Boulogne

Boulogne, a town of France, in the department of the Seine, on the right bank of the river of that name, about 5 miles SW. of Paris, from which it is separated by the Bois de Boulogne. It has numerous villas, and over 400 wash-houses on the river, which is here crossed by a fine stone bridge of twelve arches. Pop. (1891) 32,569. The Bois de Boulogne is traversed by many walks, through the broadest of which the fashionable world of Paris travels in Easter-week to the Abbey of Longchamp. At the entrance of the wood lies Auteuil (q.v.). During the Revolution, the trees of the older walks were mostly cut down; but when Napoleon chose St Cloud, in the immediate neighbourhood, for his summer residence, new walks were planted and laid off, and the inclosing walls were restored. All traces of the injuries inflicted during the siege of 1870-71 have now disappeared, and the Parisian can again enjoy his favourite place of recreation.