France Paris Ile Saint-Louis

The Île Saint-Louis is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is Île de la Cité, the Île des Cygnes is artificial). The island is named after King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis). The island is connected to the rest of Paris by bridges to both banks of the river and by the Pont Saint Louis to the Île de la Cité. This island was formerly used for the grazing of market cattle and stocking wood. 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 but narrow one-way streets, no métro stations and two bus stops. Most of the island is residential, but there are several restaurants, shops, cafés and ice cream parlours at street level, as well as one large church, Saint-Louis-en-l'Île Church.Ile St-Louis is at the origin formed of two small islands: the cows island (it was only a field of pasture) and the Notre-Dame island where legal duels during the Middle Ages took place. It is only in XVIIth century that the two small islands were joined together by Marie, general contractor of the bridges, with the assistance of two bankers: Le Regrattier and Poulletier.