On the Right Bank of the Seine several blocks away from the Place des Vosges, the Bastille neighborhood has for a number of years now a favorite destination for Parisians (and increasingly for visitors as well) for various reasons.
Named for the infamous medieval prison whose storming on this date in 1789 was a key moment in a world-changing event, the French Revolution. Within a year it had been demolished by the revolutionaries, and today the site is marked by the Place de la Bastille (pictured here, including the eponymous Metro stop), a huge roundabout with its center the Colonne de Juillet, a monumental column marking the spot, and along its southeastern flank the Ópera Bastille, a more shiny and benign modern landmark that since its construction in 1989 has become a lodestar of Paris culture.
Read more in my post Storming the Bastille Neighborhood of Paris.
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