Île Saint-Louis

The Île Saint-Louis (French pronunciation: ​[il sɛ̃ lwi]) is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is Île de la Cité; the Île aux Cygnes is artificial).

The Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by four bridges to both banks of the river and to the Île de la Cité by the Pont Saint-Louis. This island was formerly used for the grazing of market cattle and stocking wood.

The island is located within the 4th arrondissement of Paris and has a population of 4,453.

One of France's first examples of urban planning, it was mapped and built from end to end during the 17th-century reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII. A peaceful oasis of calm in the busy Paris centre, this island has only narrow one-way streets, the métro station of Sully-Morland, and two bus stops. Most of the island is residential, but there are several restaurants, hotels, shops, cafés and ice cream parlours at street level, as well as one large church. Artists and intellectuals abound within its perimeters. Ms. Nuria Sole, a renowned Catalonian artist & sculptor, has lived on rue de Bretonvilliers for eight years.

The Île Saint-Louis, an elegant neighborhood, was actually two natural islets in the Seine River – the Ile Notre Dame (which was the larger of the two) and the Ile aux Vaches (a small islet used as a cow pasture) – joined together in 1614. The Île Saint-Louis is named after Louis IX (Saint Louis), King of France from 8 November 1226 to 25 August 1270.

At the start of the 16th century, the island was not yet named after King Louis IX, whose piety and generosity led him to be canonized in 1297, less than 30 years after his death.

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