Porte de Vincennes de Paris

The Porte de Vincennes is a historic boundary of Paris. It marks the site of one of the major gates in the Thiers wall, a defensive fortification built in the mid-nineteenth century to encircle the city. While the original wall is long gone, the gate remains a significant transit hub where the eastern edges of the twelfth and twentieth arrondissements meet. This area was once a gateway to the royal hunting grounds of the Bois de Vincennes. The wide thoroughfare leading through the gate, the Cours de Vincennes, still serves as the primary artery connecting the heart of Paris to the sprawling woodland and the historic fortress beyond. Today, the spot is well known among locals for its large outdoor markets held twice a week along the boulevard. The site also holds a place in French literature. The novelist Choderlos de Laclos chose this location for the final, tragic duel in his classic epistolary novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses. A character in the story is invited to the gate of the woods of Vincennes, setting the stage for the book's dramatic conclusion.