Paris: The French Revolution - a walking tour｜France

We will begin the tour at the Column at Place de la Bastille, the site of the famous fortress that was stormed by protesters in 1789. We'll learn about the significance of this event and why the Bastille was such a powerful symbol of the monarchy.

Next, we'll head to Square Henri Galli to see some stones from the Bastille that were discovered by laborers working on the first metro line in Paris in 1899.

We'll continue to Quai des Celestins and Quai de l'Hôtel de Ville. We'll discuss the political and social causes of the revolution, including the influence of Enlightenment intellectuals like Diderot and Rousseau that led to probably the most complex social, political, and cultural phenomenon in human history. Its unfolding influenced first the history of the entire European continent, then the history of the entire free world.

We'll stop at Hôtel de Ville and learn about its medieval origins and how it was burned during another important popular uprising. We'll discover how Robespierre, a key figure of the Revolution, transformed from an idealistic leader into a bloody tyrant of the Reign of Terror.

At Notre-Dame, we'll learn about the anti-clerical character of the Revolution and how this medieval religious monument was transformed into the Temple of Reason, then into the Temple of the Supreme Being. We'll hear how it was almost destroyed and then abandoned for a long time before being saved by the initiative of the great writer Victor Hugo.

Next, we'll visit the Palace of Justice and the Court of Appeal in Paris. We'll learn about the Revolutionary Tribunal that was installed in this building and the most important trials held here, especially that of the French Royal Family.

At the Conciergerie, we'll learn the story of the most famous prisoner in this building, Marie Antoinette. Find out in what conditions she spent her last days, what the cell she was in looked like, and what the circumstances of her trial were. We'll see the gate through which she passed before being executed, a place laden with a strong symbolic charge related to the moment when humanity definitively separated from the Middle Ages.

Finally, we'll end our tour at Place de la Concorde, where the famous guillotine was installed during the Reign of Terror. We'll discover the different stages of transformation that this place has gone through, from Place Louis XV, Place de la Revolution, to the current Place de la Concorde.