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Squares of Paris
Paris is known for its majestic squares, often with tall colums at the center and lined with grand buildings. The city's most famous squares, inluding the Place de la Concorde and Place des Vosges, are located in the city's historic center.Below is an overview of some of the most famous and/or interesting public squares in Paris, listed in alphabetical order. You can move the mouse over the map on the right to see where they are located.
| Place Charles de Gaulle |
Until the death of former president Charles de Gaulle this square was aptly named l'Etoile (star) as twelve avenues radiate from the square, often creating hectic traffic. At the center is the Arc de Triomphe, which can be accessed via an underground tunnel. One of the streets leading to the square is the famous Champs-Elysées.
| Place de la Bastille | Info - Map |
Nothing is left of the bastille fortress after which the square is named. Originally built to protect Paris and later turned into a prison, it was destroyed during the French Revolution. The column at the center of the square commemmorates another revolution in 1830. Read More...
| Place de la Concorde | Info - Map |
This historic square, Paris's largest, was originally named Place Louis XV. It was renamed place de la Révolution during the revolution when more than thousand people died here under the guillotine. In 1830 it was named Place de la Concorde. The obelisk at the center is a 19th century gift from Egypt's Viceroy. Read More...
| Place de la République | Map |
At the center of this large 19th century square is a monumental statue honoring the French Republic. The square is the traditional starting point for demonstrations in Paris.
| Place Denfert-Rochereau | Map |
The Place Denfert-Rochereau, named after a French colonel who fought during the French-Prussian war in 1870. The square is best known as the entrance the catacombs: a collection of millions of skulls and bones that were moved from the old cemetery in Les Halles. The central statue is known as the Lion of Belfort.
| Place des Pyramides | Map |
At the center of this small square is a gilded 19th century statue of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). Burned at the stake for heresy but later declared a saint she played a crucial role in the Hundred Year's War against the English occupation.
| Place des Victoires | Map |
The place des Victoires or 'square of Victories' was designed in 1685 by Jules Hardouin, the architect of King Louis XIV. The idea was to create the perfect backdrop for the central statue of the Sun King. Revolutionaries however destroyed the statue and it was replaced in 1822 by a different model.
| Place des Vosges | Info - Map |
This perfectly symmetrical square is one of the most beautiful in the world. Designed in 1604, the Place des Vosges was the first formal square created in Paris. Originally named Place Royale, Napoleon renamed it in 1800 after the Vosges Department, the first department in France to pay taxes. Read More...
| Place du Châtelet | Info - Map |
This busy, central square was named after the 'Grand Châtelet' castle that stood here until it was destroyed by Napoleon. The two theaters opposite each other were built in 1862 as the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Théâtre de la Ville. At the center is the Châtelet fountain and a column celebrating Napoleon's Victories. Read More...
| Place du Tertre | Map |
Montmartre's famous square, just a stone's throw from the Sacré Coeur Basilica, looks like a picturesque village square. It is always crowded with tourists and street artists looking to follow in the footsteps of Picasso, Modigliani, Lautrec and other painters who lived in the area.
| Place St. Sulpice | Map |
At the center of the pleasant St. Sulpice square is the 'Fontaine des Quatre Points Cardinaux', or fountain of the four that never were cardinal. It depicts four bishops who, evidently, never became cardinal. The square is dominated by the St. Sulpice church. Construction of the church, started in 1646, took more than a century.
| Place Vendôme | Info - Map |
This grand square, lined with elegant houses, was built by King Louis XIV in an effort to dethrone the Place des Vosges as Paris's most beautiful square. The statue of the Sun King at the center was destroyed by revolutionaries and replaced by a tall column glorifying Napoleon's campaigns. Read More...
