The Palais de Chaillot sits on the Trocadéro hill as a monumental frame for views across the Seine. Built for the 1937 Universal Exhibition, it now houses cultural institutions and preserves a site repeatedly chosen for grand public architecture.
Quick facts
The current Palais de Chaillot was built for the 1937 Universal Exhibition.
It replaced the earlier Palais du Trocadéro, built for the 1878 exhibition.
The hill has hosted successive royal, imperial, and exhibition projects.
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Guide
At the top of the Trocadéro hill, two long curved wings open around a broad terrace. From the Parvis des Droits de l’Homme, the Eiffel Tower stands in the gap; behind you, the Palace of Chaillot gathers museums and a theater beneath a façade of pale stone, columns, and sculpture. The view is famous, but the building is more than a frame for it. It is a working cultural complex and a carefully staged public space in Paris’s 16th arrondissement.
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Trocadéro
Trocadéro’s terraces frame one of Paris’s most recognizable views, but the gardens and monumental axis were shaped by international exhibitions. Cascades, fountains, and sculptures connect the hilltop Palais de Chaillot with the open Champ de Mars.
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