Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
▲
Conciergerie
Thoughprettybarreninside,thisformerprisonechoeswithhistory(andisfreewiththeMu-
seum Pass—remember that passholders can skip the ticket-buying line). Positioned next to
thecourthouse,theConciergeriewasthegloomyprisonfamousasthelaststopfor2,780vic-
timsoftheguillotine,includingFrance'slast
ancienrégime
queen,Marie-Antoinette.Before
then, kings had used the building to torture and execute failed assassins. (One of its towers
along the river was called “The Babbler,” named for the pain-induced sounds that leaked
from it.) When the Revolution (1789) toppled the king, the building kept its same function,
but without torture. The progressive Revolutionaries proudly unveiled a modern and more
humane way to execute people—the guillotine.
Inside, pick up a free map and breeze through the one-way circuit. It's well-described in
English.Seethespacious,low-ceilingedHallofMen-at-Arms(Room1),usedastheguards'
dining room, with four large fireplaces (look up the chimneys). This big room gives a feel
for the grandeur of the Great Hall (upstairs, not open to visitors), where the Revolutionary
tribunals grilled scared prisoners on their political correctness.
You'll also see a re-creation of Marie-Antoinette's cell, which houses a collection of her
mementos. In another room, a list of those made “a foot shorter at the top” by the “nation-
al razor” includes ex-King Louis XVI, Charlotte Corday (who murdered the Revolutionary
writer Jean-Paul Marat in his bathtub), and—oh, the irony—Maximilien de Robespierre, the
head of the Revolution, the man who sent so many to the guillotine.
CostandHours:
€8.50,€12.50combo-ticketwithSainte-Chapelle,coveredbyMuseum
Pass, daily March-Oct 9:30-18:00, Nov-Feb 9:00-17:00, last entry 30 minutes before clos-
ing,2Boulevard duPalais, Mo:Cité, tel. 0153406080,
www.conciergerie.monuments-na-
• Back outside, turn left on Boulevard du Palais and head north. On the corner is the city's
oldest public clock. The mechanism of the present clock is from 1334, and even though the
case is Baroque, it keeps on ticking.
Turn left onto Quai de l'Horloge and walk west along the river, past “The Babbler”
tower. The bridge up ahead is the Pont Neuf, where we'll end this walk. At the first corner,
veer left into a sleepy triangular square called Place Dauphine. Marvel at how such cozi-
ness could be lodged in the midst of such greatness. At the equestrian statue of Henry IV (at
the other end of Place Dauphine), turn right onto the old bridge and take refuge in one of
the nooks halfway across, on the Eiffel Tower side.
Pont Neuf
This “new bridge” is now Paris' oldest. Built during Henry IV's reign (about 1600), its
arches span the widest part of the river. Unlike other bridges, this one never had houses or
