Place de la Concorde
Categories : Discover Paris, published on : 2/3/25
Place de la Concorde was inaugurated in 1772, it was then called Place Louis XV in honor of the king of the same name. It is one of the 5 royal squares in Paris.
The king's architect, Jacques-Anges Gabriel, was in charge of the work on the site, which was still marshy at the time.
In 1792, in honor of the french revolution, the square was named "Place de la Révolution".
It is on this Place de la Révolution that Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Danton and Robespierre will be put to death. Later it would take the name Place de la Concorde to reconcile the people after the Revolution and the Terror, it was necessary to call on the French to “concord”.
The square is made up of 8 statues representing 8 personified cities: Brest, Rouen, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, Marseille, Lille and Strasbourg. The statues are arranged on the square in such a way as to redraw the map of France. The 8 statues rest on constructions called “Guerites”, which were inhabited, the square was not paved and fruit trees were grown there.
The surface area of the square corresponds to 50 tennis courts, which made it the largest square in Paris. It also forms the largest sundial in the world. In 1822 Egypt offered France the obelisk that it is made of today, in honor of the decipherment of hieroglyphics. The monument arrived in Paris 14 years later, in 1836.
The square has 2 fountains to celebrate naval power and the Ministry of the Navy: the fountain of the seas and the fountain of the rivers.
Nowadays, from Place de la Concorde we can see the Eiffel Tower, it is also a starting point towards the Avenue des Champs Elysées.
How to reach the Place de la Concorde from the Castiglione Hotel: 5 minutes by walking distance.
