Overview

Spread over 12.5 hectares (31 acres), the Place des Quinconces is the biggest of its kind in Europe. As a non-built lot, it's the ideal ground to host circus, fairs and antique markets coming to the city. Arranged between 1810 and 1828, the Place has a very uncommon design. It's the reunion of a square and a semicircle flaked by trees in staggered rows. Its main monument, a column with a fountain at its feet, pays tribute to the Girondins (the deputies of the region who died under the Terror Regime during the French revolution). Other monuments include two columns designed by architect Pierre-Alexandre Poitevin and two statues (one from French philosopher Montesquieu and the other from Montaigne).