Conciergerie, Paris

Conciergerie, Paris

Part of the former royal palace Palais de la Cité on the Île de la Cité, the Conciergerie is a medieval Gothic fortress and prison where the last queen of France Marie Antoinette was imprisoned prior to her execution in 1793.

Part of the former royal palace Palais de la Cité on the Île de la Cité, the Conciergerie is a medieval Gothic fortress and prison where the last queen of France Marie Antoinette was imprisoned prior to her execution in 1793. The surviving parts of the historical complex have some remarkable architecture. It was decommissioned in 1914 and is now mostly used for law courts, with some parts open to the public. Explore the building of the mighty Conciergerie to see the medieval rooms and learn about its tumultuous past.

Originally a Merovingian royal residence used by Clovis in the 6th century, the Palais was made the seat of power of the Capetian dynasty by Philip II in 1200. It was renovated and expanded over time by subsequent Valois kings, with the addition of the Tour de l'Horloge and Sainte-Chapelle. It came to house the kingdom’s administrative institutions (Concierge) after Charles V relocated to the Louvre Palace. The Conciergerie was also used as a court, and part of it was converted into a penitentiary to house prisoners of the State. With the establishment of the Revolutionary Court, the Conciergerie became one of the principal places of detention during the French Revolution. It held over 2700 inmates during this time, who were later executed by guillotine. Famous prisoners include Marie-Antoinette, Madame Élisabeth, Madame du Barry, Georges Danton, and Robespierre.

The Salle des Gens d'Armes (Hall of the Soldiers), the lower part of the former Grande Salle, was one of the largest rooms in Europe, measuring 64 m long, 27.5 m wide and 8.5 m high. Used as a dining room by the 2000 staff members who worked in the palace, it has a fragment of the black marble table that was used by Capetian kings during ceremonial receptions. It has 4 large fireplaces, and was lit by windows. It is connected to the kitchen which received supplies by boat. The adjacent Salle des Gardes (Guards Room) was used as an antechamber to the Grande Chambre above, which was once the seat of the Parliament but now destroyed.

The rest of the rooms are a throwback to the bloody French Revolution, where the Revolutionary Tribunal tried prisoners for political crimes. The prisoners' corridor has the office of the prison director, the desk of the clerk who recorded inmates' details, and the Grooming Room where prisoners had their hair cut before execution. The walls of the Salle des Noms feature the names of over 4000 people who were tried by the Tribunal in 1793-'95. There are also displays on the changes to the justice system effected by the Revolution. The dreary dungeons are arranged around the women's courtyard. The medieval king's oratory was the site of the prisoners' chapel, while the commemorative Chapel of Marie-Antoinette is on the site of the queen's cell.

There are 3 extant towers from the medieval Conciergerie - Tour de César, Tour d'Argent or Silver Tower which was the treasury, and the Bonbec Tower which housed the torture chamber.

Admission is €9.00, and skip-the-line tickets to the Conciergerie are available below for quick entry at no extra cost. Entry is free for children under 18 years, French residents upto 25 years, and disabled persons. There are discounts for large groups.