutionary guillotine, at which perished Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, Philippe Egalito, Danton, Robespierre, and a host of other victims. Of the other squares, the following are some of the most handsome: The place du Carrousel, ,between the Tuileries and Louvre; the place 'Vendome, already referred to,with Napolecm's column of victory; the place de In Bastille, where once stood that famous prison and fortress; the place Royale, with its two fountains and a statue of Louis XIII. ; the place de Motel de formerly place de la Gri-fve, for many ages the scene of public tions, and the spot at which some of the bloodiest deeds of the revolution were perpetrated. The porte St. Martin and porte St. Denis, which were erected by Louis XIV. to memorate his victories in the Low Countries, and are adorned with bas-reliefs representing events of these campaigns, mark the ancient linlits of the most turbulent quarters of the Paris of the past ; while the Arc de l'Etoile, begun by Napoleon in 1806, and completed.
in 1836 at a cost of more than £400,000, may be said to form the extreme western boundary of the aristocratic: quarters. This arch, which hounds the Champs ElyseeS,• has a total height of 152 ft., and a breadth of 137. It is profusely- adorned with reliefs and alto-reliefs, representing victories, of Napoleon, which were injured during the bombardment of Paris, but which have since undergone a complete restoration. The great streets which radiate from the Arc de Triomphe were among the most nificent of those ? constructed during the recent improvements, and they still form the finest quarter of Paris.. A great avenue runs e. from it to the palace of the Tuileries, in • the heart of the city.
The palace of the Tuileries (q v.) was begun in 1566 by Catherine de' Medici, and enlarged by successive monarchs, while used as a royal residence, until it formed a struc ture nearly a quarter of a mile in length, running at right angles to the Seine. To the e. of the Tuileries, at a distance of more than a quarter of a mile, was erected the palace of the Louvre, forming a square of 576 ft. by 538 ft., remarkable, especially the eastern façade, for its architectural beauty. The Louvre long since ceased to be a royal resi dence, and has been converted into a public museum of antiquities. It was connected with the Tuileries by a great picture gallery overlooking the Seine, and 1456ft. in length. N. of the picture gallery, and between the two palaces, lay the place du Carrousel, into the northern side of which, at the accession of Napoleon III.. there intruded a mass of poor and narrow streets. One of the emperor's earliest improvements was to remove these buildings, and connect the Tuileries and Louvre on the northern side, throwing them into one vast building, forming the most magnificent palatial structure in the world. The Tuileries continued to be occupied as the residence of the imperial family; but the Louvre proper formed a series of great galleries filled with pictures, sculptures, and col lections of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities. The communists attempted to burn the whole pile, but fortunately only succeeded in destroying the Tuileries (now being. restoredland the north-western corner of the Louvre. The library of the Louvrcl, with its contents, was burned, but the rest of the building and its pliecless treasures were saved. A large sum was voted by the government for the restoration of the Louvre, and this work was at once undertaken and carried forward with the utmost dispatch. N. of the injured part of the Louvre is the palais Royale (q.v ), the most valuable part of which, fronting the rue St. Vonore, was set tire to by order of the commune in 1b71. The palace of the Luxembourg, on the s. side of the Seine, was built by Marie de' Medici in the Florentine style. It contains many magnificent rooms, some of which have been employed as picture galleries for the works of modern artists. The Luxembourg was formerly the house of the peers, but since 1871 it has been used as the hOtcl de Ville. On the n. bank of the Seine,-opposite the island of the Cite, is the site of the hinge] de Ville, which, before its destruction by the commune, was one of the most magnificent buildings in Paris. It was the residence of the prefect of the Seine, who held a sort of court there, and included all the otlices for the transaction of the municipal business of Paris. It was commenced under Francis I.. but had been trebled in extent by recent additions. The statues and rich ornaments with which it was decorated have been almost entirely destroyed, but the building has been again carefully rebuilt in the style of its predecessor. Not far from the hotel de Ville, on the northern bank of the Cite, stands the palnis de Justice, a vast building, also set fire to by the commune; some parts of it date from the 14th c., and others are modern. It is the seat, of some of the courts of law. as the court of cassatiou, the imperial court, the tribunals of the first appeal and of police. The old palace was not much injured by the fire; but the new portion which was constructed during the reign of _Napoleon. III., and much admired for its architect ure, was left in ruins. Within the precinctsof this palace are the Sainte Chapelle, and the noted old prison of the Concicrgerie, in which Marie Antoinette, Damon, and Robespierre were successively confined.
The Concieelrerie, just mentioned, in which prisoners are lodged pending their constitutes one the eight prisons of Paris, of which the principal is La Force. The Nouveau Bicet•e is designed for convicts sentenced to penal servitude for life: St. Pelagic receives political offenders, St. Lamm is exclusively for women, the Madelonnettes for juvenile criminals, and Clichy for debtors.