What is left of the Bastille
Nothing survives on Place de la Bastille itself — the real stones are here.
Mbzt — CC BY-SA 3.0 · LPLT — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0
On today's Place de la Bastille, with the outline of its walls marked by a line of differently coloured stones set into the pavement and the square's surface. Look for that line while standing in the square — it is all that marks the building on its own site.
As a detail on a walk, yes. The idea itself is striking: the most famous symbol of the French Revolution survives as a block of stone in a side garden. But do not cross the city for it — make it a stop if you are already walking the river.
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A small garden on Boulevard Henri IV near the river, holding what may be the most substantial thing you can see of the actual Bastille prison: a block of foundations from one of its towers. The context explains why that matters. The Bastille was demolished entirely after it was stormed in 1789, and nothing of it remains on Place de la Bastille itself beyond a line of paving stones marking its outline and a marker in the metro station. The most famous symbol of the French Revolution physically disappeared. What stands in this garden are remains of the Liberty tower, uncovered during metro excavation in the early twentieth century and moved here. The stones sit in a corner of the garden with almost no ceremony, and many people pass without knowing what they are. A plain practical point: this is not a destination in itself but a detail worth knowing. The garden is small and the stones are unremarkable to look at. Pause for minutes if you are walking the river between the Marais and the Île Saint-Louis.
Nothing survives on Place de la Bastille itself — the real stones are here.
Uncovered during metro tunnelling in the early twentieth century and moved.
Set in a garden corner, passed by many who do not know what they are.
Boulevard Henri IV, near the Seine, 4th arrondissement
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