Paris Avenue (Versailles)

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Coordinates: 48°48′02″N 02°08′09″E / 48.80056°N 2.13583°E / 48.80056; 2.13583
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Paris Avenue
Avenue de Paris
Paris Avenue, seen from the Pavillon Dufour in the Château de Versailles.
Paris Avenue (Versailles) is located in France
Paris Avenue (Versailles)
Length1.55 mi (2.49 km)
Width0.06 mi (0.097 km)
LocationVersailles, Yvelines
Coordinates48°48′02″N 02°08′09″E / 48.80056°N 2.13583°E / 48.80056; 2.13583
East endPlace Louis XIV
West endPlace d'Armes (Versailles)
Construction
Completion1685

The Paris Avenue (Avenue de Paris, in French) is a thoroughfare in Versailles, France.

Location and access[edit]

The Paris Avenue(Avenue de Paris, in french) is one of three roads that fan out from Place d'Armes, in front of the Château de Versailles, along with Avenue de Saint-Cloud to the north and Avenue de Sceaux to the south. The Avenue de Paris, in the center, is located in the axis of the château. It runs southeast for around 1,500 m, then bends east for 1 km to end at Place Louis-XIV. On the other side of the square, it is extended by the Avenue du Général-Leclerc in Viroflay.

At 90 m wide, the avenue is one of the widest in France. It consists of a central artery dedicated to automobile traffic, and two contra-alleys. A median strip planted with two rows of plane trees separates the central thoroughfare from the side-alleys. Because of its width, it forms a real physical boundary within the city, cutting it into two parts. It separates the Notre-Dame and Montreuil districts to the north of the avenue from the Saint-Louis, Chantiers and Porchefontaine districts to the south. It takes its name from the fact that it leads to Paris via Sèvres. It is also the link between the center of Versailles and Porchefontaine.

The Paris Avenue coincides with Route Départementale 10 for most of its length.

Numerous parking spaces are available along this road, either in a parallel or in a herringbone pattern. Most of these spaces are pay and display parking meters.[1]

For some years now, the city has been deploying bikeways on the Paris Avenue's medians, as well as bicycle parking hoops.[2]

The Avenue de Paris and its long perspective. At the far end of the avenue, one can see the royal palace.
One of the medians on Paris Avenue with its double row of plane trees and cycle path.

Name origin[edit]

It is so named because it heads towards Paris.

Historical background[edit]

Map of Versailles, 1756, showing Paris Avenue to the right of the central axis and Place d'Armes.

The Paris Avenue was born of the Sun King's desire to build a wide, straight, tree-lined avenue leading from the Place d'Armes, to showcase the palace of Versailles by creating a perspective view. Before the avenue was built, there were only two ways to get from the village of Versailles to Paris, one of them winding to the north and the other to the south around the obstacle constituted by the Montbauron hill. To build the Paris Avenue, four years of earthworks were necessary, using shovels and pickaxes, wicker baskets and dump trucks. A trench had to be opened up on the southern flank of the Montbauron hill, whose embossing blocked the view of the palace. To get an idea of the scale of the work involved, one need only consider how steeply the Montbauron street slopes away from the avenue. In addition, the avenue had to be raised above the Porchefontaine ponds. The avenue was completed in 1685 and took its present name.

In 1824, on the orders of the Marquis de la Londe, mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Seine and Oise, the city built pavilions to collect the octroi tax. Two pavilions were built on the Paris Avenue at the entrance to Versailles, on either side of the central artery. Iron gates running the full width of the Avenue de Paris were also installed. These pavilions and gates were used to control and tax the passage of goods. The building on the left, on the way from Paris, housed the collection office, while the building on the right was used to accommodate the officials. As octroi had become a tax that hampered the development of economic activity, the municipality decided to abolish it in February 1943 and replace it with local taxes. The buildings were disused and the gates removed. For a time, the municipality considered destroying the pavilions, as they made the intersection of Avenue de Paris with Avenue de Porchefontaine and Rue Vauban a dangerous one. Indeed, they constitute a visual obstacle. But the Monuments Historiques, which listed them in June 1959, objected. Finally, in 1993, the crossroads was redesigned to make it safer, while the pavilions were preserved as a symbolic entrance to the city.[3]

The Paris Avenue was served by the tramway line from Sèvres to Versailles from 1857 to 1934, when it was replaced by the RATP 171 bus line. At its inception, the tramway consisted of a horse-drawn carriage. The tramway line was mechanized in 1894, then fully electrified in 1913.

  • Paris Avenue at the beginning of the 20th century. There are no cars in sight yet. Pedestrians and cyclists have the whole avenue at their disposal (ELD postcard).
    Paris Avenue at the beginning of the 20th century. There are no cars in sight yet. Pedestrians and cyclists have the whole avenue at their disposal (ELD postcard).
  • The pavilions and octroi gates on Paris Avenue in the early 20th century, with the tramway tracks on the left.
    The pavilions and octroi gates on Paris Avenue in the early 20th century, with the tramway tracks on the left.
  • The Sèvres Versailles tramway serving Paris Avenue in the early 20th century (after electrification in 1913), now replaced by the RATP bus line 171.
    The Sèvres Versailles tramway serving Paris Avenue in the early 20th century (after electrification in 1913), now replaced by the RATP bus line 171.
  • Junction of Avenue de Paris and Rue des Chantiers (now Rue des Etats-Généraux) at the beginning of the 20th century.
    Junction of Avenue de Paris and Rue des Chantiers (now Rue des Etats-Généraux) at the beginning of the 20th century.

Events[edit]

Every year since 1976, the Paris Avenue has served as the finishing line of the Paris-Versailles race. The avenue's two-kilometre false flat is the race's final hurdle.

On March 4, 1984, the avenue was the site of a demonstration by the "mouvement de l'École libre" (the "free school movement" in English),[4] which stretched as far as Place d'Armes.

Remarkable buildings and places of remembrance[edit]

  • Statue de Louis XIV on the place d'Armes in the axis of the Avenue de Paris.
    Statue de Louis XIV on the place d'Armes in the axis of the Avenue de Paris.
  • The octroi pavilions at the crossroads with Avenue de Porchefontaine form a symbolic entrance to the royal city.
    The octroi pavilions at the crossroads with Avenue de Porchefontaine form a symbolic entrance to the royal city.

The Paris Avenue borders the following buildings:

  • Grande Écurie, whose facades overlooking the main courtyard and the avenues de Paris and de Saint-Cloud, the facades of the two pavilions and the railings bordering the Place d'Armes were listed as historic monuments by decree of August 20, 1913;[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://www.versailles.fr/vivre-ma-ville/circuler/stationner/
  2. ^ "Réseau cyclable de la Ville". calameo.com (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2020..
  3. ^ Versailles octris
  4. ^ "L'archevêque de Paris prendra la parole à Versailles". Le Monde. 1 March 1984. Retrieved 14 December 2020. (in french).
  5. ^ Domaine national : Grandes Ecuries
  6. ^ Domaine national : Petites Ecuries
  7. ^ Alain Piffaretti (6 September 2017). "Versailles : l'ancienne poste convertie". lesechos.fr (in French). Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  8. ^ Porte des Gendarmes ou Pavillon des Gendarmes ou ancien hôtel des Gendarmes de la Garde
  9. ^ Claude-Nicolas Ledoux in the official webpage of the city of Louveciennes mairie-louveciennes.fr
  10. ^ Cf. Hôtel de Madame du Barry in the tour guide Découvrir/Discover published by Versailles' Tourism Office , p. 31. (in french)
  11. ^ Geneviève Levallet-Haug: Les écuries de madame du Barry, Revue de l'histoire de Versailles et de Seine-et-Oise (Madame du Barry's stables, Review of the history of Versailles and Seine-et-Oise), 1933. (in french)
  12. ^ Hôtel ou Quartier de Noailles (ancien), ou ancienne Caserne de Monsieur ou anciennes écuries de la Du Barry
  13. ^ Pavillon du Barry (ancien)
  14. ^ Domaine national : Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs
  15. ^ Laiterie de Madame (ancienne)
  16. ^ "Guide des rues de Versailles". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  17. ^ Pavillon de musique de Madame
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