- One of the most beautiful royal palaces of the 14th century on the Ile de la Cité: the Grande Salle, the Salle des Gens d’Armes (Hall of the Men in Arms), the kitchens – all testimony to the splendors of the court.
- “Monsieur de Paris”, the Reign of Terror during the French revolution, and the Tour Bonbec – questioning and torturing of the prisoners.
- The prisoners’ quarters, social inequalities and the treatment of inmates, the prison cells, the expiatory chapel, the women’s yard.
- The Carnation Plot: Marie Antoinette’s close escape.
Located on the Île de la Cité, not far from Notre Dame cathedral, the Conciergerie is all that remains of the Palais de la Cité, royal residence and seat of power of French kings as early as the 6th century. In 1242, Louis IX (Saint-Louis) ordered the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle, a jewel of the Rayonnant Gothic style, to be added to the complex to house his collection of Passion Relics. When Charles V relocated the royal residence to the Louvre in 1358, the Conciergerie’s function as judicial court and prison was sealed. The Revolutionary Tribunal was set up there in 1793, and the site became central to Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. Thousands of prisoners were held within those walls, including Marie-Antoinette.
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Tour 1: Classic Tour 2hrs
Come discover, with your guide, this important site of French judiciary, now the Palais de Justice (the Paris law courts) where the concièrge today occupies a completely different post. End the tour with a visit to the Sainte Chapelle, one of the most beautiful architectural settings to house holy relics.
Opening hours :
Daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed January 1, May 1, and December 25
Direct, no-lines access: reservation required for groups (30 people maximum per guide)