Walk 5: Place de la Concorde

This walk took me past a bunch of government buildings, including the Palais de l'Elysée, which is the French equivalent to the White House, and the U.S. Embassy, neither of which I could actually go into.

Place de la Concorde is a large square in front of the Tuileries, and has been the site of a number of important historical events throughout the centuries. Here, Benjamin Franklin signed into an alliance with France in 1778, guaranteeing the colonies' protection of France's assets in North America. At the time of the Revolution, the square served as the space for public executions à la guillotine, including that of Marie Antoinette.

In the very center of la Place is an Egyptian obelisk. I know, random. It was a gift to Charles X from Egyptian governor Mohammed Ali in 1829, and its granite comes from the ruins along the Nile. It's more than 3,000 years old.


Aaaaand with that, I went to the Tuileries and almost fell asleep in the sun. The perfect end to any walk.