Conciergerie

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  • Address
    2 blvd du Palais, 1er
  • Show map Close map
  • Phone
    53 40 60 97
  • Website
  • Transport
    underground rail: Cité
  • Mar-Oct 09:30 - 18:00 , Nov-Feb 09:00 - 17:00

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Lonely Planet review

The Conciergerie was built as a luxurious royal palace in the 14th century for the concierge of the Palais de la Cité, but later lost favour with the kings of France and was turned into a prison and torture chamber. The huge Gothic Salle des Gens d'Armes (Cavalrymen's Hall) is a fine example of the Rayonnant style, and the largest surviving such hall in Europe.

During the Reign of Terror (1793-94), the Conciergerie was used to incarcerate alleged enemies of the Revolution before they were brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal, which met next door in the Palais de Justice. Among the 2700 prisoners held in the cachots (dungeons) here before being sent in tumbrels to the guillotine were Queen Marie-Antoinette, radicals Danton, Robespierre and, finally, the judges of the Tribunal themselves. (What goes around comes around, n'est-ce pas?)