RUE DE RIVOLI

Description

Essentials about Rue de Rivoli in brief

Rue de Rivoli is one of the most beautiful and famous streets of Paris, but also one of the most important urban axes of the French capital. It begins at the Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis parish church in the east and ends at Place de la Concorde in the west. On its way, Rue de Rivoli passes by some of the most important Parisian landmarks, such as the Paris City Hall, the Louvre, the Palais Royal and the Tuileries Garden. And Rue de Rivoli is also one of the best streets in Paris for shopping.

The history of Rue de Rivoli

The special beauty of Rue de Rivoli is its buildings with continuous arcades, which were created on the architectural model of Place des Vosges on the express instruction of Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoleon planned not only to fundamentally modernize the city of Paris through large-scale urban planning projects, but also to extensively beautify it. The decision to build the street was taken in 1801, and later the project became part of the urban development plan of the famous Parisian city planner Haussmann.

The complete street was opened to traffic in 1855 with the original name Rue Impériale. It was the first street completed by Haussmann and served as a model for the boulevards yet to be built. It owes its later name, Rue de Rivoli, to the Italian town of Rivoli near Verona, near which the French revolutionary army led by Napoleon had decisively defeated the Austrians in 1797.

The sights on Rue de Rivoli

Rue de Rivoli is now considered one of the most famous shopping streets in Paris. If you are more interested in sightseeing than shopping, it is best to walk the entire length of Rue de Rivoli, so many attractions lie on both sides of the street. To name just a few: The Hôtel de Ville – the city hall of Paris, Saint-Jacques Tower – a remnant of a 16th century church, St-Germain-l’Auxerrois – an important late Gothic church, the Louvre – the most famous art museum in the world, the Palais Royal – the former residence of kings and the Tuileries Garden – one of the most magnificent gardens in Paris.