Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Paris, France: Place de la Bastille

Uneducated tourists no doubt come to Paris and ask, "Where is the Bastille that I have heard about for many years?"

No doubt they are disappointed to find out that prison, which served a key role in the French Revolution of 1789, isn't around any more. It was torn down between 1789 and 1790. Apparently the revolutionaries were more interested in getting rid of a powerful symbol of repression than thinking about a tourist attraction a couple of centuries later. By the way, the key to the Bastille can be found in, of all places, Mount Vernon at George Washington's house.

You can go to the spot where the Bastille once sat. It's a square in downtown Paris. The monument shown here is a tribute to the Revolution of 1830. King Charles X lost his job in that little scuffle. Public events are often held on this site.

People can be forgiven for not knowing much about French history. Here's a quick, fun video on what happened back then:



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