Although the road is lined with some shops and restaurants, its importance is that of a thoroughfare running north–south in central Paris.

The boulevard de Sébastopol is one of the most important roads opened up by the Baron Haussmann during his transformation of Paris in the 1850s.

It was conceived as a major artery running a north–south axis across Paris, leading to the Gare de l'Est.

Louis-Napoleon, when touring with Tsar Alexander II of Russia in 1867 during the Exposition Universelle (1867), had decided on Boulevard de Sébastopol as a peaceful area to bring the foreign guest through.

But Louis-Napoleon was disappointed, as shouts from crowds surrounding their vehicle could be heard, "Long live Poland!