Place de la Concorde

Lonely Planet review

Place de la Concorde was laid out between 1755 and 1775. The 3300-year-old pink granite obelisk with the gilded top in the square's centre was given to France in 1831 by Muhammad Ali, viceroy and pasha of Egypt. Weighing 230 tonnes and towering 23m over the cobblestones, it once stood in the Temple of Ramses at Thebes (modern-day Luxor).

The eight female statues adorning the four corners of the square represent France's largest cities. In 1793, Louis XVI's head was lopped off by a guillotine set up near the statue representing the city of Brest. During the next two years, another guillotine was used to behead 1343 more people, including Marie-Antoinette and the Revolutionary leader Danton. Robespierre lost his head here, too. The square was given its present name after the Reign of Terror ended in the hope that it would be a place of peace and harmony.

The two imposing buildings on the north side of Place de la Concorde are the Hôtel de la Marine, headquarters of the French Navy, and the Hôtel de Crillon, one of Paris' most luxurious and exclusive hotels. It was here in 1778 that Louis XVI and Benjamin Franklin signed the treaty recognising the independence of the new USA.