Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Boulevard Haussmann is a 2,530-metre-long major road in Paris, crossing the 8th and 9th arrondissements. Designed by Prefect Haussmann as part of the urban transformations of the Second Empire, it was to connect the Grand Boulevards to the wall of the General Farmers. Its diagonal layout required the destruction of many buildings, including the home of Haussmann himself. The work, begun in 1857, will not be completed until 1926, almost 35 years after the death of the prefect.

The boulevard bears the name of Georges Eugène Haussmann (1809–91), prefect of the Seine and artisan of the great Parisian works under Napoleon III. Symbol of urban modernization, it embodies Haussmannian aesthetics with its stone buildings, wrought iron balconies and straight perspectives. Its construction mobilized a workforce composed mainly of Creusian masons, typical of the Parisian construction sites of the time.

Over the decades, Haussmann Boulevard has become an iconic place for business and commerce. It houses the department stores Spring (No. 64) and Galeries Lafayette (No. 40), founded at the end of the 19th century, as well as the headquarters of large banks such as Société Générale (No. 29) or Lazard (No. 121). His journey also crosses historical sites, such as the former headquarters of Radio-Paris (No. 79) or the apartment where Marcel Proust (No. 102) wrote In search of time lost between 1906 and 1919.

The boulevard was also the scene of significant events, such as the attack on Worms Bank in 1951 (No. 45) or the German occupation during the Second World War, with the installation of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg at No. 12. After the war, it remains a symbol of Parisian prestige, combining architectural heritage, economic life and cultural memory.

His illustrious residents include artists such as Gustave Caillebotte (No. 31), who painted several canvases depicting his balconies, or political and literary personalities. No. 134, for example, housed the Geneviève Straus salon, a worldly figure close to Proust and artistic circles. Today, the boulevard combines commercial dynamism and heritage, with places such as the Musée Jacquemart-André (no 158).

Finally, Haussmann Boulevard entered the popular culture, quoted in songs (Alain Souchon, Nekfeu) or films (Ascensor for the scaffold). His name was even hijacked humorously in "Ousmane Boulevard" in 2025, in tribute to footballer Ousmane Dembélé after the PSG's victory in the Champions League.

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