The Grands Boulevards form an arc on the right river bank starting at the Madeleine and ends up in the Bastille, by switching by the Opera, the Porte Saint Denis, the Porte Saint Martin and the Place de la Republic. The Grands Boulevards area experienced its heyday in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, it was the heart of Paris, lively and active. That's why it illustrates the major redevelopment of Paris earned during the Second Empire (1850-1870) by Baron Haussmann.

Military victories of Louis XIV and Napoleon I are ubiquitous on the Place Vendome and the Place des Victoires. Ancient Greece is the inspiration of several buildings made under Napoleon I. The Stock Exchange, the Madeleine which is a temple to the glory of the Grand Army and the Opera which is one of the finest achievements of the Second Empire. More about Les Grands Boulevards