The boulevard des Italiens is a boulevard in Paris. It is one of the 'Grands Boulevards' in Paris, a chain of boulevards built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the Louis XIII Wall, which were destroyed by the orders of Louis XIV. The origin of the name is the théâtre des Italiens built on it in 1783, shortly before the French Revolution on the site now occupied by the third Salle Favart. History The boulevard's former names were: boulevard Neuf (= New boulevard) boulevard du Dépôt (boulevard of the barrack), because of a barrack installed in 1764 on the corner of rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin boulevard de la Chaussée-d'Antin boulevard Cerutti with the name of an hôtel on the boulevard (during the French Revolution) le petit Coblence ("little Koblenz") after 1795, since many émigrés returning to France during the French Directory gathered on it (Koblenz had been a popular exile destination for them) boulevard de Gand, on one side of the boulevard, under the second Bourbon Restoration, from 1815 to 1828 in memory of Louis XVIII's exile in Ghent during the Hundred Days. Throughout the 19th century the boulevard was a meeting place for the elegant elite of Paris (a role that lasted until the First World War). It was to replace Muscadins and Merveilleuses at the time of the Directoire, Gandins at the Restauration, Dandies during the reign of Louis-Philippe 1st, women in crinolines during the Second Empire. That time was also a major epoque for several famous Cafés: Café de Paris, café Tortoni (the café Tortoni in Buenos Aires takes its name from that in Paris), café Frascati, café Français, Maison dorée among others. Upon completion of boulevard Haussmann in the 1920s these establishments disappeared to be replaced by other buildings, particularly financial ones. Notable places At the junction with rue Laffitte, a nice view of the Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, which seems to be placed on the top of the Church Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, whereas it is actually more distant. at n° 8, the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, founded by the magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin and, in 1888, purchased and directed by Georges Méliès. At n° 13, the site of the former Café Anglais (1802-1913), well known restaurant of the Second Empire, replaced by a building in the Art Nouveau style. At n° 16, the site of the former Café Riche (1791). At n° 19, Crédit Lyonnais