Rue de l'Université, Paris

The 2,785 m long street (the tenth longest in the French capital, see List of Parisian routes by length [fr]) of variable width, between 10.5 m and 15 m, is flat and parallel to the Seine from which it is only a few hundred metres away.

In the 12th century, the former university of Paris [fr] acquired a territory located along the Seine, west of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés to which it previously belonged.

In 1639, the University sold the Pré-aux-Clercs and it was subdivided into a new district of Paris whose main street took the name "Rue de l'Université".

Later, with the successive extensions of the city, this street was extended to the Champ-de-Mars, crossing the Esplanade des Invalides.

The street ran along an arm of the Seine until the connection of the former île des Cygnes at the end of the 18th century.