You are on the finest balcony in Paris. From this esplanade the Eiffel Tower appears in full, framed by the gardens and fountains that run down to the Seine. That is no accident: the whole ensemble was designed to be seen from here.

1A Spanish name

Why Trocadéro? The name recalls the capture of the Trocadero fort in the bay of Cádiz on 31 August 1823. That year a French army crossed into Spain to restore King Ferdinand VII's absolute power against the liberals. This hill was later named after that victory.

2A palace for 1937

The building around you is the Palais de Chaillot, built for the 1937 International Exhibition by the architects Jacques Carlu, Louis-Hippolyte Boileau and Léon Azéma. It replaced an earlier, Oriental-style palace put up for the 1878 World's Fair. Its two curved wings leave this great empty space in the middle, designed for the view.

On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly, meeting in this palace, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

That is why the esplanade is now called the Parvis des Droits de l'Homme, the Human Rights Square. Today the palace houses museums and a theatre.

3What to look out for

  • The gilded inscriptions on the façades, written by the poet Paul Valéry.
  • The gilded statues lining the esplanade.
  • The gardens and long pool stepping down to the Seine.

Documented

The Palais de Chaillot was built for the 1937 Exhibition, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted there on 10 December 1948.

Sources and credits

Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, history of the Palais de Chaillot; United Nations, history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; French Ministry of Culture, Mérimée database.

Photos:

  • The Eiffel Tower seen from the Trocadéro esplanade: Polymagou, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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