Conciergerie

The Palais de la Cité was the residence of the French kings from the Capetians onwards. Philip IV rebuilt it between 1285 and 1314, adding the great Hall of the Men-at-Arms, the Salle des Gens d'Armes, where palace guards and staff ate. With its rows of columns and Gothic vaults, it is often described as the largest surviving secular Gothic hall in Europe. The name Conciergerie comes from the concierge, the official who ran the palace on the king's behalf.

During the Revolution the Revolutionary Tribunal sat in the palace between 1793 and 1795, and the Conciergerie held the prisoners awaiting trial, many of whom were sent to the guillotine. Its best-known prisoner was Queen Marie Antoinette, held here from August until her execution on 16 October 1793. The prison closed in 1934, and the building is now a national monument.

The visit takes you through the Gothic halls, the reconstructed prison cells, including that of Marie Antoinette, and the chapel. A tablet called the HistoPad lets you see the rooms as they once were. Outside, look for the Tour de l'Horloge on the corner, which carried the first public clock in Paris; the Sainte-Chapelle stands right next door.