Trocadéro gardens and the Palais de Chaillot

Place de Trocadéro is the place right under the Eiffel Tower, across the River Seine. As well as the Eiffel Tower, it was created on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in 1878. This project was part of environmental and urban policy of Napoleon III. and Haussman, parks should be a symbol of harmony. Its name was inspired by the fortified position on the Bay of Cadiz in the south of Spain that French troops captured in 1823. In its origins, the name "trocadero" meant an emporium or place of trade. Today that square is officially named “place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre”.

The architect of the Gardens became Jean-Charles Alphand. the area of the Gardens cover 93 930 square metres and one can find different tree species on the green space, such as Caucasian nut three, Virgin tulip tree or centenary nut tree.

At the centre of the Gardens, there is the Fountain of Warsaw. A series of stacked basins dominate the widest one. After sunset it offers a spectacle of lights and jet of water. The two sculptures – The Man (made by Traverse) and The Woman (made by Bacque) overhang the basins.

There is a Palace located at the end of the Gardens. The original one, named Trocadéro, was demolished in 1937 and it was replaced by present Palace of Chaillot. The Trocadero Palace looked like a large concert hall with two wings and two towers. It was built in Moorish style (mixture of exotic and historical references) with some Byzantine elements. Its architect was Gabriel Davioud.

The present Palace of Chaillot was built for the Exposition Internationale of 1937. It was designed by Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques Carlu and Leon Azema in the modern style. It has also the two wings (as the old palace), actually built on the foundations of the former palace, so they form a wide arc. However, there is no central building to connect them, so they create two separate buildings. The space between them is used as a wide esplanade with the view of the Eiffel Tower and the Fountain of Warsaw. The esplanade is known as the “esplanade des droits de l'homme” (esplanade of human rights) because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted here by United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. The two wings now contain the Theatre de Chaillot (ex Theatre of Paris), the Cinematheque, the Museum of Human and the Museum of the Navy.