Haussmann's renovation of Paris in the context of "Second French Empire"

Paris is the capital and largest city of France, with an estimated city population of 2,048,472 in an area of 105.4 km (40.7 sq mi), and a metropolitan population of 13,171,056 as of January 2025. Located on the river Seine in the centre of the Île-de-France region, it is the largest metropolitan area and fourth-most populous city in the European Union (EU). Nicknamed the City of Light, partly because of its role in the Age of Enlightenment, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, culture, fashion, and gastronomy since the 17th century.

Administratively, Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements (districts), each having their own cultural identity. Haussmann's renovation of Paris, which created new boulevards, parks, and public works, gave birth to a modern city known as the "capital of the 19th century". Paris is a major railway, motorway, and air-transport hub; in 2024 Charles de Gaulle Airport was the EU's busiest airport. Paris has one of the most sustainable transportation systems and is one of only two cities in the world that has received the Sustainable Transport Award twice. Its Art Nouveau-decorated Métro has become a symbol of the city. Paris is known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Musée d'Orsay, Musée Marmottan Monet, and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art, while the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Musée Rodin, and Musée Picasso are noted for their collections of modern and contemporary art. Parts of the city along the Seine have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

Georges-Eugène Haussmann (French: [ʒɔʁʒøʒɛn osman]; 27 March 1809 – 11 January 1891), known as Baron Haussmann ([baʁɔ̃ osman]), was a French official who supervised a radical urban renewal programme of new boulevards, parks, and public works in Paris, referred to as Haussmann's renovation of Paris, aimed at introducing grandeur in the city. First a prefect in Var (1849–1850), Yonne (1850–1851), and Gironde (1851–1853), his skills as an administrator led to his appointment in Paris by Emperor Napoleon III in 1853.

The signature architectural landmark of his works was the Paris Opera, the largest theatre in the world, designed by Charles Garnier, crowning the centre of Napoleon III's new Paris. Haussmann completely rebuilt Paris above and below ground; on his own estimation by 1870 one in five streets in central Paris were his creation, while revamped sewers now ran alongside miles of pipes to distribute gas for thousands of new streetlights. With his right-hand Adolphe Alphand and at the Emperor's direction, a plan was laid out for four major parks at the cardinal points of the compass around the city: the Bois de Boulogne to the west, Bois de Vincennes to the east, Parc des Buttes Chaumont to the north, and Parc Montsouris to the south. The major parks and their smaller counterparts in the city were an immediate success with all classes of Parisians.

"Paris, Capital of the 19th Century" (German: Paris, Hauptstadt des 19. Jahrhunderts; 1938) is one of a diptych of completed essays that was composed during the preparatory outlining and drafting phase of Walter Benjamin's uncompleted composition of the Arcades Project. The Paris of the Second Empire in Baudelaire is its sister essay. The major themes of The Arcades Project—the construction of the Parisian arcades in the early 19th century, their blossoming as a habitat for the flâneur, their demolition during Haussmannization—appear as leitmotifs in both essays.

Paris, Capital of the 19th Century is a sketch or outline of the Arcades Project much in the same manner that Grundrisse was Karl Marx's outline for his intended eight volume masterwork Das Kapital of which he was only able to complete one volume. Whereas its sibling essay focuses on the poetry of Baudelaire as a microcosm for the full scope of ideas that Benjamin intended to address in the Arcades Project, the essays of Paris, Capital of the 19th Century attempt to cover the full spectrum of themes whose development was ultimately intended.

The covered passages of Paris (French: Passages couverts de Paris) are an early form of shopping arcade built in Paris, France, primarily during the first half of the 19th century. By 1867, there were approximately 183 covered passages in Paris but many were demolished during Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Only 25 survived into the 21st century, all but one are in the arrondissements (municipal districts) on the Right Bank of the Seine.

The common characteristics of the covered passages is that they link at least two streets, have glass ceilings and are pedestrianised, artificially illuminated at night (initially with gas lamps), privately owned, highly ornamented and decorated, and lined with small shops on the ground floor. The passages’ upper floors usually had apartments. Originally, to keep the passages clean, each would have at the entrance an artiste de décrottage (a ‘shoe cleaning artist’).

Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʃaʁl adɔlf alfɑ̃]; 26 October 1817 – 6 December 1891) was a French engineer of the Corps of Bridges and Roads. As a close associate of Baron Haussmann and later as Director of Public Works at Paris City Hall from 1871, he was instrumental in the large-scale renovation of Paris in the second half of the 19th century. In 1889, Alphand was elevated to the rank of Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. In 1891, shortly before his death, he succeeded Haussmann as a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

The Parc des Buttes Chaumont (French pronunciation: [paʁk de byt ʃomɔ̃]; English: Park of Buttes Chaumont) is a public park situated in northeastern Paris, France, in the 19th arrondissement. Occupying 24.7 hectares (61 acres), it is the fifth-largest park in Paris, after the Bois de Vincennes, Bois de Boulogne, Parc de la Villette and Tuileries Garden.

Opened in 1867, late in the regime of Napoleon III, it was built according to plans by Adolphe Alphand, who created all the major parks for Haussmann's renovation of Paris commanded by the Emperor. The park has 5.5 kilometres (3.4 miles) of roads and 2.2 kilometres (1.4 miles) of paths. Its best known feature is the Temple de la Sibylle (Sibyl's Temple), a miniature Roman temple inspired by the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy, and located on the Belvedere island in the artificial lake, at the top of a 50-metre (160 ft) cliff.

The Avenue de l'Opéra (French pronunciation: [avny d(ə) lɔpeʁa]) was created from 1864 to 1879 as part of Haussmann's renovation of Paris. It is situated in the centre of the city, running northwest from the Louvre to the Palais Garnier, the primary opera house of Paris (until the opening of the Opéra Bastille in 1989).

"The Paris of the Second Empire in Baudelaire" (German: Das Paris des Second Empire bei Baudelaire; 1938) is one of a diptych of completed essays that was composed during the preparatory outlining and drafting phase of Walter Benjamin's uncompleted composition of the Arcades Project. "Paris, Capital of 19th Century" is its sister essay. The major themes of The Arcades Project—the construction of the Parisian arcades in the early 19th century, their blossoming as a habitat for the flâneur, their demolition during Haussmanization—appear as leitmotifs in both essays.