Place de la Concorde

A lovely stroll down the Champs Elysees, brings you to the Place de la Concorde, one of those round-abouts previously mentioned. One of the most major squares in the city, it measures 21.35 acres in size. This makes it the largest square in Paris. If you stand at the center of this square and look down the Champs Elysees, you look right into the Arc de Triumphe and
turn around and you are looking at the Lourve.


One of the most prevalent things to me personally was the outer effects of differing cultures very evident in many of the landmarks throughout the city. Here in the center of the Place de la Concorde, you see an obelisk designed to appear extremely Egyptian in style. It was not unlikely to see many different Egyptian and Roman influences throughout the countryside.

This area, though bustling, is also filled with a large amount of history. Designed by Ange-Jacque Gabriel in 1755 in honor of Louis XV, the square showcased a sculpture of the said ruler on his horse.

During the French Revolution, this square was renamed Place de la Revolution, the sculpture of Louis XV was torn down and a guillotine was erected in its place. Famous people to lose their heads in this sight?? Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday and Madame du Barry to name a few. At the height of Madame Guiottine's usage, 1,300 people lost their heads in one month in the summer of 1794.

Very daunting and if one is quiet enough, you can feel the deepness darkest emotional current of this historic area.
One cannot help but think about the many many MANY lives horrifically ended in an atmosphere of cheers and calls for revenge in the name of revolution.