If you've been following the articles produced by your dear writers at Le Bonbon, you must know that Place de la Concorde is getting ready to undergo a deep transformation. But before it completely changes, we’d like to offer you a little trip back in time to explore the history of this truly unique place. And because we’re nice, we’ve even included some pictures to illustrate everything!
A Royal Square…
The story of Place de la Concorde is rich. Very rich. It all begins in 1748, when a competition was launched to create a new square in honor of Louis XV, which would feature a statue of the monarch. The architect chosen for the project, Ange-Jacques Gabriel, proposed to transform a blank esplanade surrounded by a ditch, an old marshy area affected by the Seine, located at the end of...
The Tuileries Garden is a fabulous place. The architect envisions a very open square, a true , featuring a gigantic central equestrian statue that represents Louis XV and lends its first name to the square, which will be inaugurated in 1763.
Equestrian statue of Louis XV on the Place de la Concorde inaugurated in 1763, René-Jacques Charpentier © Wikimedia Commons
...In a bloody past
But Louis XV isn't the only king to give his name to the square, nor the only one to mark its history; quite the opposite! Louis XVI leaves his mark on the square for the first time when 136 people lose their lives in a crowd movement during the celebration of his engagement to Marie-Antoinette. They will both be beheaded by the end of the 19th century, during a period when the esplanade will be named the "Place de la Révolution". In total, 1,119 people lost their lives there.will fall victim to the guillotine… After this dark period, it will briefly be renamed Concorde before becoming Place Louis XVI under Charles X. It won't be until the July Revolution of 1830 that it will permanently regain its current name. The last king to play a role here is Louis-Philippe Ier, who decides to erect the Obelisk to help make the revolutionary past of the square fade away...
Execution of Marie-Antoinette of Austria, Queen of France, on October 16, 1793, museum of the French Revolution - Vizille © Wikimedia Commons
An ancient past...
But the history of the Place de la Concorde actually goes back to much further than that. Long before the construction of the city itself. Indeed, since 1836, the esplanade has hosted the oldest monument in the capital : the obelisk of Luxor, commissioned in the 8th century BC by Ramses II to decorate the temple of Amon. In 1829, Mehmed Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, gifted Charles X the two obelisks that adorn the entrance of the temple. This marked the beginning of a 7-year journey.>, which involves the construction of a custom boat, to bring back one of the two to France. It will be erected a few months before the king's death, becoming the largest sundial in the world. It is only 150 years later, in 1981, that President François Mitterrand officially abandons the second obelisk, which remains in its original location.
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Erection of the Luxor Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, October 25, 1836, François Dubois © Wikimedia Commons
...And an Epic Future
In the following years, the square will experience some small changes, like the addition of two fountains, the opening of the Hôtel de la Marine or the disappearance of the moats, to meet the needs of modern traffic. But in 2025, more than 262 years after its inauguration, it is set to undergo a massive transformation, reconnecting with its original appearance. To achieve this, and according to plans imagined by Philippe Prost and his team, the moats are set to make a grand return. Similarly, the majority of the square will...it should be closed to traffic, and especially covered in grass, with the aim of aligning with the new policies of Paris, namely imagining the city of tomorrow by making it more livable and enjoyable. Let’s just say we’d prefer this over a return of the guillotine…
Future aerial view of Place de la Concorde after renovations, Philippe Prost, architect/AAPP © Jeudi Wang © adagp, 2025