Place Saint-Michel is located on the Left Bank of Paris, France in the Latin Quarter of the sixth arrondissement. The cross-roads square exists at the intersection of several streets including: Quai Saint-Michel, Boulevard Saint-Michel, Quai des Grandes-Augustus, and Pont Saint-Michel, which connects with Boulevard du Palais on l’Ile de la Cite. A connection by a boulevard is made with Place Saint-Andre-des-Arts to the southwest, which itself contains the intersections of Rue Danton, Rue Sugar, Rue Saint- Andre-des-Arts, Rue Francois Gay and Rue Hautefeuile. A metro entrance, from place Saint- Michel allows access to Saint-Michel station along line 4 and connects to the Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame station, which is the intersection of the B and C lines of the RER.  The construction of Place Saint-Michel, was the result of a grand scheme to create a grande croisee of boulevards through the centre of Paris.

Place Saint Michel (photo: stefanopinci.com)

This scheme was undertaken by Baron Haussmann, prefect of the Seine, to Napoleon III. According to Olsen (1986), Haussmann’s program of percees served many purposes including military, economic stimulation, and sanitary reasons of providing needed ventilation and sewer lines. As well, the businesses and property owners within the older quarters of Paris, demanded construction of broad, handsome streets in order to stay competitive with the newer quarters to the north and west. The notion of the grande croisee of two grand boulevards that ran on a north/south axis and an east/west axis was Haussmann’s solution to two perceived problems. One was to alleviate the traffic problems of Paris. The second was to maintain the centre of Paris by the historic centre of l’Ile de la Cite rather then have the centre of Paris move, due to market forces, to the west of the present location of the Opera.

 

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