A Walking Tour Paris

These are two city gates built into Charles V’s old city wall by Louis XIV to commemorate his military victories. They replaced the medieval gates of a wall that has long since vanished. Porte St-Denis is located on the Boulevard St-Denis, at the junction where rue St-Denis turns into the rue du Faubourg St-Denis. Paid for by the City of Paris, it was built in 1672 to celebrate the King’s victories on the Rhine and in Franche-Compté. Designed by architect François Blondel, it stands nearly 25 metres (80 feet) high and is based on the triumphal arch of Titus in Rome, with a central arch flanked by two smaller side arches and obelisks. The sculptural groups are by Michel Anguier.

Porte St-Martin is located on the other side of the Strasbourg St-Denis metro station, where Boulevard St-Martin crosses rue St-Martin. A heavily rusticated limestone-and-marble triumphal arch, it was built in 1674 to celebrate the same military victories as the Porte St-Denis, specifically the capture of Besançon (which signalled the defeat of the Triple Alliance: Spain, Holland and Germany). Designed by architect Pierre Bullet (a student of Blondel), it stands 18 metres (60 feet) tall and is decorated with some fine bas-reliefs.