Grands Boulevards Paris - Running from the Madeleine to the Bastille, the Grands Boulevards comprise boulevards de la Madeleine, des Capucines, des Italiens, Montmartre, Poissonnière, Bonne-Nouvelle, St-Denis, St-Martin, du Temple, des Filles du Calvaire and Beaumarchais. The western section, from the Madeleine to Porte St-Denis, follows the old defensive rampart built by Charles V. When its purpose became redundant with the aggressive foreign policy of Louis XIV, the walls were pulled down and the ditches filled in, leaving a wide promenade. This was given the name boulevard after the military term for the level part of a rampart. In the mid-eighteenth century, the boulevard became a fashionable place to be seen on horseback or in one's carriage and gradually a desirable thoroughfare on which to reside.