The Jardins du Trocadéro (Gardens of the Trocadéro) is a public space in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is bounded to the northwest by the wings of the Palais de Chaillot and to the southeast by the Seine and the Pont d'Iéna at the Place de Varsovie, with the Eiffel Tower on the opposite bank of the Seine.

History

The entire site was formerly the garden of the original Trocadéro Palace, laid out by Adolphe Alphand for the 1878 Exposition Universelle. The present garden has an area of 93,930 m2, and was created for the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937). This was the design of Parisian architect Roger-Henri Expert. During the exposition in 1937, the pavilions of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were facing each other on opposite sides of the Jardins du Trocadéro. The grounds hosted the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Main sights

Fontaine de Varsovie

The main feature, called the Fontaine de Varsovie (Fountain of Warsaw), is a long basin, or water mirror, with twelve fountain creating columns of water 12 metres high; twenty four smaller fountains four metres high; and ten arches of water. At one end, facing the Seine, are twenty powerful water cannons, able to project a jet of water fifty metres. Above the long basin are two smaller basins, linked with the lower basin by cascades flanked by 32 sprays of water four meters high. These fountains are the only exposition fountains which still exist today, and still function as they once did. In 2011, the fountain's waterworks were completely renovated and a modern pumping system was installed.

Statuary

With sloping fairways that run along the river, the garden terraces feature a number of sculptures, some dating from the 1930s, including:

Access

The location is near the metro station Trocadéro, at 48.86083°N, 2.29°W, on the lines 6 and 9.

Sources