Site of the 15th-century ramparts, then of theaters, restaurants and cafés legendary in the 19th century, the once-great boulevards now harbor mainly chain stores.
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Most people think the arches are merely bizarre.
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 - "Royal arch" (Porte Saint-Denis) ("Porte" means "gate")
The arches mark the sites where wares from England and Flanders entered Paris, traders crossing through the 15th-century wall. To show that he had made defending Paris obsolete, Louis XIV tore it down (in 1672).
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 - The smaller "merchants' arch" (Porte Saint-Martin)
An inscription on the "merchants' arch" proclaims that moneyed interests have financed both structures.
Hm...
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- We begin under the "Royal Arch"...
- ... and show this map of trade routes and ramparts
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It reveals how modern arteries and métro lines are built on the sites of medieval trade routes and ramparts. The broken red lines show our walk.
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- Royal tombs and "Royal Way"
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•The tombs: All French kings (except three) are buried in the Saint-Denis Basilica. The Spain-England trade route, which passed next to it, crossed through Paris, until a maze of alleys made it necessary to stop close to the palace.
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So the street became a link between living kings and their ancestors: the "Royal Way", a site whose symbolic significance was immense.
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 - The Royal Way, one of the great trade routes, in 1485. To us, it looks like a winding country path...
•The Way: The scene takes place just within the 15th-century ramparts. The painter has his back to the later "Royal Arch" and sees the 13th-century walls in the distance.
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The Court will accompany the prince in an official entry into town. Crowds will mass along the Way, cheering and drinking wine that flows from fountains...
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To follow that route today,
please CLICK
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The arch's decoration evokes deeds that were considered glorious and turned out to be disastrous.
We briefly leave the Middle Ages to explain the illusions and conflicts that both arches reveal.
the elegant neighborhood of the 19th century.
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Credits: Photos / Claude Abron: painting / Fouquet, "The Court meets the Count of Anjou", 1485; engraving / from the archives of Marc Gaillard, historian of Paris.
