The Opéra Bastille overlooking the area provides a distinctly modern element with its high walls and gridded glass.

The Bastille was originally constructed to defend  Paris at the end of 14th- Century. This now spacious area was once the place of imposing walls and cramped cells: it became a prison in 17th-Century, during the rule of Charles VI of France. Whilst the conditions in the prison of Bastille were not as bad as some other Parisian prisons, it was known for its politically-motivated arrests, use of torture and other methods of oppression. The prison held such outspoken figures as Voltaire and Fouquet.

The Place de la Bastille is famous for the Storming of the Bastille on 14th July 1789 (a national holiday in France), when tensions between the commoners and the ancient regime came to a head, and the masses took over the prison in protest of the government practice of holding religious and political prisoners without trial. It was a siege more symbolic than practical, as at that point only seven prisoners were actually inside, but it also inspired the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a landmark in French political history.

Photos

Cover picture and photo n°3 - © Paris Tourist Office - Photographe : © Sarah Sergent
Photo n°1 - © Paris Tourist Office - Photographe : Amélie Dupont