Practical Information
Address
Place de la Bastille75011 Paris
Easy Access
Metro : line 1,5 or 8 : BastilleLinks
Current Events and Actualities
Capturing the Model : 300 RODIN drawings (Exhibitions)
Du 18/11/2011 au 01/04/2012Everyone is familiar with Rodin's sculptures, but what of his drawings? This exhibition at the Rodin Museum in Paris presents over 300 drawings from the last thirty years of the artist's life. In fact, in the latter part of his life, drawing became the ar
DEGAS AND NUDE - EXHIBITION (Exhibitions)
Du 13/03/2012 au 01/07/2012This is the first major exhibition to be devoted to Edgar Degas (1834-1917) in Paris since the 1988 retrospective at the Grand Palais. Degas and the nude ties in with the Musée d'Orsay's ambition to publicise the latest teachings on the great masters of
Touristic areas
Quartier Bastille
At the end of the 18th century, the fall of the Bastille castle was like a bolt out of the blue for western countries, as far away as Russia. This surrender that occurred on July 14, 1789, put an end to the “old regime” and marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
Today, on the ground of Place de la Bastille, you can notice cobblestones representing the outlines of the former fortress. It had 8 towers of 22 metres high, and, its 4 metre thick walls were formerly designed to protect Paris against the British enemy.
The column of 52 metres, topped with the « Génie de la Liberté », the Spirit of freedom, was erected in 1840 as a homage to the 509 men who died during the 3 day Revolution of 1830. It is endowed with a high symbolic heritage, which explains why all anti-establishments movements and demonstrations choose it as a rallying place.
In the 1980s, a huge refurbishment program, including the building of a new opera with a contemporary architecture, gave a boost to this district. You can feel the very trendy atmosphere around the place and all the streets around. International trends enrich Paris by night, with a strong Latin American accent.
Good to know :
In 1789, people thought that many prisoners were incarcerated in La Bastille but they were wrong. Only a handful of thieves and a mad man were found the day the fortress was invaded. Thus, la Bastille was almost empty but it was filled with its sinister history. La Bastille was a symbol to knock down.
Timhotel tips and suggestions:
It is pleasant to wander the streets which speak for themselves and their history and folklore: rue de la Roquette with its old houses and restaurants, rue de Lappe where you can even feel spirit of the “apaches” (the nickname given to bad men in old times), rue de Charonne with its passages and old fashioned shops occupied by young creators and designers.