La Conciergerie

La Conciergerie was formerly a prison. It is the place where Maria Antoniette spent his last days before being decapitated during the French Revolution. Nowadays it is part of the Justice Palace that is still being used for judicial issues. It was built in the XIV century in the middle Ages in the northwest part of Ile de la Cité, next to the Sainte Chapelle and very close to Notre Dame Cathedral. Originally it was part of the Philip IV king Place but it was abandoned by the royal family in 1358 and the building was turned into a prison for the state.

The "Salle des Genes d'armes" or “People with arms saloon” is one of the most attractive places for tourists maybe due to its dimensions and shape. It has a gothic style and it is pretty long reaching the 64 meters, 27.5 meters wide and 8.5 meters tall. The saloon was constructed between 1302 and 1313 and it is still in well conditions considering the time. Plus the illumination of the saloon gives the effect of tranquillity and peace. The rest of the places, however, have a tense ambient.
In this part of the building you will be able to observe the cell were prisoners lived, some of them have dummies, like the Maria Antoinette with a representation of the way she lives her last years before the guillotine. The cell was later turned into a chapel that allows visitors.

It is also possible to see dummies of the employees like the scribe that used to register the new prisoners.

In another room you will find a list of the people who died during the French Revolution with the guillotine. Among them Louis XVI, Charlotte Corday and Robespierre who paradoxically was completely in favour of the punishing method.

La Conciergerie has a museum that opened in 1914 as a Historical National Monument. Nowadays is a very crowded place, although the exhibition part is pretty small compared with the part used for the court of Paris.

How do you get there?
You can use the Metro station Cité line 4 (only a few steps from La Conciergerie or the station Chatelet that has access to the lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14 from the metro. This last station is located crossing the Seine to the north, very close to La Conciergerie.
You can also reach the place with the RER. The closest station is the St-Michel Notre-Dame from line B and C, located crossing the Seine to the south of Ile de la Cité.
If you prefer to use the public buses you can take routes 21, 38, 47, 85, 96, 24, 27, 58, 79, 72, 74, 81, 67, 69, 75, 76, 96 or the Balabus. Any of these routes can be taken very close to La Conciergerie. It can be either Ile de la Cité or crossing the Seine, always at a closer distance to walk.

Which are the prices?
The access ticket costs €7.50. It is also possible to buy a combo ticket for €11.50 that allows you to visit La Conciergerie and the Sainte Chapelle located right next to La Conciergerie. The pass for museums and monuments of Paris is accepted in both places.

Times
From April to September La Conciergerie is open from 9:30am to 6:00pm.
From October to March it is open from 10:00am to 5:00pm.