The Jardins du Trocadéro are known to every tourist who’s ever visited Paris as “that garden where you can take photos of the Eiffel Tower” (or just watch it). Few visit the museums scattered inside the Palais de Chaillot, the unattractive building with a whiff of fascist architecture that’s stood there since the 1930s, and almost none of them know which buildings stood here before, or what secrets they could tell you, if only they could talk.
So let me, as always, lift the curtain of history on the Jardins du Trocadéro and the Palais de Chaillot, and tell you about a convent where a famous royal mistress fled to, a massive palace that was supposed to be built here in honor of Napoleon’s son, another palace that was built 11 years before the Eiffel Tower (and no longer exists either), and of course give you all the practical information you need to visit the place.
The Story of the Jardins du Trocadéro and the Palais de Chaillot
Forget the crowds, forget the tourists, and let’s go back about 500 years, to when this area was surrounded by nothing but blooming fields, quietly basking in peace.
The one who noticed the pastoral charm of the place was none other than Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589), Queen of France, who decided to build herself a small palace on the hill of Chaillot, a place where she could rest a bit on the way from the Louvre Palace to the royal palace at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
In 1654, Henrietta Maria (1609-1669), daughter of King Henri IV (r. 1589-1610) and widow of King Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649), turned the small palace into a convent. The convent, dedicated to the Order of the Visitation (Ordre de la Visitation), was meant for noblewomen whose families couldn’t afford a sufficient dowry for them, so they chose the cheaper solution of becoming nuns.
The Refuge of the Royal Mistress
The convent’s most famous resident came here entirely of her own free will. Her name was Louise de La Vallière (1644-1710), and she was the first great mistress of Louis XIV.
What began as a great love story of a young king turned into a tragedy for Louise, when the king started paying attention to Madame de Montespan (1640-1707), and the gossiping tongues at the royal court got to work.
Madame de La Vallière’s solution was to leave the royal court and go to that convent, which she loved. When the king heard of this, he followed her, arrived at the convent, got down on his knees, and begged her to come back to him. After no small amount of pleading, La Vallière agreed to return to the royal court, but unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to win back the king’s exclusive love.
For a while the king continued to juggle both mistresses, but in the end, the beautiful and sharp-tongued Madame de Montespan won the battle for Louis XIV’s heart over the virtuous Louise de La Vallière. Louise left the royal court again, this time for the Carmelite convent on Rue Saint-Jacques in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. This time no one chased after her, and she ended her days there in 1710 as Sister Louise de la Miséricorde.
If you thought the convent was only about prayer and worship, think again. In 1800, a 300-meter tunnel was discovered on the site, running under Paris‘s customs wall. It turned out that while some of the nuns were praying, others were smuggling alcohol into Paris through this very tunnel.
The Palace of the King of Rome That Was Never Built
The convent at Chaillot was demolished, like many other convents, during the French Revolution, and in 1813 Napoleon decided to turn the site into his “government quarter.”
He summoned his favorite architect, Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853), and ordered him to build a government complex centered on a palace dedicated to his son, who held the title “King of Rome,” flanked on both sides by buildings that would house various government ministries.
Napoleon’s goal was essentially to replace the Palace of Versailles, which had served as France’s “government quarter” during the monarchy, and the emperor’s inspiration came from none other than the Kremlin in Moscow. To him, that Moscow palace was something of an open wound, after the defeat he’d suffered in Russia the year before, so it’s no surprise he ordered his architect to design him a building a hundred times bigger and more impressive than the Kremlin.
Unfortunately for him, none of these plans ever came to be.
Place du Trocadéro Comes Into Being
A year after the plans for the Palace of the King of Rome were presented to Napoleon, the emperor was forced to give up his throne, and the Bourbons returned to France. Louis XVIII (r. 1814-1824, with a 100-day interruption in 1815) spent much of his reign trying to erase Napoleon’s legacy, so it’s no surprise he scrapped the emperor’s “government quarter” idea.
But the king didn’t stop there. He decided to twist the knife and name the site where the palace was supposed to be built “Trocadéro.” Why did this name insult the emperor’s memory so much? Because it was named after a battle in Spain won by the Duke of Angoulême (Louis Antoine, Duc d’Angoulême, 1775-1844), who had been sent to restore King Ferdinand VII (r. 1813-1833) to power.
Napoleon himself never managed to fully conquer Spain, and his army bled there for years until it was driven out by Wellington. The Duke of Angoulême, on the other hand, succeeded where Napoleon had failed, conquering all of Spain and restoring the king to power within about six months.
It’s no surprise that many people, including the famous poet François-René de Chateaubriand, saw naming the square, where the emperor had wanted to build a palace for himself and his son, as a kind of slap in the emperor’s face. Then again, it’s not at all clear Napoleon himself would have cared, since by the time the square was named after the Battle of Trocadéro, he’d already been dead for about two years.
The First Palais de Chaillot Is Built
When the monarchy was finally abolished in 1848, and after the short-lived Second Republic, Napoleon III (r. 1852-1870) rose to power. Like his celebrated uncle, Napoleon III also wanted to erect a monumental structure here, but this time the plan called for a statue named “Intelligent France” (La France intelligente) overlooking six buildings that would house six different government ministries.
None of this ever came to be either.
But 8 years after Napoleon III’s fall, something finally got built at Place du Trocadéro, thanks to the World’s Fair of 1878. The young Third Republic, which badly needed some legitimacy, decided this fair would be the grandest ever held, and as part of it, it commissioned the famous architect Gabriel Davioud (1824-1881) to build a palace in a Neo-Moorish style with a facade about 400 meters long. Here’s the result:
From the moment the building opened to the public, a rare consensus formed among Parisians: everyone agreed it was exceptionally ugly (such a consensus would only form again a century later, when the Centre Pompidou opened). Even Proust, in his novel “In Search of Lost Time,” complained about how ugly the building was.
Was it really that ugly, or did the Parisians exaggerate a bit? I’ll leave that for you to decide. What’s certain (at least in my opinion) is that the building that replaced it was far uglier.
Palais de Chaillot 2.0: Architecture with a Fascist Whiff
In 1935, after no small amount of public pressure, the Palais du Trocadéro was demolished, and the current Palais de Chaillot was built in its place in 1937. Like its predecessor, the current palace was also built for a World’s Fair (one remembered as the last great World’s Fair), and it was the work of three architects:
- Louis-Hippolyte Boileau (1878-1948)
- Jacques Carlu (1890-1976)
- Léon Azéma (1888-1978)
In 1940, when Paris fell to the Nazis, Hitler visited the city, and his famous photo with Albert Speer was taken on the terrace of the Palais de Chaillot.
Hitler apparently agreed with everyone who thought this was fascist architecture at its finest, since he decided to have a copy of the palace built in Berlin. Luckily for the Germans, the plan never happened. The French weren’t so lucky, and they’ve been stuck with this ugly building ever since.
Today, in the west wing of the palace, you’ll find the Musée de l’Homme, an anthropology museum that was recently renovated and reopened in 2015. In the same wing, you can also find the Musée national de la Marine, where you’ll find models of various ships, some dating back to the reign of Louis XV.
But in my opinion, the truly interesting museums are in the east wing, home to a large theater called the “Théâtre national de Chaillot,” created by the Niermans brothers (Jean and Édouard Niermans). I also recommend visiting the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, which spans 9,000 square meters of temporary and permanent exhibitions, including one showcasing French architecture from 1850 to today.
Outside the palace, you’ll find the Jardins du Trocadéro themselves. The centerpiece of the gardens is the famous Warsaw Fountains, which include 20 water cannons capable of shooting water up to 50 meters, creating a spectacular water show, especially on summer evenings when they’re accompanied by stunning lighting. Some of the fountains shoot water up to 12 meters high.
The Jardins du Trocadéro also feature several particularly interesting statues, including ‘L’Homme’ by Pierre Traverse and ‘La Femme’ by Daniel-Joseph Bacqué. These are impressive sculptures, and from the right angle, you can photograph them with the Eiffel Tower in the background. You can also enjoy beautiful bronze statues in the gardens: “Bull and Deer” by Paul Jouve, and “Horses and Dog” by Georges Guyot, as well as a 6-meter bronze statue of the god Apollo.
Jardins du Trocadéro and the Palais de Chaillot: Practical Information
You can reach the Jardins du Trocadéro via the Trocadéro metro station. Admission to the gardens is free, and they’re open 24/7, except for a few special days during the year (usually Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas, as well as certain memorial days).
The Paris Aquarium
The Aquarium de Paris is located in the Jardins du Trocadéro, facing the Eiffel Tower, and it’s a great attraction to combine with a visit to the gardens. The aquarium is home to about 7,500 different underwater creatures, including 50 sharks, all originally from French coastal waters and territories. At the aquarium, you can see one of the largest sharks kept in captivity, in a tank holding 3 million liters of water, a pool where you can pet koi fish, a jellyfish collection with 2,500 specimens in 15 tanks, and plenty of interactive activities and daily shows. A wonderful experience for marine life lovers, kids and adults alike!
Click here to book tickets for the aquarium.
Museums in the Jardins du Trocadéro
Musée de l’Homme: a museum showcasing human evolution and various cultures. The museum is open every day except Tuesdays, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission is allowed until 5:15 p.m. The museum is also closed on January 1, May 1, July 14, and December 25. Ticket prices range from 10 to 13 euros. Buy tickets for the museum.
Musée national de la Marine: the maritime museum reopened in November 2023 after renovations, and it showcases 250 years of French maritime history, combining art and history, science and technology, adventure and tradition. The museum tour is designed to simulate a voyage at sea, with stops like ship models, maritime navigation, maritime art, shipwrecks and storms, and more.
The museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. To buy tickets
Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine: the museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Thursdays, you can visit until 9:00 p.m. The museum is closed on January 1, May 1, and December 25. Admission costs 6 to 9 euros. Buy tickets.
Events in the Jardins du Trocadéro
Every year on July 14, Bastille Day, Paris holds massive celebrations. Among other things, you can enjoy a spectacular fireworks show that evening. Huge crowds gather below the Eiffel Tower, and the Jardins du Trocadéro are a favorite viewing spot across the river. The fireworks show is free, of course.
Various festivals and events, like THE VILLAGE INTERNATIONAL DE LA GASTRONOMIE and Hanami Paris (a celebration for fans of Japanese culture), take place regularly in the gardens area.
FAQ
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