La Conciergerie

La Conciergerie has been the central seat of authority and justice in Paris for almost 1000 years. It has a rich history and its ancient halls have seen countless games of power played out within them over the centuries.

The original La Conciergerie was a Roman fortress that, due to its enduring political significance, has been repeatedly enlarged throughout the years. It was said at the time to be the most impressive palace of the Middle Ages and continues to amaze any visitor who walks within its walls.

In the late 14th Century, the monarchs that lived inside this palace relocated to the Louvre, and La Conciergerie became the central administration offices of the Parliament of Paris. It even became the place in which Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned during the Revolution, before her gruesome death.

The hallowed halls and grand architecture of this ancient civic building are a monument to the bureaucratic power of France that once stretched across half the world.