Henri IV "The Good King Henry"

I had a great  walking tour of King Henri IV's Paris, starting at this monument, put up in 1818 by Louis XVIII, because he wanted the post-revolutionary Frenchmen to associate him with the Good King Henry!



Henri IV was King of Navarre and became King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon.  He was the first monarch in France  to think in terms of urbanism, ie planning what the city should look like!  In particular, he created parks (Place des Vosges, Place Dauphine) and the first bridge (Pont Neuf) that people could actually see the river from!


A fascinating tour!