The Rue de Vaugirard (Street of Vaugirard) is the longest street inside
Paris's former city walls, at 4.3 km (2.7 mi). It spans the
6th and
15th arrondissements. The
Senate, housed in the
Palais du Luxembourg, is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard.
Location
The Rue de Vaugirard is mostly a one-way street from the southwest edge of Paris (at the Porte de Versailles) towards the
Latin Quarter at the junction of Boulevard Victor and Boulevard Lefebvre. Traffic flows in both directions between the Rue de Rennes and the
Place de l'Odéon. Numbering starts in the Latin Quarter, reaching the 400s by Porte de Versailles. It the longest street in Paris.
History
The road, which appeared in the 15th century, led from
Philip II's city walls towards the village of
Vaugirard. This route was itself based on an old
Roman road.
Origin of the name
"Vaugirard" came from an
old French noun-and-genitive construction "val Girard" = "vale of Girard" (Latin vallis Girardi), after an Abbé Girard, who owned the land over which the road passes.
Sites of interest
A substantial chunk of
Line 12 of the Paris Métro follows the Rue de Vaugirard. The following stations have entrances on the road: