Place de la Concorde

The Place de la Concorde, the biggest place of Paris, has a nasty background. In the black days of the French Revolution this is where they put the guillotins to behead the opponents of the Revolution. Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, Robespierre, and 2800 others were killed here between 1793 and 1795.

The new name Place de la Concorde was established to symbolize the end of a troubled era and the hope of a better future. Today it is a very pretty place, a nice example of French city architecture. The Place stands between the Tuileries gardens and the Champs Elysees.

A central place of the Place is reserved for the Obelisk of Luxor. The 22 meter high Obelix was a present of Mohamed Ali, king of Egypt to his counterpart Louis Phillipe.

In each corner of the place you can find a statue that represents one of the large French cities: Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Brest and Rouen.