Concorde Square, or Place de la Concorde, is one of the nicest squares in Paris and it is the biggest. Symmetric, elegant, harmonic… what more can be said? It was the leaders of Paris who wished to express their gratitude towards Louis XV when they asked the architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel to make a plan for the square which was built between 1755 and 1775.
There has been several tragedies taking place at this square. One of them is that they placed a guillotine on the square and renamed it “Revolution square” and it was here that King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793. The guillotine was removed in 1795 and the square received its current name then, but before it was removed several thousand people were killed here, also Maximilien Robespierre and Marie Antoinette.
In the middle of the square, at the former spot of the guillotine, you can now find a obelisk telling us the story of the life of Ramses II. This originates from the temple in Luxor (where it is still possible to see where this obelisk had its original place). On the square you can also find a fountain inspired by the Saint Peter fountain in Rome.
If you stand on the square and walk towards west you can make an enjoyable walk along Champs-Elyses, all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. If you walk towards the east you will get to Louvre.
Place de la Concorde pictures
