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.
Quick facts
The Trocadéro gardens took shape through the 1878 and 1937 world exhibitions; the current central axis and Fontaine de Varsovie date from the later redesign.
The Palais de Chaillot, designed by Léon Azéma, Jacques Carlu and Louis-Hippolyte Boileau for the 1937 exposition, was built on structures of the Palais du Trocadéro from 1878.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot on 10 December 1948; the esplanade was renamed the Parvis des Droits de l’Homme in 1985.
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Guide
The Eiffel Tower seems to meet the Seine at the end of a perfectly composed picture. From Trocadéro, that view is not an accident of nature: gardens, fountains, terraces and a palace were repeatedly redesigned to frame it. The name describes a broad ensemble on Chaillot Hill in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. The gardens and open esplanade are public space; the Palais de Chaillot behind them contains museums, a theatre and other institutions with their own entrances and visiting arrangements.
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Palais de Chaillot
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.
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Musée des Égouts de Paris
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Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars is a public garden between the École Militaire and Eiffel Tower. Its lawns and long axis recall an exercise ground transformed by revolutionary gatherings, balloon experiments, world fairs and a 1908 city park design.
Arc de Triomphe
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