Transforming Paris

Today's Paris is largely the legacy of Baron Haussmann, who created the "City of Lights" during the last half of the 19th century. Although neither architect nor engineer, Haussmann reshaped France's capital during his 17 years as Prefect of the Seine under Napoleon III. Haussmann demolished much of the crowded medieval Paris and replaced it with grand boulevards, majestic spaces, and triumphant monuments. Set against the political intrigue and social upheavals of the era of the Commune and the revolutions of 1848, "Transforming Paris" reveals how Haussmann gained power to remake city.